Rosemary’s Baby 4K review

Sep 30, 2023- Permalink

Rosemary’s Baby was director Roman Polanksi’s Hollywood debut and with that debut he produced one of the most chilling horrors in history. Based on Ira Levin’s novel, it tells the tale of a young woman (Mia Farrow) who, during her first pregnancy, becomes increasingly suspicious about both her unsuccessful actor husband (John Cassavetes) and her nosy neighbours (Sidney Blackmer and an Oscar-winning Ruth Gordon). They keep up suggesting she’s just undergoing hormonal paranoia, but as the film unfolds we begin to wonder if paranoia is actually perception. Anchored by the performances of Gordon and Farrow, the film is as creepy today as it was in 1968. As the film celebrates its 55th anniversary, Paramount is releasing a 4K version and I had a chance to take an early look.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The video presentation is sharper than previous releases with excellent details in the fabrics and apartment settings. Any softness in the image is a creative choice by cinematographer William A. Fraker who diffused the shots to provide a dreamy, ethereal feel to what was unfolding. The colour palette stands out in 4K HDR, with brighter whites, deeper reds and more variations in subtle hues. The darker scenes benefit with no loss of detail in the shadows.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English Dolby TrueHD 2.0 Mono soundtrack as well as French, German and Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono tracks. Subtitles are available for English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Dutch. Purists will rejoice that the original mono track wasn’t forced into a surround setting. Dialogue is clear and Krzysztof Komeda’s score is haunting.

The Rosemary’s Baby 4K also comes with the 2021 Blu-ray and a digital code. There are no extras on the 4K disc, but the Blu-ray has a featurette that provides background and context to the production while another looks at Farrow and Polanksi. Two trailers are also included.

Rosemary’s Baby is a horror classic. Toss in excellent video and audio and this 4K is highly recommended.