Rosemary’s Baby appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. This was a quality Dolby Vision reproduction of a challenging film.
Overall sharpness looked strong. Mild softness appeared throughout the movie, but that was a filmmaking choice. The flick was rarely razor sharp – especially during interiors – due to intentional design.
This meant image appeared to fit the original product. None of this softness distracted, as the picture showed more than adequate clarity.
I noticed no signs of jagged edges or moiré effects, and edge haloes failed to appear. I discerned no digital noise reduction, as the film came with a satisfying sense of grain. Some brief moments of “frozen grain” appeared during the opening credits but not later.
In addition, print flaws were essentially absent. Outside of a couple of small marks during the opening credits, this was a clean presentation.
Colors generally appeared nicely accurate and clear, and at times I saw some warm and vibrant hues. This wasn't a film from which I'd expect a lot of lively colors, and much of the movie used a semi-bland palette.
However, when bright hues were appropriate, they looked sumptuous. HDR gave the hues a bit of a boost.
Black levels seemed nicely deep and dark with acceptable contrast, and shadow detail usually appeared pretty clean and concise, although some scenes were a bit dim.
As with the mild softness, however, I felt this represented the original photography and didn’t come as a “flaw”. HDR brought a little extra punch to whites and contrast. This was a consistently positive presentation given the age and limitations of the source.
I also felt pleased with the Dolby TrueHD monaural soundtrack of Rosemary's Baby. Dialogue came across as slightly stiff and tinny but it remained clear and intelligible at all times with no signs of edginess. Effects were relatively crisp and clean and showed no distortion.
Music seemed lively and brisk. The score even offered some decent bass at times, such as during the scene when Rosemary trotted around New York on her own.
I detected no evidence of background noise. The track sounded pretty solid for a 55-year-old mono mix.
How did the 4K UHD compare to Paramount release from 2021? Both sported identical audio.
As for the 4K’s Dolby Vision image, it showed mildly superior colors and blacks, but definition felt fairly similar for both. The 4K seemed slightly stronger than its BD counterpart, but viewers shouldn’t anticipate a substantial upgrade.
Note that Criterion released their own Blu-ray in 2012. Its picture and audio seemed very similar to what I heard/saw on the 2021 Paramount BD, so one can make the same comparisons with the 4K and it.
No extras appear on the 4K, but we get some components on the included Blu-ray copy. A Retrospective spans 16 minutes, 58 seconds and provides circa 1999 interviews with producer Robert Evans, production designer Richard Sylbert, and director Roman Polanski.
We learn some interesting tidbits such as how the project was developed and what other actors were considered for the lead roles. Due to its length, the feature is not terribly comprehensive, but I found it stimulating and entertaining nonetheless.
Created during the shoot of the movie, Mia and Roman runs 2 minutes, four seconds and provides a minor overview of the making of the film. It benefits from the large amount of footage from the set and from its then-contemporary interviews.
I especially like some shots of Polanski as he shows Farrow how she to play a scene. However, the show seems too glossy and superficial for the most part, so we don't learn a whole lot about how the film was made, though some interesting tidbits appear.
In any case, the show is actually rather entertaining due to the attitudes of the period. Maharishi-visiting Farrow seriously bought into the whole hippie culture.
Indeed, Farrow’s discussions of peace, love and joy seem inadvertently amusing. The program is nothing special, but it deserves a look.
In addition to the film’s theatrical trailer, we also locate a 50th Anniversary “Redband” Trailer. The latter becomes the only extra here not found on the old DVD.
I prefer some later films in the same genre as Rosemary's Baby, but the film makes for a creepy and effective experience nonetheless. The movie lacks overt scares but works nicely on a psychological level and is likely to get under your skin. The 4K UHD gives us accurately reproduced picture and audio as well as a small roster of supplements. This becomes a nice rendition of the film but don’t expect substantial improvements over either the 2012 Criterion Blu-ray or the 2021 Paramount BD.
Note that this Rosemary’s Baby 4K can be purchased on its own or as part of a five-movie "Paramount Scares” box. That package also includes 4K UHD releases for Pet Sematary (1989), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Crawl (2019) and Smile (2022).
The package provides a special edition of Fangoria magazine along with some movie-related stickers. Also note that as of October 2023, the Sweeney Todd 4K is exclusive to the “Paramount Scares” box. The other four movies can be purchased on 4K individually.
To rate this film, visit the prior review of ROSEMARY'S BABY
