I think Rosemary's Baby will always be one of my favourite classic horror novels. I love the story: I find it so unnerving and unsettling. I am also a huge fan of the 1960s film adaptation.

Michael Newton's book is a study and textual analysis of the film, touching on its development, its meaning, its reception and cultural impact. Most fascinating, it touches on the film's afterlife, specifically how it became linked with the brutal Cielo Drive murders in 1969, when Polanski's wife, Sharon Tate, and his unborn child were slaughtered by members of the Manson cult.

This book would appeal to anyone interested in cultural or media studies, film or even true crime.

I enjoyed reading this book and loved the plot. It was a great scary read that I brought on vacation!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

As an intellectual deep dive into a cinematic horror classic, this title does a lot. It explores the history and the unique issues with Polanski and the crew had throwing this together.

It did seem a bit dry in stops, but these kind of books often have that issue.

This is truly haunting classic, and I'm so happy to have had the opportunity to read this edition! I definitely recommend reading this book at least once in a lifetime!

This wasn't what I expected on requesting it, and not something I was interested in reading. It seems too scholarly to really be of much interest to the average readers, and seems primarily like it would work as a university text.

How can you be a horror fan and never have dived into the creepy tale that is Rosemary's Baby?

This book was a beautifully creepy wild ride of a book and I am thrilled that I was able to read it in preparation for the Halloween month ahead. Highly recommend for fans of The Exorcist and all things spooky!

OK, horror film buffs, this one's for us. I started reading this book immediately after my 20th-or-so viewing of Rosemary's Baby, based on Ira Levin’s novel.

Michael Newton's look back on the development and production of Roman Polanski's masterpiece is a deep dive into the film, the production, the cast, producers, the premiere, the aftermath and the legacy of Rosemary's Baby. It may be a little more than the casual fan may need to know, but I found some of the minute details the most interesting. There are plenty of on-set photos and movie stills that complement the author's well-researched text.

The book also ties in the Manson murders to the satanic-themed film's legacy. Polanski was working in Europe when his wife, actress Sharon Tate, was murdered by Manson Family members. She was 8-months pregnant.

I enjoy reading books about how films are made. This book is a comprehensive overview that I would highly recommend for film fans.

Speaking as someone who hasn’t actually seen the movie Rosemary’s Baby, I really had no idea what this book may have been about. What I got was an exhaustive, in depth analysis of an apparently complex film that is almost 70 years old at this point in time. This book covers the many themes of Rosemary’s Baby, and it’s impacts i 1960’s and 1970’s Hollywood. There is also a history on the enigmatic and troubled director Roman Polanski. It was all very informative. I can’t say if this will move me to actually see the film since it’s dark themes might not be for me. Nevertheless, the analysis provided here should certainly appeal to fans of the film and to Hollywood history buffs. Review posted to Facebook, Goodreads, LibraryThing.

As weird as it felt reading a book, about a movie, based on a book, this was an interesting and entertaining deep-dive into the making of the film.

As a fan of the movie I was really looking forward to this, and blew through the book. An easy, palatable read with plenty of info and tidbits - it would be the perfect read for any fan of the film, or just filmmaking in general.

This book was refreshing in that it really allowed me to learn a lot about the film of Rosemary's Baby it dug deep with details. It's kind of funny reading a book about a movie that's based on a book. The parts with Roman Poliski were yucky feels but that has nothing to do with the author. I loved the added pictures too of behind the scenes. My only issue is that at times it felt a little long winded on chapters.

I really love the movie Rosemary's Baby and I'm obsessed with reading about cults. This book offered a great analysis of the movie. It was well written and easy to follow. It took me a long time to read because it's more about facts about the movie and an actual story so I would take breaks here and there.

I would recommend this book to fans of cults or the movie Rosemary's Baby.

Unfortunately, the ebook that I received did not have the amazing cover so I didn't post it on my instagram or talk about it as much in my stories. There was one time the bookstagram club that I belong to had a a virtual movie night and the movie that was chosen was Rosemary's Baby. Of course I had background symbolism!

Dealing with the three stages of this film from pre-production, filming and the release, Michael Newton has provided a comprehensive analysis of the film Rosemary's Baby.
With the usual excellence of the BFI books, Newton discusses Polanski's background and how he came to make the film and what led the producers to offer him the job of directing a film which took old Hollywood and new Hollywood and combined them into such a symbolic and culturally important film for its time. He provides an excellent background to how the film was shaped throughout production, taking into account the different methods of acting of Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes to the reaction of the film and how the film community reacted to it.
Highly recommended for film buffs and students alike.

Honestly, I got about 10 pages into this and decided that this was not a book for me. I just didn’t like the way things were worded or phrased, it rubbed me the wrong way. Just not the book for me!

A great detailed history of the famous film, Rosemary's Baby. I felt a sensation of diving into the movie once I finished reading this book. It gave more backstory of the film maker and actors. Pretty crazy what I learned from mainly the film maker. It did give so much detailed description of the making of the movie that it did overwhelmed me. But overall this was pretty good for any horror fans. I give this book 4 out 5 stars. It's fast paced in my opinion and I learned pretty interesting stuff!

Thank you Netgalley for letting me review this.

Rosemary's Baby by Michael Newton is a fairly comprehensive analysis of the film by the same name directed by Roman Polanski. It dives into the creation of the film itself, a lot of the thoughts Polanski and the author of the book the movie was based on, Ira Levin, had about the film. It later dives into the film itself, and it finishes up with a brief overview of some of the external issues surrounding people involved with the film, primarily Polanski.

The middle third of the book, which features the analysis of the film itself, is the strongest part of the book. It dives deeply into themes, compares and contrasts the novel to the film, and dives deeply into why Levin and Polanski made the choices they did in their respective works. It's a solid look into multiple possibilities and perspectives tied to Rosemary's Baby, and it's quite enjoyable.

That being said, the book has a number of flaws. First and foremost, it's pretentious. There are multiple lines where I had to pause to roll my eyes. Maybe that just means I'm not the target audience for such an academic-sounding read, but really, I felt a lot more pretentiousness than I felt I should have. There were moments in the writing where the pretentiousness slipped and it felt like Newton was connecting with the reader on a real level, but those only served to highlight how pompous other parts felt.

Second, the beginning and the end of the book just didn't stand up to the middle. The first third of the book was a massive slog. This was where the author told the story of the film's production, from concept to casting to filming. I've read interesting accounts of film productions before, but this just wasn't one of them. It was dull, but I knew there was some sort of analysis coming, and I wanted to see if I'd enjoy it.

Third, after riding the high of some fun film analysis, the ending of the book, primarily the talk about Manson, Polanski, and some of the other cultural events that were related to people related to the film, was a letdown. It went back to being dry, and honestly, slightly off-putting.

Specifically, in regards to the small but condemning section devoted to Polanski's rape, it felt odd. I'm not sure how an author includes such a condemnation without it feeling out of place, as it's not something that meshes well with an academic analysis of a film separate from the incident, but I think it would have felt less tacked-on near the beginning rather than near the end.

All in all, while the analysis in the middle of the book was what I really had hoped for when starting the book, the other sections left me feeling bored and let down by the time I had finished. It's quite possible the work just isn't for me. If you're a big fan of the film, I'd still say it's worth a shot.

A stylish and informative book about the infamous and controversial Rosemary’s Baby. I hadn’t seen the film until recently, and while I don’t feel the movie holds up this book gave a great insight into the film and the story behind the scenes.

What is Rosemary’s Baby? The answer is surprisingly much more complicated than a 1969 horror film directed by Roman Polanski.

The movie has a gothic woman-in-danger who-can-help-her plot. Newlyweds Rosemary and struggling actor, Guy, find the perfect apartment in New York City. And the neighbors seem so friendly. But then the deaths start... Who can help Rosemary escape their increasingly malevolent-seeming intrusiveness?

This book sees the film over fifty years after its creation. Was it a referendum on old vs. young generations? Did it have a detective or a conspiracy plot? Was it a woman’s or a misogynist’s film? Pro or anti-religion? Comedy or a tragedy? Or could it be all of these things at once?

The author also sees connections between the film’s director and its stars personal life and history to the way the movie was filmed. Mia Farrow had only recently married older actor Frank Sinatra. Polanski’s entire family was killed in Nazi death camps. His prior films had portrayed women as both victim and victimizer. He also had a connection with the neo-Satanist cult leader, Manson, and child abuse allegations in his future.

This book is an enthralling deep dive into Rosemary’s Baby. It will expand the reader’s viewpoint of the film from being a simple horror film into much more. 5 stars!

Thanks to British Film Institute, Bloomsbury Academic and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

A great deep dive into Rosemary's Baby, arguably one of the best horror movies ever made. Perfect for any aspiring filmmaker or superfan. The writer proves an in depth look at not only the film, but also the inspiration, reception, and atmosphere during this time. It feels like a dvd extra or commentary that provides so much more to the film. The writers extensive research shine through the solid writing to give an amazing read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this arc. This is a short read, just under 200 pages (also the last 16% are footnotes), with photographs that looks at how the movie Rosemary’s Baby came to be made with plenty of behind-the-scenes scope. There’s a lot covered on the themes and motifs of Ira Levin and Polankski’s work, which I highly enjoyed. However I did find the author’s analysis of the movie familiar, with plenty of interpretations I’d already read before and so there was nothing new here, and felt the last part of the book, which looked at the cultural impact of the movie, was rather short and abrupt and wished they’re had been more of it. Similarly it’s impact on the horror genre is quite brief and wished it had been fleshed our more. Nonetheless if you like the movie then this book is a must for your book shelf/coffee table. 3.5/5.