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Rosemary's Baby

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( 109 ratings, 38 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Rosemary's Baby stands as a seminal horror film from the late 1960s, blending Gothic elements with art-house and popular entertainment. Michael Newton's study explores its creation during a pivotal era for Hollywood, detailing the contributions of producer William Castle, director Roman Polanski, and stars like Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes. The analysis delves into the film's rich symbolism and enduring themes, as well as its cultural impact and controversial associations.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for readers interested in film history, horror cinema fans, and those fascinated by cultural studies relating to 1960s Hollywood and its aftermath.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Rosemary’s Baby is one of the greatest movies of the late 1960s and one of the best of all horror movies, an outstanding modern Gothic tale. An art-house fable and an elegant popular entertainment, it finds its home on the cusp between a cinema of sentiment and one of sensation.

Michael Newton's study of the film traces its development at a time when Hollywood stood poised between the old world and the new, its dominance threatened by the rise of TV and cultural change, and the roles played variously by super producer Robert Evans, the film's producer William Castle, director Polanski, and its stars including Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes.

Newton’s close textual analysis explores the film's meanings and resonances, and, looking beyond the film itself, he examines its reception and cultural impact, and its afterlife, in which Rosemary's Baby has become linked with the terrible murder of Polanski's wife and unborn child by members of the Manson cult, and with controversies surrounding the director.

Series: BFI Film Classics

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Michael Newton's lavishly illustrated book is celebrated for its rigorous and insightful examination of Rosemary's Baby. Praised by Film at 11 as one of the best in the BFI series, and by Total Film for its detailed analysis of the film's iconic scenes within the context of 1970s paranoia. The work is described by CHOICE as an excellent study and noted by SFcrowsnet for packing considerable insight and colourful photography into a compact volume.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781844579525

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 28 May 2020

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: BFI Publishing

Illustration: 47 colour and 10 b/w illus

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 12.0mm

Width: 136.0mm

Height: 188.0mm

Weight: 216g

Pages: 136

About the Author

Michael Newton is Lecturer in English at Leiden University, Netherlands. He is the author of Savage Girls and Wild Boys: A History of Feral Children (2002), Age of Assassins: A History of Conspiracy and Political Violence, 1865-1981 (2012), and Kind Hearts and Coronets (BFI Film Classics, 2003).

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