American Cinematographer - January 2001 - 20

disastrous crash, as well as some of the

earliest sound home movies

ever

made.

Groucho Marx's home movies from 1933

well-shot and reveal a Beverly
Hills that is still quite rural. One of the
eye-opening amateur films in the collec¬
tion is Cologne, a 14-minute social docu¬
mentary about a small German farm
community in Minnesota; it was
produced by local doctor Raymond W.
are

For Butterflys and Overheads.
Easily transported and can
manulipate larger light sources

Available in 6' x 6' to 20'
Black or White

x

20'

very

Dowidat and his wife, Esther.

The

U.S. Patent

Pending

Soft Cucoloris

pioneering 1924 independent
film The Chechahcos was produced by
the Alaska Moving Picture Corporation
entirely in Alaska. Running 86 minutes,
this silent melodrama boasts excellent

production values, although Variety upon
original release, commented
that "its value commercially is still open
the film's

in view of its difficult

to discussion

pronunciation."

light tools

The NFPF and all of the

participat¬
be commended for
their contributions to this pioneering
collection. It is of compelling interest for
any student of American film.
Ray Zone
ing archives

Soft source
control
for studios,
sound

stages

are to

-

or on

location.
Available

m

both

weight from 6'

x

Rosemary's Baby (1968)

light & heavy
6' to 20' x 20'

1.66:1

(16x9 Enhanced),

Dolby Digital Mono

Soft Egg
A

Paramount, $29.99

Cratetr

fast, efficient way to achieve a smooth

dolly track shot!

angle lenses). Modern horror auteurs
(are there any?) would learn much from
studying this perfectly calibrated motion
picture, which remains as unnerving
today as it was 30 years ago.
Rosemary's Baby is a highlight in
the illustrious

career of William Fraker,
ASC, and Paramount's DVD transfer

preserves his images with pleasing
colors and excellent sharpness, with

only the occasional loss of contrast in
darker scenes (a common shortcoming in
faded, older prints). Polanski and Fraker
cunningly filmed much of the movie in
the style of a Doris Day picture, with
cheery, high-key lighting and bright
colors. This visual strategy subverts the
audience's preconceptions of a "horror
movie," making Rosemary's vivid night¬
mares and increasing paranoia all the
more powerful.
Rosemary's Baby is a virtual text¬
book on how to use visual composition
to turn the screws on an

the film contains

Polanski's classic chiller is, in a sense, an

As production
designer Richard Sylbert astutely points
out in an

brilliantly subtle images: a brief point-ofRosemary's perspective
(at the 28:35 mark on the disc) as she
glances back toward a parlor where her
husband, Guy (John Cassavetes) and an
overly solicitous neighbor, Roman
Castavet (Sidney Blackmer), are deeply

view shot from

interview included

on

this DVD,

visible

through the parlor's doorway, but
intensity of their discussion is
conveyed by a billowing plume of ciga¬
rette smoke. A seemingly banal shot,
this moment later proves to be the film's
the covert

decisive moment.
A commentary by Polanski would
an ideal feature on this disc,

Rosemary's Baby is "the horror film with
no

horror in it."
In

deceptively breezy tone, the
newly¬
(Mia
Farrow), who becomes increasingly
suspicious that her unborn child is threat¬
ened by a Satanic plot spearheaded by a
pair of quirky elderly neighbors in her
New York apartment building. A master¬
piece of subtle directorial suggestion, the
film only implies horror through Polan¬
ski's smart editing; judicious snippets of
mysterious, barely overhead dialogue;
and a ruthlessly subjective perspective
(aided by the claustrophobic use of widea

film chronicles the pregnancy of
wed
Rosemary Woodhouse

Centipede

Used

on Every Set... Studio or Location
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audience, and

of Polanski's most

immersed in conversation. Neither is

Generally regarded as one of the
greatest horror films ever made, Roman
odd fit for the genre.

The

one

have been

and Paramount has tried to atone for its
absence

by instead including interviews
Sylbert and legendary
producer Robert Evans. But where is
Fraker? Sylbert is the most engaging
raconteur of the group, but it's a treat to

with Polanski,

hear all three of these old pros wax

nostalgic about Rosemary's Baby, one of
rare Hollywood films in which all
of the proper elements fell into place.
The only other supplement is a
trippy, Flower Power-era documentary
titled "Mia and Roman," directed by a
digressive fellow named Hatami. High-

those
American Cinematographer - January 2001

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - January 2001
