A MYSTERIOUS MILITARY HELICOPTER IN ROSEMARY'S BABY

Rosemary (Mia Farrow) notices something above the buildings

Roman Polanski’s classic horror/thriller ROSEMARY’S BABY is full of eerie/intriguing moments – here’s one that might have slipped under the radar…While Rosemary’s suffering pains of pregnancy, not knowing the reasons why, she has a feeling her elderly neighbors aren’t exactly normal…

Kept like a prisoner in her apartment, Rosemary gets a chance for freedom: to meet with her friend, who had promised information that can back up her suspicions…Waiting for her friend to arrive, Rosemary stands on the New York City street as the creepy doll house soundtrack chimes, and, grimacing with discomfort, she tells herself: “Pain be gone, I will have no more of thee.”

Then, she suddenly smiles, and as the music intensifies (just a bit) she looks up and notices a helicopter with two large propellers, meant for carrying troops and/or supplies, flying overhead: not quite fitting with the sleek building landscape and the propeller noise audible above the street commotion...

Rosemary's random view of a helicopter in the city skyline

Noticing the copter, the expression changes on Rosemary’s face, from an eerie smile to that of brief concern, or curiosity… Could it be she’s thinking of the girl she met in the laundry room – who was staying with her pesky neighbors and winded up leaping from a window? Her brother was in the military... Or is this a subliminal message about Vietnam, the very controversial war escalating at the time?

Film historians would probably say the latter, being that no theme with political connections are missed in films (or books or music) of this era – but it’s always been an image that perplexed, and intrigued, this particular ROSEMARY'S BABY fanatic... The fact the copter is shown, even for a short period of time, means that it had to mean something... 

"Pain be gone, I will have no more of thee."

BUY CRITERION COLLECTION ROSEMARY'S BABY