The opening sequence of Rosemary's Baby sets up the suspense and horror to follow in the entire film. In this opening ominous moments foreshadow many eerie events that lead to the eventual birth of Satan's and Rosemary's child.
             The films opens with a slow pan of the city and dips down showing the many skyscrapers and leads into the first shot of the Bramford (or the Hotel Dakota which really does have the ominous history with John Lennon's assassination.) Mr. Nicklas is introducing the Woodhouse's to the building that will become. The building has a old Victorian look and seems quite elegant at first. They take the elevator up to the apartment recently left vacant by Mrs. Gardinia. On the elevator Mr. Nicklas asks if they have any children and Rosemary says they do not yet but plan to have some soon. The rearing of the child becomes a central motif throughout the film and this is the first time Rosemary mentions her need for a child. As Mr. Nicklas, the real estate agent, goes off about this and that, Rosemary and Guy are awestruck by the beauty of the apartment. Neither of them are bothered by the recent death of the tenant as Mr. Nicklas assures them she died peacefully after a week in acoma at the hospital. Rosemary admires the herbs and notices a note saying "I can no longer associate myself." At this point there is no reason to suspect that this was anything other than the ramblings of a senile woman but it may have been a clue as one finds out later about the evil abound in the building. Rosemary and Guy reunite with the real estate agent as he shows them around more and notices that an armoire had been moved thus blocking a closet. The closet is exposed and Rosemary is a little worried if they should open it. Polanski places his share of non-autonomous moments in this mostly autonomous film when they open the closet and do not find anything frightening, just a vacuum cleaner....