CINEFILER

Roman Polanski

Born
August 18, 1933
Roman Polański (born 18 August 1933) is a Polish-French film director, producer, writer and actor. Born in Paris to Polish parents, Polański relocated with his family to Poland in 1937. After surviving the Holocaust, he continued his education in Poland and became a critically acclaimed director of both art house and commercial films. Polański's first feature-length film, Knife in the Water (1962), made in Poland, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He has since received five more Oscar nominations, and in 2002 received the Academy Award for Best Director for his film, The Pianist. He has also been the recipient of two Baftas, four Césars, a Golden Globe and the Palme d'Or. He left Poland in 1961 to live in France for several years, then moved to the United Kingdom where he collaborated with Gérard Brach on three films, beginning with Repulsion (1965). In 1968 he moved to the United States, immediately cementing his burgeoning directing status with the 1968 groundbreaking Academy Award winning horror film Rosemary's Baby. In 1969, Polański's pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered while staying at the Polański's Benedict Canyon home above Los Angeles by members of the Manson Family. Following Tate's death, Polański returned to Europe and spent much of his time in Paris and Gstaad, but did not make another film until he filmed Macbeth (1971) in England. The following year he went to Italy to make What? (1973) and subsequently spent the next five years living near Rome. However, he traveled to Hollywood to direct Chinatown (1974) for Paramount Pictures, with Robert Evans serving as producer. The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, and was a critical and box-office success; the script by Robert Towne won for Best Original Screenplay. Polański's next film, The Tenant (1976), was shot in France, and completed the "Apartment Trilogy", following Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby. In 1977, after a photo shoot in Los Angeles, Polański was arrested for the sexual abuse of a 13 year old girl. He was charged with rape but pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor. To avoid sentencing, Polański fled to his home in London, and then moved on to France the following day. He has had a U.S. arrest warrant outstanding since then, and an international arrest warrant since 2005. Polański continued to make films such as The Pianist (2002), a World War II-set adaptation of Jewish-Polish musician Władysław Szpilman's autobiography of the same name, which echoed some of Polański's earlier life experiences. Like Szpilman, Polański escaped the ghetto and the concentration camps while family members were killed. The film won three Academy Awards including Best Director, the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or, and seven French César Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. He then released the successful films Oliver Twist (2005), To Each His Own Cinema (2007), and The Ghost Writer (2010), completed while under house arrest. In September 2009, Polański was arrested by Swiss police, at the request of U.S. authorities, when he traveled to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival. In October 2009, the U.S. requested his extradition; however, on July 12, 2010, the Swiss rejected that request and instead declared him a "free man" after releasing him from custody.
Known For
Chinatown
(1974)
Director
The Pianist
(2002)
Director
The Ninth Gate
(1999)
Director
Bitter Moon
(1992)
Director
Rosemary's Baby
(1968)
Director
The Ghost Writer
(2010)
Director
Frantic
(1988)
Director
Oliver Twist
(2005)
Director
The Fearless Vampire Killers
(1967)
Director
The Palace
(2023)
Director
An Officer and a Spy
(2019)
Director
To Each His Own Cinema
(2007)
Director
Macbeth
(1971)
Director
Repulsion
(1965)
Director
Tess
(1979)
Director
Death and the Maiden
(1994)
Director
Full Filmography
Directing
Acting
Three Stories
(1953)
Genek "Mały" (segment 2)
A Generation
(1955)
Mundek
Godzina bez słońca
(1955)
Magical Bicycle
(1955)
Adaś
Trzy starty
(1955)
Basia's Brother
Nikodem Dyzma
(1956)
Porter (uncredited)
Wraki
(1957)
Romek
Koniec nocy
(1957)
Mały
Kanal
(1957)
Resistance Member pushed into a Sewer (uncredited)
Two Men and a Wardrobe
(1958)
Bad Boy
What Will My Wife Say to This?
(1958)
Dancer
Con bravura
(1958)
Caroler
The Lamp
(1959)
A passer-by (uncredited)
When Angels Fall
(1959)
Old woman
Lotna
(1959)
Musician (uncredited)
Innocent Sorcerers
(1960)
Dudzio
Good Bye, Till Tomorrow
(1960)
Romek
Bad Luck
(1960)
Tutor (uncredited)
The Fat and the Lean
(1961)
the lean
Ostrożnie yeti
(1961)
Driver
Samson
(1961)
Partner of Malina's Blackmailer (uncredited)
Knife in the Water
(1962)
Young Man (voice)
Grand écran: Roman Polanski Directs in London
(1964)
Self
Repulsion
(1965)
Spoon Player
The Fearless Vampire Killers
(1967)
Alfred
The Nomad
(1967)
Self
Valley of the Dolls: A World Premiere Voyage
(1967)
Himself
Tonite Let's All Make Love in London
(1967)
Self
Mia and Roman
(1968)
Himself
The New Cinema
(1968)
Self
The Magic Christian
(1969)
Solitary Drinker
Will the Real Mr. Sellers...
(1969)
Self
Ciao, Federico!
(1970)
Self (uncredited)
What?
(1972)
Mosquito
Weekend of a Champion
(1972)
Self
Polanski Meets Macbeth
(1972)
Self
Chinatown
(1974)
Man with Knife
Blood for Dracula
(1974)
Gambler
The Tenant
(1976)
Trelkovsky
The Evolution of Snuff
(1978)
Ciné regards: Tess: Roman Polanski
(1979)
Self
The South Bank Show: Roman Polanski
(1980)
Self
Chassé-croisé
(1982)
Clive James Meets Roman Polanski
(1984)
Frantic
(1988)
Taxi Driver Who Hands Over the Matches to Dr. Walker (uncred
En attendant Godot
(1989)
Lucky
Back in the USSR
(1992)
Kurilov
A Pure Formality
(1994)
Inspector
Dead Tired
(1994)
Roman Polanski
Empire of the Censors
(1995)
Self
Sex, Lies and Jerzy Kosinski
(1995)
Elle s'appelait Françoise
(1996)
Self
Dracula: The True Story
(1997)
Himself
Playboy: The Story of X
(1998)
Self (archive footage)
The Last Days of Sharon Tate
(1999)
Self (archive footage)
Tribute to Alfred Lepetit
(2000)
Self
Rosemary's Baby: A Retrospective
(2000)
Self
Light Keeps Me Company
(2000)
Self
The Ten Commandments of Creativity
(2000)
Self
Last Pictures
(2000)
Self
Polanski y los ojos del mal
(2002)
Himself
The Revenge
(2002)
Józef Papkin
The Kid Stays in the Picture
(2002)
Self (archive footage)
Two Gangsters and an Island
(2003)
Self
A British Horror Film
(2003)
Self
Tess: From Novel to Screen
(2004)
Self
Filming 'Tess'
(2004)
Self
Tess: The Experience
(2004)
Self
Polanski par Polanski
(2006)
Self
Twist by Polanski
(2006)
The Best of Twist: Sets, Costumes & Photography
(2006)
Rush Hour 3
(2007)
Det. Revi
Once Upon a Time... 'Tess'
(2007)
Self
Quiet Chaos
(2008)
Steiner
Bicycle
(2008)
Boy who wants to buy a bicycle
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
(2008)
Self (archive footage)
Il falso bugiardo
(2008)
Self (archive footage)
Memories of a Young Pianist
(2009)
Man in Tavern (archive footage)
On the Trail of the New Wave
(2009)
Self (archive footage)
Cracow by Polanski
(2010)
Catherine Deneuve, belle et bien là
(2010)
Self (archive footage)
Komeda: A Soundtrack for a Life
(2011)
Self
Carnage
(2011)
Neighbor
Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir
(2012)
Self
Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out
(2012)
Self (archive footage)
Remembering 'Rosemary's Baby'
(2012)
Self
A Special Day
(2012)
Self
Close Up
(2012)
Self (archive footage)
Seduced and Abandoned
(2013)
Self
Weekend of a Champion
(2013)
Himself
Toil And Trouble: Making 'Macbeth'
(2014)
Self
Henri Langlois vu par...
(2014)
Self
Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's “Island of Dr. Moreau”
(2014)
Self (archive footage)
Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans
(2015)
Self (archive footage)
Françoise Dorléac, une promesse
(2018)
Self
Polanski, le travail à l'oeuvre
(2019)
Self
An Officer and a Spy
(2019)
Concertgoer (uncredited)
Manson: Music From an Unsound Mind
(2019)
Self (archive footage)
In The Tracks Of - Alexandre Desplat
(2020)
Self
Polanski, Horowitz. The Wizards From the Ghetto
(2021)
Self
The Family
(2023)
Self
Writing
Production
Crew
Data provided by TMDB