Roman Polanski
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Raymond Polański (born 1933) is a French and Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor known for such films as Repulsion (1965), Cul-de-sac (1966), Rosemary's Baby (1968), Chinatown (1974) and Bitter Moon (1992).
In 1969, Polanski's pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate, was murdered with four friends by members of the Manson Family. He made Macbeth (1971) in England and Chinatown (1974) back in Hollywood. Polanski was arrested and charged in 1977 with drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. As a result of a plea bargain, he pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of unlawful sex with a minor. In 1978, upon learning that the judge planned to reject his plea deal and impose a prison term instead of probation, Polanski fled to Paris and has since been a fugitive from the U.S. criminal justice system. After fleeing to Europe, Polanski continued directing. His other critically acclaimed films include Tess (1979), The Pianist.
His Polish Jewish parents moved the family from his birthplace in Paris back to Kraków in 1937. Two years later, the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany started World War II, and the family found themselves trapped in the Kraków Ghetto. After his mother and father were taken in raids, Polanski spent his formative years in foster homes, surviving the Holocaust by adopting a false identity and concealing his Jewish heritage. Polanski's first feature-length film, Knife in the Water (1962), was made in Poland and was nominated for the United States Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. After living in France for a few years, he moved to the United Kingdom, where he directed his first three English-language feature-length films: Repulsion (1965), Cul-de-sac (1966), and The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967). In 1968, he moved to the United States and cemented his status in the film industry by directing the horror film Rosemary's Baby (1968).
In 1969, Polanski's pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate, was murdered with four friends by members of the Manson Family. He made Macbeth (1971) in England and Chinatown (1974) back in Hollywood. Polanski was arrested and charged in 1977 with drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. As a result of a plea bargain, he pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of unlawful sex with a minor. In 1978, upon learning that the judge planned to reject his plea deal and impose a prison term instead of probation, Polanski fled to Paris and has since been a fugitive from the U.S. criminal justice system. After fleeing to Europe, Polanski continued directing. His other critically acclaimed films include Tess (1979), The Pianist (2002) which won him the Academy Award for Best Director, The Ghost Writer (2010), Venus in Fur (2013), and An Officer and a Spy (2019).
Filmography
Year | Title | Distribution |
---|---|---|
1962 | Knife in the Water | Zespół Filmowy |
1965 | Repulsion | Compton Films |
1966 | Cul-de-sac | Compton-Cameo Films |
1967 | The Fearless Vampire Killers | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
1968 | Rosemary's Baby | Paramount Pictures |
1971 | Macbeth | Columbia Pictures |
1972 | What? | |
1974 | Chinatown | Paramount Pictures |
1976 | The Tenant | |
1979 | Tess | Columbia Pictures |
1986 | Pirates | The Cannon Group, Inc. |
1988 | Frantic | Warner Bros. |
1992 | Bitter Moon | Fine Line Features |
1994 | Death and the Maiden | |
1999 | The Ninth Gate | BAC Films / Araba Films |
2002 | The Pianist | Focus Features |
2005 | Oliver Twist | Pathé |
2010 | The Ghost Writer | StudioCanal UK |
2011 | Carnage | Sony Pictures Classics |
2013 | Venus in Fur | BAC Films |
2017 | Based on a True Story | |
2019 | An Officer and a Spy | Gaumont / 01 Distribution |
2023 | The Palace | 01 Distribution |