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'Roman Polański' (born August 18, 1933) is an Academy Award winning film director, writer, actor, producer. After beginning his career in Poland, he became a celebrated arthouse filmmaker, and Hollywood director of such films as ''Rosemary's Baby'' (1968) and ''Chinatown'' (1974).
He is also known for his tumultuous personal life. In 1969, his wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered by the Manson Family. In 1978, after pleading guilty to having unlawful sexual intercourse with a thirteen year old girl, Polanski fled to France, where he now resides.
Unwilling to return to the United States and face arrest, he has continued to direct films in Europe, including ''Frantic'' (1988), the Academy Award-winning and Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or-winning ''The Pianist'' (2002), and ''Oliver Twist'' (2005).

Contents

Biography

Early life

Relationship with Sharon Tate

The 1970s

Indictment on charge of rape and other sex offenses

A fugitive

''Vanity Fair'' libel case

Later career

Style

Filmography

Film director

Actor

Writer

References

Other works of interest

External links

Biography

Early life

Polanski was born 'Rajmund Roman Liebling' in Paris, France, the son of Ryszard Liebling (aka Ryszard Polański), a painter and plastics manufacturer, and Bula (née Katz-Przedborska).^[1] Polanski's parents were agnostics; his father was a Polish Jew and his mother, a native of Russia, was raised Catholic and had a Jewish father and a Roman Catholic mother.^[2][3][4][5]
The Polański family moved back to Poland in 1937. Thereafter, in 1939, Poland was invaded and occupied by Germany and the Soviet Union troops by what is now known as the Nazi-Soviet Pact. On November 13, 1939, the Polish city of Kraków became the seat of office of Hans Frank. The General Government surrounded parts of the Polish state, which had not been annexed to Germany. The declared goal of the German occupiers was to make the General Government ''judenfrei'', and expel the Poles so Germans could settle there.
The Polański family was the target of Nazi persecution and forced into the Kraków Ghetto, along with thousands of other Polish Jews. Roman Polanski's mother subsequently died in Auschwitz concentration camp. His father barely survived the Austrian concentration camp Mauthausen-Gusen. Polanski himself escaped the Kraków Ghetto, surviving the war with the help of a Polish Roman Catholic farmer, on whose farm he had to sleep in a cow stall. After the war he found out from his sister that his mother had died.
He was educated at the film school in Łódź, Poland, from which he graduated in 1959. Polanski speaks six languages: Polish, Russian, English, French, Spanish, and Italian. Despite his Polish origins, he only has French nationality.
Several short films made during the study gained considerable recognition. His first major film ''Knife in the Water'' (1962) was the first significant Polish film after the war that did not have a war theme. It was Polanski's first nomination for the Oscar.
Polanski then made several films in the United Kingdom:

★ ''Repulsion'' (1965)

★ ''Cul-de-Sac'' (1966)

★ ''The Fearless Vampire Killers'' (1967)

Relationship with Sharon Tate

Polanski met rising star Sharon Tate while filming ''The Fearless Vampire Killers'' and during the production began dating. In 1968, Polanski went to Hollywood, where his reputation was enhanced by the success of the thriller ''Rosemary's Baby'' (1968). On January 25 1968, he married Tate in London. In his autobiography, Polanski described his brief time with Tate as the best years of his life. During this time period, he also became friends with Bruce Lee.
On August 9, 1969, Tate, who was eight months pregnant, and four others (Abigail Folger, Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, and Steven Parent) were brutally murdered by members of Charles Manson's "Family", who entered the Polanski home on Cielo Drive in the Hollywood Hills intending to "kill everyone there". They knew that the previous owner of the house, record producer Terry Melcher, had moved out. He had failed to help Charles Manson's fledgling music career, which was thought to be a possible motive, but the murderers testified that they knew he no longer lived there. When Manson told them to go to the property and kill everyone, they obeyed. After Parent, Sebring, Frykowski, and Folger had been killed, Tate pleaded for the life of her unborn son. Susan Atkins replied that she had no mercy for her, and then killed her. She soaked up some of Tate's blood and wrote "PIG" on the front door using a towel.^[6]
Polanski was in England at the time of the murders and immediately returned to Los Angeles, where he was questioned by police. As there were no suspects in the case, police checked on the past history of Polanski and Tate to try to determine a motive. After a period of months Manson and his "family" were arrested on unrelated charges, which revealed evidence of what came to be known as the Tate-La Bianca murders. Polanski returned to Europe shortly after the killers were arrested. He later said that he gave away all his possessions as everything reminded him of Sharon Tate and was too painful for him, and that the greatest regret of his life was that he was not at home with Tate on the night of her murder.
In 1969, Polanski also lost friend and collaborator Krzysztof Komeda (1931—1969). Komeda had been a popular jazz artist in Poland when the director first approached him to score a short film. He went on to score almost all of Polanski's feature films until a head injury resulted in the composer's death. He is probably best known in the U.S. for the haunting soundtrack to the movie ''Rosemary's Baby''.

The 1970s

Polanski's next feature was a film version of ''Macbeth'' (1971). This was followed by ''What?'' (1972), a surreal comedy about a young woman (Sydne Rome) and her adventures in a remote villa. ''Chinatown'' (1974), from a screenplay by Robert Towne and starring Jack Nicholson, is a tale of corruption in pre-war Los Angeles. Polanski has a cameo as a hoodlum who slits Jake's nose open after Jake insults his height. The film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards.
Polanski took the lead in his next film, ''The Tenant'' (1976), the story of a Polish immigrant living in Paris.

Indictment on charge of rape and other sex offenses

In 1977, Polanski, 44, became embroiled in a scandal involving 13-year-old 'Samantha Geimer'. It ultimately led to Polanski's guilty plea to the charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.^[7]
According to Geimer, Polanski asked Geimer's mother if he could photograph the girl for the French edition of ''Vogue''. Her mother allowed a private photo shoot. According to Geimer in a 2003 interview, "Everything was going fine; then he asked me to change, well, in front of him." She added, "It didn't feel right, and I didn't want to go back to the second shoot."
However, subsequent to the first photo shoot, she agreed to a second session, which took place on March 10 1977, in the Mulholland area of Los Angeles, near Jack Nicholson's estate. "We did photos with me drinking champagne," Geimer says. "Toward the end it got a little scary, and I realized he had other intentions and I knew I was not where I should be. I just didn't quite know how to get myself out of there." Geimer alleged that Polanski sexually assaulted her after giving her a combination of champagne and quaaludes. In the 2003 interview, Geimer says she resisted. "I said no several times, and then, well, gave up on that," she says.^[8]
Polanski was initially charged^[9] with rape by use of drugs, perversion, sodomy, lewd and lascivious act upon a child under 14, and furnishing a controlled substance (methaqualone) to a minor, but these charges were dismissed under the terms of his plea bargain, and he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.^[10]
In his autobiography, ''Roman by Polanski'', Polanski alleged that Geimer's mother had set up the daughter as part of a casting couch and blackmail scheme against him.

A fugitive

On February 1 1978, Polanski fled to France, where he retained citizenship. He had been given a tip that the judge was going to disregard the plea bargain, in which case he would likely have been sent to prison for up to 50 years. France refuses to extradite its own citizens, which is consistent with the extradition treaty between France and the United States. In consequence, the American extradition request was not granted. The United States government could have requested that Polanski be prosecuted on the California charges by the French authorities^[11], but this option was not pursued.
The United States could still request the arrest and extradition of Polanski from other countries should he visit them. As a consequence, Polanski has since avoided visits to countries that were likely to extradite him, such as the United Kingdom, mostly travelling between France and Poland.
In a 2003 interview,^[12] Samantha Geimer said, "Straight up, what he did to me was wrong. But I wish he would return to America so the whole ordeal can be put to rest for both of us." Furthermore, "I'm sure if he could go back, he wouldn't do it again. He made a terrible mistake but he's paid for it."
Polanski cannot return to the United States since the events of 1977/1978, but he made it clear in his autobiography^[13] that he never permanently resided in the USA. At the time of his 1977 arrest, he was travelling on a visitor's visa and the arrest actually took place in the lobby of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, where he was staying. At that time, he had directed nine films, but only two were shot in the U.S. A regular visitor to the U.S., Polanski once rented a Los Angeles house—where the infamous Manson Murders took place (he, however, was at home in London at the time)—but by his own account, Polanski had resided in Britain (apart from a short time in Italy) for many years when he fled Los Angeles for Paris in 1978.

''Vanity Fair'' libel case

In 2004, Polanski sued ''Vanity Fair'' magazine in London for libel. A 2002 article in the magazine written by A. E. Hotchner recounted a claim by Lewis Lapham, editor of ''Harper's'', that Polanski had made sexual advances towards a young model as he was travelling to Sharon Tate's funeral, claiming that he could make her "the next Sharon Tate". The court permitted Polanski to testify via a video link, after he expressed fears that he might be extradited were he to enter the United Kingdom.^[14][15]
The trial started on July 18 2005, and Polanski made English legal history as the first claimant to give evidence by video link. During the trial, which included the testimony of Mia Farrow and others, it was claimed that the alleged scene at the famous New York restaurant Elaine's could not have taken place on the date given, because Polanski only dined at this restaurant three weeks later. Also, the Norwegian model disputed accounts that he had claimed to be able to make her "the next Sharon Tate". In the course of the trial, Polanski did admit to having been unfaithful to Tate during their marriage.
^[16]
Polanski was awarded £50,000 damages by the High Court in London. Edward Graydon Carter, editor of ''Vanity Fair'', responded, "I find it amazing that a man who lives in France can sue a magazine that is published in America in a British courtroom". Samantha Geimer commented,
"Surely a man like this hasn't got a reputation to tarnish?"

Later career

Polanski received another Academy Award nomination for ''Tess'' (1979). Polanski dedicated the movie Tess to Sharon Tate because, after spending time with Polanski in London, Tate left a copy of the novel ''Tess of the d'Urbervilles'' on Polanski's nightstand, along with a note saying it would make a good film. She returned to the United States and was murdered soon after.
''Pirates'' (1986), a lavish period piece, was a commercial and critical failure. This was followed by ''Frantic'' (1988), which features actress and model Emmanuelle Seigner, whom the director married in 1989. She starred in several of his films including ''Bitter Moon'', in 1992,
and ''The Ninth Gate'' (1999). They have two children, Morgane and Elvis, the latter named after his favourite singer, Elvis Presley.
In 1997, he directed a stage version of ''The Fearless Vampire Killers'', a musical, which debuted on October 4, 1997 in Vienna as ''Tanz der Vampire'', the German title of the film version. After closing in Vienna, the show had successful runs in Stuttgart and Hamburg, Germany.
On March 11, 1998 Polanski was elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts.^[17]
In May 2002, Polanski won the ''Palme d'Or'' (Golden Palm) award at the Cannes Film Festival for ''The Pianist'', for which he also later won the 2002 Academy Award for Directing. He did not attend the Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood. After the announcement of the "Best Director Award", Polanski received a standing ovation from most of those present in the theater. In 2004 he received the Crystal Globe award for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
During the summer and autumn of 2004, Polanski shot a new film adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel ''Oliver Twist''. The shooting took place at the Barrandov Studios in Prague, Czech Republic, based on Ronald Harwood's screenplay. The actors included Barney Clark (Oliver Twist), Jamie Foreman (Bill Sykes), Harry Eden (the Artful Dodger), Ben Kingsley (Fagin), Leeanne Rix (Nancy), and Edward Hardwicke (Mr. Brownlow). Besides the cast, the director gathered some collaborators from his previous movies: Ronald Harwood (screenplay), as noted, Allan Starski (production designer), Pawel Edelman (director of photography), and Anna Sheppard (costume designer).
Polanski's next film will be Pompeii about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. It is based on the bestselling book of the same name by Robert Harris, who is also writing the screenplay. Orlando Bloom and Scarlett Johansson were rumored to star, but the film's start date has been pushed back and both actors were forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. He appeared in ''Rush Hour 3'' as a French police official.
In 2007, a novel by the Dutch writer A. F. Th. van der Heijden was published based on parts of Roman Polanski's life. In the novel called Schervengericht (the ancient Greek practice of voting using shards of pottery, also known as ostracism), set in 1977, a famous Polish movie director called Raymond is put under psychological surveillance in a fictional Californian prison called Choreo, after being accused of having raped a thirteen-year-old girl. In the prison he spends his time with a man covered in bandages, who calls himself Scott Maddox and who later on turns out to be the man behind the murder of Raymond's wife, which took place eight years before.

Style

Most of Polanski's films are intelligent psychological thrillers. A recurring theme in his work is the relationship between victim and predator (''Death and The Maiden'', ''Bitter Moon'', ''Cul-de-Sac'', ''Rosemary's Baby''). ''Death and the Maiden'' star Stuart Wilson said of Polanski, "Roman is very deep water pretending [to be] shallow water."

Filmography

Film director

★ ''Zaczarowany rower'' (aka ''Magical Bicycle'') (1955)

★ ''Morderstwo'' (aka ''A Murderer'') (1957)

★ ''Uśmiech zębiczny'' (aka ''A Toothful Smile'') (1957)

★ ''Rozbijemy zabawę'' (aka ''Break Up the Dance'') (1957)

★ ''Dwaj ludzie z szafą'' (aka ''Two Men and a Wardrobe'') (1958)

★ ''Lampa'' (aka ''The Lamp'') (1959)

★ ''Gdy spadają anioły'' (aka ''When Angels Fall'') (1959)

★ ''Le Gros et le maigre'' (aka ''The Fat and the Lean'') (1960)

★ ''Ssaki'' (aka ''Mammals'') (1961)

★ ''Nóż w wodzie'' (aka ''Knife in the Water'') (1962)

★ ''Les plus belles escroqueries du monde'' (aka ''The Beautiful Swindlers'') - segment: ''"La rivière de diamants"'' (1964)

★ ''Repulsion'' (1965)

★ ''Cul-de-Sac'' (1966)

★ ''The Fearless Vampire Killers'' (aka ''Dance of the Vampires'') (1967)

★ ''Rosemary's Baby'' (1968)

★ ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'' (1971)

★ ''What?'' (aka ''Diary of Forbidden Dreams'') (1973)

★ ''Chinatown'' (1974)

★ ''Le Locataire'' (aka ''The Tenant)'' (1976)

★ ''Tess'' (1979)

★ ''Pirates'' (1986)

★ ''Frantic'' (1988)

★ ''Bitter Moon'' (1992)

★ ''Death and the Maiden'' (1994)

★ ''The Ninth Gate'' (1999)

★ ''The Pianist'' (2002)

★ ''Oliver Twist'' (2005)

★ ''To each his cinema'' (2007)

★ ''Pompeii'' (2008)

Actor

★ ''Trzy opowiesci'' (aka ''Three Stories'') as Genek 'The Little' (segment "Jacek") (1953)

★ ''Zaczarowany rower'' (aka ''Magical Bicycle'') as Adas (1955)

★ ''Rower'' (aka ''Bicycle'') as the Boy who wants to buy a bicycle (1955)

★ ''Pokolenie'' (aka ''A Generation'') as Mundek (1955)

★ ''Nikodem Dyzma'' as the Boy at Hotel (1956)

★ ''Wraki'' (aka ''The Wrecks'') (1957)

★ ''Koniec nocy'' (aka ''End of the Night'') as the Little One (1957)

★ ''Dwaj ludzie z szafa'' (aka ''Two Men and a Wardrobe'') as the Bad boy (1958)

★ ''Zadzwoncie do mojej zony ?'' (aka ''Call My Wife'') as a Dancer (1958)

★ ''Gdy spadaja anioly'' (aka ''When Angels Fall Down'') as an Old woman (1959)

★ ''Lotna'' as a Musician (1959)

★ ''Zezowate szczescie'' (aka ''Bad Luck'') as Jola's Tutor (1960)

★ ''Do widzenia, do jutra'' (aka ''Good Bye, Till Tomorrow'') as Romek (1960)

★ ''Niewinni czarodzieje'' (aka ''Innocent Sorcerers'') as Dudzio (1960)

★ ''Ostroznie, Yeti!'' (aka ''Beware of Yeti!'') (1961)

★ ''Gros et le maigre, Le'' (aka ''The Fat and the Lean'') as The Lean (1961)

★ ''Samson'' (1961)

★ ''Nóz w wodzie'' (aka ''Knife in the Water'') voice of Young Boy (1962)

★ ''Repulsion'' as Spoon Player (1965)

★ ''The Fearless Vampire Killers'' as Alfred, Abronsius' Assistant (1967)

★ ''The Magic Christian'' as Solitary drinker (1969)

★ ''What?'' as Mosquito (1972)

★ ''Blood for Dracula'' (Andy Warhol) as Man in Tavern (1976)

★ ''Chinatown'' as Man with Knife (1974)

★ ''Locataire, Le'' (aka ''The Tenant'') as Trelkovsky (1976)

★ ''Chassé-croisé'' (1982)

★ ''En attendant Godot'' (TV) as Lucky (1989)

★ ''Back in the U.S.S.R.'' as Kurilov (1992)

★ ''Pura formalità , Una'' (aka ''A Pure Formality'') as Inspector (1994)

★ ''Grosse fatigue'' (aka ''Dead Tired'') as Roman Polanski (1994)

★ ''Hommage à Alfred'' (aka ''Tribute to Alfred Lepetit'') (2000)

★ ''Zemsta'' (aka ''The Revenge'') as Papkin (2002)

★ ''Rush Hour 3'' as Detective Revi (2007)

Writer

★ ''A Day at the Beach'' (1970) after a novel by Simon Heere Heeresma from 1962.

References

1. http://www.filmreference.com/film/38/Roman-Polanski.html
2. http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1528830,00.html
3. http://www.adherents.com/people/pp/Roman_Polanski.html
4. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_gx5221/is_2005/ai_n19142619
5. http://www.crisismagazine.com/december2005/films.htm
6. Bugliosi, Vincent with Gentry, Curt. ''Helter Skelter''. 1974. Arrow Books. ISBN 0-09-997500-9.

7. "Personalities Column", Roman Polanski Media Archive
8. "Roman Polanski gets Oscar support from unlikely source", ''Honolulu Star Bulletin'', 20 March 2003.
9. California v Roman Raymond Polanski (PDF) grand jury indictment
10. "Polanski Named in Rape Charge", Roman Polanski Media Archive
11. "A Roman in Paris", Roman Polanski Media Archive
12. "Roman Polanski gets Oscar support from unlikely source", ''Honolulu Star Bulletin'', 20 March, 2003
13. ''Roman'', by Polanski; 1984
14. "Polanski takes appeal to Lords", BBC News, 17 November, 2004
15. [http://www.hrothgar.co.uk/YAWS/reps/03a1573.htm Polanski v Condé Nast Publications Ltd. [2003] EWCA Civ 1573]
16. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/4693469.stm
17. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/567499.stm

Other works of interest

★ Cronin, Paul. (2005). "Roman Polanski: Interviews". Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. 200p

★ Farrow, Mia. (1997). "What Falls Away: A Memoir". New York: Bantam.

★ Polanski, The Filmmaker as Voyeur: A Biography, , Barbara, Leaming, Simon & Schuster, , ISBN 0671249851

★ Polanski, , John, Parker, Victor Gollancz Ltd, , ISBN 0575056150

★ Polanski, Roman. (1975). "Three film scripts: Knife in the water [original screenplay by Jerzy Skolimowski, Jakub Goldberg and Roman Polanski ; translated by Boleslaw Sulik]; Repulsion [original screenplay by Roman Polanski and Gerard Brach]. Cul-de-sac [original screenplay by Roman Polanski and Gerard Brach] ; introduction by Boleslaw Sulik". New York: Fitzhenry and Whiteside. 275p. ISBN 0064300625

★ Polanski, Roman. (1984). "Knife in the water, Repulsion and Cul-de-sac: three filmscripts by Roman Polanski". London: Lorrimer. 214p. ISBN 0856470511 (hbk) ISBN 0856470929 (pbk)

★ Polanski, Roman. (2003). "Le pianiste". Paris: Avant-Scene. 126p. ISBN 2847250166

★ Polanski, Roman. (1985). "Roman". London: Heinemann. London: Pan. 456p. ISBN 0434591807 (hbk) ISBN 0330285971 (pbk)

★ Polanski, Roman. (1984). "Roman". New York: Morrow. ISBN 0688026214

★ Polanski, Roman. (1973). "Roman Polanski's What? From the original screenplay". London: Lorrimer. 91p. ISBN 0856470333

★ Polanski, Roman. (1973). "What?". New York: Third press. 91p. ISBN 089388121X

External links

★ Roman Polanski Official site

★

★ March, 1977 Grand Jury Testimony of Polanski's victim

★ Media coverage of the Polanski rape trial

★ interview with Samantha Geimer

★ Roman Polanski site by French writer Alexandre Tylski

★ Interview with Roman Polanski

★ The Guardian profile: Roman Polanski

★ Interview on the Charlie Rose Show at Google video.