Roman Polanski
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 Polańskis' 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
Le Grand Échiquier
Self
Rush Hour 3
Det. Revi
Bavarian Film Awards
Self
Chinatown
Man with Knife
Blood for Dracula
Gambler
Henri Langlois vu par...
Self
Sharon Tate: Murdered Innocence
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
A British Horror Film
Self
Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau
Self (archive footage)
Magical Bicycle
Adaś
Carnage
Neighbor
Tess: The Experience
Self
The Fearless Vampire Killers
Alfred
Frantic
Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Once Upon a Time... 'Tess'
Self
When Angels Fall
Vieille femme
Wedden, dat..?
Self
Knife in the Water
Young Man (voice)
Back in the USSR
Kurilov
Filming 'Tess'
Self
On the Trail of the New Wave
Self (archive footage)
Repulsion
Spoon Player
A Special Day
Self
An Officer and a Spy
Concertgoer (uncredited)
The Evolution of Snuff
The Playboy Murders
Self (archive footage)
The Ten Commandments of Creativity
Self
The Tenant
Trelkovsky
Scene by Scene
Self
A Pure Formality
Inspector
The Magic Christian
Solitary Drinker
Nikodem Dyzma
Porter (uncredited)
Tonite Let's All Make Love in London
Self
In The Tracks Of - Alexandre Desplat
Self
The New Cinema
Self
Light Keeps Me Company
Self
Koniec nocy
Mały
The Stalking Moon
Fabrice Fournier
Kanal
Resistance Member pushed into a Sewer (uncredited)
Tess: From Novel to Screen
Self
Un film et son époque
Self
The Revenge
Józef Papkin
Quiet Chaos
Steiner
Face of Evil: The Charles Manson Murders
Valley of the Dolls: A World Premiere Voyage
Himself
Helter Skelter: An American Myth
Self - Widower of Sharon Tate (archive footage)
Two Men and a Wardrobe
Bad Boy
Weekend of a Champion
Himself
Valerie
Bad Luck
Tutor (uncredited)
What?
Mosquito
Mia Farrow: Shadows and Light
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans
Self (archive footage)
Knife in the Water: A Ticket to the West
Self
Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir
Self
The Last Days of Sharon Tate
Self (archive footage)
Samson
Partner of Malina's Blackmailer (uncredited)
What Will My Wife Say to This?
Dancer
E! True Hollywood Story
Roman by Polanski
Catherine Deneuve, belle et bien là
Self (archive footage)
Seduced and Abandoned
Self
Innocent Sorcerers
Dudzio
Close Up
Self (archive footage)
Wraki
Romek
Dead Tired
Roman Polanski
A Generation
Mundek
The South Bank Show: Roman Polanski
Self
Playboy: The Story of X
Self (archive footage)
Manson: Music from an Unsound Mind
Self (archive footage)
Remembering 'Rosemary's Baby'
Self
Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out
Self (archive footage)
Con bravura
Caroler
Last Pictures
Self
Polanski, le travail à l'oeuvre
Self
The Family
Self
Good Bye, Till Tomorrow
Romek
Ciao, Federico!
Self (uncredited)
Polanski y los ojos del mal
Himself
Polanski par Polanski
Self
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
Self (archive footage)
Twist by Polanski
Il falso bugiardo
Self (archive footage)
Ciné regards: Tess: Roman Polanski
Self
Godzina bez słońca
The Best of Twist: Sets, Costumes & Photography
Weekend of a Champion
Self
Empire of the Censors
Self
Clive James Meets Roman Polanski
Mia and Roman
Himself
The Nomad
Self
Rosemary's Baby: A Retrospective
Self
Two Gangsters and an Island
Self
Komeda, Komeda...
Self
En attendant Godot
Lucky
Polanski Meets Macbeth
Self
Elle s'appelait Françoise
Self
The Lamp
A passer-by (uncredited)
Lionpower from MGM
Polanski, Horowitz. The Wizards From the Ghetto
Self
Memories of a Young Pianist
Man in Tavern (archive footage)
The Fat and the Lean
the lean
Sex, Lies and Jerzy Kosinski
Hugh Hefner: Once Upon a Time
Self (archive footage)
Trzy starty
Basia's Brother
Françoise Dorléac, une promesse
Self
Chassé-croisé
Bicycle
Boy who wants to buy a bicycle
Dracula: The True Story
Himself
Cracow by Polanski
Lotna
Musician (uncredited)
Three Stories
Genek "Mały" (segment 2)
Tribute to Alfred Lepetit
Self
Komeda: A Soundtrack for a Life
Self
Ostrożnie yeti
Driver
Toil And Trouble: Making 'Macbeth'
Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
Wetten, dass..?
Self
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
Apostrophes
Self
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Self
Spécial cinéma
Self
Wortwechsel
Self
28 minutes
Self
Na sowas!
Self
Na siehste!
Self
Leçon de Cinéma
Self
Apropos Film
Self
7 sur 7
Self