Though his personal tragedies and demons have sometimes overshadowed his work, there’s no denying the impact Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski has had on cinema.
Born in 1933 in Paris and raised in Poland, Polanski’s childhood was marked by tragedy when he was separated from his parents during the Holocaust. As a child, he escaped the Krakow ghetto after his mother was killed in an Auschwitz gas chamber. When the war ended, he was reunited with his father and returned home.
He turned to filmmaking as a student, making his directorial debut with the international hit “Knife in the Water” (1962), which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. His followup, the psychological thriller “Repulsion” (1965), was an even bigger hit, and he was soon drafted by Hollywood to direct the occult horror film “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968), which earned him a Best Adapted Screenplay bid.
It was during this time that he married Sharon Tate,...
Born in 1933 in Paris and raised in Poland, Polanski’s childhood was marked by tragedy when he was separated from his parents during the Holocaust. As a child, he escaped the Krakow ghetto after his mother was killed in an Auschwitz gas chamber. When the war ended, he was reunited with his father and returned home.
He turned to filmmaking as a student, making his directorial debut with the international hit “Knife in the Water” (1962), which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. His followup, the psychological thriller “Repulsion” (1965), was an even bigger hit, and he was soon drafted by Hollywood to direct the occult horror film “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968), which earned him a Best Adapted Screenplay bid.
It was during this time that he married Sharon Tate,...
- 8/12/2023
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Editor’s note: William C. Rempel, a longtime journalist who has covered the Roman Polanski case, and Sam Wasson, author of The Big Goodbye about the making of Polanski’s Chinatown, successfully petitioned the courts to open long-sealed testimony last year. Continuing to monitor the case, here they describe the expected next steps.
The real-life criminal case of Chinatown director Roman Polanski, a tale of dark secrets and perverted justice that has dragged on in Los Angeles Superior Court since the 1970s, will likely play its final scenes in a downtown courtroom soon – one way or another.
Related Story Roger Gunson’s Unsealed Polanski Testimony Offers Not Bombshells, But Details And A Path Through The Thicket Related Story French Indie Cinema Sector Calls For Revolution As Arthouse Box Office Slump Deepens Related Story Doug Dalton Dies: Long-Time Lawyer For Roman Polanski Was 92
There are, however, a couple of plot lines...
The real-life criminal case of Chinatown director Roman Polanski, a tale of dark secrets and perverted justice that has dragged on in Los Angeles Superior Court since the 1970s, will likely play its final scenes in a downtown courtroom soon – one way or another.
Related Story Roger Gunson’s Unsealed Polanski Testimony Offers Not Bombshells, But Details And A Path Through The Thicket Related Story French Indie Cinema Sector Calls For Revolution As Arthouse Box Office Slump Deepens Related Story Doug Dalton Dies: Long-Time Lawyer For Roman Polanski Was 92
There are, however, a couple of plot lines...
- 2/9/2023
- by William C. Rempel and Sam Wasson
- Deadline Film + TV
After 12 years in a lock box, former Los Angeles County prosecutor Roger Gunson’s conditional testimony in the Roman Polanski sex case was unsealed by court order on Thursday, and copies of a transcript were made available on Sunday night.
What the several hundred pages of testimony—taken over three days in 2010—finally delivered was not a series of bombshell revelations. Since Polanski fled the country before sentencing in 1978, constant examination of the case has left little room for surprises.
Rather, Gunson’s testimony provided a long, highly detailed, deeply informed recap both of Polanski’s crime—which involved the rape of a minor—and of alleged judicial and prosecutorial misconduct that followed it.
Perhaps the most striking details—other than blunt descriptions of the crime, which would surely be repeated if Polanski ever came to trial—involved Gunson’s account of having been blocked by superiors in the Los...
What the several hundred pages of testimony—taken over three days in 2010—finally delivered was not a series of bombshell revelations. Since Polanski fled the country before sentencing in 1978, constant examination of the case has left little room for surprises.
Rather, Gunson’s testimony provided a long, highly detailed, deeply informed recap both of Polanski’s crime—which involved the rape of a minor—and of alleged judicial and prosecutorial misconduct that followed it.
Perhaps the most striking details—other than blunt descriptions of the crime, which would surely be repeated if Polanski ever came to trial—involved Gunson’s account of having been blocked by superiors in the Los...
- 7/18/2022
- by Michael Cieply
- Deadline Film + TV
Roman Polanski celebrates his 86th birthday on August 18, 2019. Though his personal tragedies and demons have sometimes overshadowed his work, there’s no denying the impact this Oscar-winning director has had on cinema. In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 15 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1933 in Paris and raised in Poland, Polanski’s childhood was marked by tragedy when he was separated from his parents during the Holocaust. As a child, he escaped the Krakow ghetto after his mother was killed in an Auschwitz gas chamber. When the war ended, he was reunited with his father and returned home.
He turned to filmmaking as a student, making his directorial debut with the international hit “Knife in the Water” (1962), which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. His followup, the psychological thriller “Repulsion” (1965), was an even bigger hit, and he...
Born in 1933 in Paris and raised in Poland, Polanski’s childhood was marked by tragedy when he was separated from his parents during the Holocaust. As a child, he escaped the Krakow ghetto after his mother was killed in an Auschwitz gas chamber. When the war ended, he was reunited with his father and returned home.
He turned to filmmaking as a student, making his directorial debut with the international hit “Knife in the Water” (1962), which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. His followup, the psychological thriller “Repulsion” (1965), was an even bigger hit, and he...
- 8/18/2019
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
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