Roman Polanski

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Birth Name: Rajmund Roman Liebling

Age: 90, born 18 August 1933

Country of origin: Poland

Currently Residing In: France

Height: 5' 5"

Relationship Status: Married

Partner: Emmanuelle Seigner

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Listal's 100 best Directors (The Results) (100 items)
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Roman Polanski Videos

Repulsion (1965) | Documentary Short - Interview w/ Dir. Roman Polanski - Ian Hendry

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Added 8 years ago

Roman Polanski and Casting Macbeth

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Added 8 years ago

Roman Polanski ‪winning the Oscar® for Directing

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Description: Roman Polanski is a Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few truly international filmmakers. Roman Polanski was born in Paris in 1933. His parents returned to Poland from France in 1936, three years before World War II began. On Germany's invasion in 1939, as a family of mostly Jewish heritage, they were all sent to the Krakow ghetto. His parents were then captured and sent to two different concentration camps: His father to Mauthausen-Gusen in Austria, where he survived the war, and his mother to Auschwitz where she was murdere Roman Polanski is a Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few truly international filmmakers. Roman Polanski was born in Paris in 1933.

His parents returned to Poland from France in 1936, three years before World War II began. On Germany's invasion in 1939, as a family of mostly Jewish heritage, they were all sent to the Krakow ghetto. His parents were then captured and sent to two different concentration camps: His father to Mauthausen-Gusen in Austria, where he survived the war, and his mother to Auschwitz where she was murdered. Roman witnessed his father's capture and then, at only 7, managed to escape the ghetto and survive the war, at first wandering through the Polish countryside and pretending to be a Roman-Catholic kid visiting his relatives. Although this saved his life, he was severely mistreated suffering nearly fatal beating which left him with a fractured skull.

Local people usually ignored the cinemas where German films were shown, but Polanski seemed little concerned by the propaganda and often went to the movies. As the war progressed, Poland became increasingly war-torn and he lived his life as a tramp, hiding in barns and forests, eating whatever he could steal or find. Still under 12 years old, he encountered some Nazi soldiers who forced him to hold targets while they shot at them. At the war's end in 1945, he reunited with his father who sent him to a technical school, but young Polanski seemed to have already chosen another career. In the 1950s, he took up acting, appearing in Andrzej Wajda's A Generation (1955) before studying at the Lodz Film School. His early shorts such as Two Men and a Wardrobe (1958), The Fat and the Lean (1961) and Mammals (1962), showed his taste for black humor and interest in bizarre human relationships. His feature debut, Knife in the Water (1962), was one of the first Polish post-war films not associated with the war theme. It was also the first movie from Poland to get an Oscar nomination for best foreign film. Though already a major Polish filmmaker, Polanski chose to leave the country and headed to France. While down-and-out in Paris, he befriended young scriptwriter, Gérard Brach, who eventually became his long-time collaborator. The next two films, Repulsion (1965) and Cul-de-sac (1966), made in England and co-written by Brach, won respectively Silver and then Golden Bear awards at the Berlin International Film Festival. In 1968, Polanski went to Hollywood, where he made the psychological thriller, Rosemary's Baby (1968). However, after the brutal murder of his wife, Sharon Tate, by the Manson Family in 1969, the director decided to return to Europe. In 1974, he again made a US release - it was Chinatown (1974).

It seemed the beginning of a promising Hollywood career, but after his conviction for the sodomy of a 13-year old girl, Polanski fled from he USA to avoid prison. After Tess (1979), which was awarded several Oscars and Cesars, his works in 1980s and 1990s became intermittent and rarely approached the caliber of his earlier films. It wasn't until The Pianist (2002) that Polanski came back to full form. For that movie, he won nearly all the most important film awards, including the Oscar for Best Director, Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or, the BAFTA and Cesar Award.

He still likes to act in the films of other directors, sometimes with interesting results, as in A Pure Formality (1994). ... (more)

Tags: Director (11), Polish (9), Jewish (6), Oscar Winner (5), Born 1933 (4), Rapist (4), Actor (4), French (3), Golden Globe Winner (3), White (2), Male (2), Producer (2), Lodz Film School (2), Writer (2), Screenwriter (2), Pedophile (2), Oscar Winning Director (1), French Born (1), People Who Fell From Grace (1), Borb 1933 (1)

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Movies directed by

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1. The Pianist (2002)

Rating:

8.1

3361 Watched

2. Rosemary's Baby

Rating:

7.8

2106 Watched

3. Chinatown (1974)

Rating:

8.1

1672 Watched

4. The Ninth Gate (1999)

Rating:

6.4

1817 Watched

5. The Ghost Writer (2010)

Rating:

7.1

1008 Watched

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Movies written by

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1. Rosemary's Baby

Rating:

7.8

2106 Watched

2. Chinatown (1974)

Rating:

8.1

1672 Watched

3. The Ninth Gate (1999)

Rating:

6.4

1817 Watched

4. The Ghost Writer (2010)

Rating:

7.1

1008 Watched

5. Repulsion (1965)

Rating:

705 Watched

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Movies

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Top rated

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1. Chinatown (1974)

Rating:

8.1

1672 Watched

2. Rush Hour 3 (2007)

Rating:

5.8

1222 Watched

3. Repulsion (1965)

Rating:

705 Watched

4. The Tenant

Rating:

7.9

467 Watched

5. Frantic

Rating:

6.6

477 Watched

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TV

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1. E! True Hollywood Story

Rating:

7.1

106 Watched

2. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962)

Rating:

8.2

87 Watched

3. Biography

Rating:

75 Watched

4. 101 Most Shocking Moments in Entertainment

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5.9

51 Watched

5. Wetten, dass..?

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6.9

36 Watched

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Books

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Greatest Directors (62 person items)

"Rosemary's Baby (1968) Chinatown (1974) Repulsion (1965) The Tenant (1976) The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)"

JxSxPx added this to a list 1 year, 1 month ago

TCM’s The Essential Directors (56 person items)

"Must-See Movies Knife in the Water Repulsion Rosemary’s Baby Chinatown Tess Frantic The Pianist The Ghost Writer "

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Celebrities Who Told The Academy To P*s off (12 person items)

"One of the biggest controversies around the Academy has to be about Roman Polanski. The director was a member of the Academy and had won several nominations and two awards even when he could not attend the award ceremony. The reason why he was missing from the award ceremony was that he had fled the country. Why? Because the directors had pleaded guilty in the case of having unlawful sex with a minor in 1977. To avoid imprisonment he fled to Paris. Even after that, the Academy kept nominating hi"

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Directores que me gustan (Directors I like). (9 person items)

"Of course, I don't like the rapey part."

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Celebrities I hate (36 person items)

"While I like Fearless Vampire Killer, Rosemary Baby and Repulsion. Dude banged a 12 year old and still winning Oscar? "

shotswerefired posted a video 3 years, 9 months ago

César Awards 2020: French actress Adèle Haenel storms out after Roman Polanski wins best director

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Every Best Director Winner (71 person items)

"2002-The Pianist "

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My favorite retro beauties (19 person items)

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Room (1975) (6 movies items)

"Director!"

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Favourite directors (19 person items)

"fugitive from the US for statutory rape"

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Most Accomplished Active Directors (2019 Edition) (50 person items)

"2018 Rank: #26 2017 Rank: #23 2016 Rank: #21 2015 Rank: #20 2014 Rank: #22 2013 Rank: #21 2012 Rank: #22 2011 Rank: #31 2010 Rank: #37 2009 Rank: #37 Repulsion (1965) Cul-de-Sac (1966) Rosemary’s Baby (1968) Chinatown (1974) Frantic (1988) Death and the Maiden (1994) The Pianist (2002) The Ghost Writer (2010) Carnage (2011) Venus in Fur (2014) D'après une histoire vraie (2018) Upcoming: J'accuse (2020) "

Kandi added this to a list 4 years, 9 months ago

Father Director and Daughter Actress (Director) (26 person items)

"Director, Actor"

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Most Accomplished Active Directors (2018 Edition) (50 person items)

"2017 Rank: #23 2016 Rank: #21 2015 Rank: #20 2014 Rank: #22 2013 Rank: #21 2012 Rank: #22 2011 Rank: #31 2010 Rank: #37 2009 Rank: #37 a. Repulsion (1965) b. Cul-de-Sac (1966) c. Rosemary’s Baby (1968) d. Chinatown (1974) e. Frantic (1988) f. Death and the Maiden (1994) g. The Pianist (2002) h. The Ghost Writer (2010) i. Carnage (2011) j. Venus in Fur (2014) k. Based on a True Story (2018) "

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A bunch of white men nobody likes anymore (109 person items)

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Oscars 2016 (1976) (28 movies items)

"Lenny Abrahamson (Room)"

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WatchMojo's Top 10 Director/Producer Sex Scandals (10 person items)

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Schindler's List (1973) (7 movies items)

"Director!"

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Most Accomplished Active Directors (2017 Edition) (50 person items)

"2016 Rank: #21 2015 Rank: #20 2014 Rank: #22 2013 Rank: #21 2012 Rank: #22 2011 Rank: #31 2010 Rank: #37 2009 Rank: #37 a. Repulsion (1965) b. Cul-de-Sac (1966) c. Rosemary’s Baby (1968) d. Chinatown (1974) e. Frantic (1988) f. Death and the Maiden (1994) g. The Pianist (2002) h. The Ghost Writer (2010) i. Carnage (2011) j. Venus in Fur (2014) k. Based on a True Story (2017) "