Roman Polanski: Interviews (Conversations With Filmmakers Series)

Book Description

Roman Polanski (b. 1933) arrived on the international scene in 1962 with his first feature film, Knife in the Water, and his face would be on the cover of Time magazine by the end of that year. His vibrant, disturbing, and often violent films—including the psychological thriller Rosemary's Baby, the film noir classic Chinatown, and the somber Holocaust drama The Pianist—have entertained and sometimes infuriated audiences. He has also directed acclaimed adaptations of plays and novels, including Shakespeare's Macbeth, Ariel Dorfman's Death and the Maiden, and Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Stylistically unsettling and thematically varied, Polanski's films have established him as one of the most talented and controversial European filmmakers of his generation.

Polanski's life has been troubled. He survived the Krakow ghetto and the Holocaust, but his mother died at Auschwitz. His wife Sharon Tate was brutally murdered in 1968 by members of Charles Manson's gang. After years of success in the United States, he fled the country in 1978 when he was indicted for having sex with a minor. He hasn't returned to America since that time. In Roman Polanski: Interviews, the acclaimed director talks openly about how incidents in his life have and have not influenced his artistic vision. His childhood in Poland, his training at the Polish Film School in Lodz, his acting in stage productions, the aftermath of Tate's murder, and his work in France, England, and America are all discussed at length.

This collection of interviews spans nearly forty years, and comprises translations from French, German and Spanish newspapers and magazines, and transcripts of British and American television and radio appearances.

Customer Reviews:

The mind of Polanski.......2006-02-05

Polanski is perhaps my favortie director. I was excited upon the release of this book of selected interviews... it is always great to hear from the director himself.

Four stars for the following reasons (though for some these may be positive points):

- Some of the interviews are quite dated, going as far back as the mid-sixties. While interesting to hear of the directors evolution, it can also be disorienting since questions such as "The Fearless Vampire Killers seems to be your most important film to date..." while, later on, the same question is asked, just replaced with another film such as "Pianist" (which the book does cover)
- There is not a lot of focus on technical questions and aspects of the films. As a filmmaker myself, I am always interested in how things come together technically and how many of the scenes are executed. There was not much empasis on this, which leads me to another crticism...
- As it may be expected, many of the interviewers harp on the questions about his late wife Sharon Tate, and the statutory rape episode. It may be interesting to some, but for me it's all old... just let it go. I am really more interested in what he has to say about his films.
- Though I have a lot of issues with the book, as a whole it is very interesting. Especially if you are a fan of Polanski. Though his admirerers will know much of what is talked about in the book (such as the Manson murders), much is still to be learned. He often talks about how a film came to frutation... sometimes of a personal nature, but at times from a small detail that the film is then based around. Relationships with actors, issues with studios, influences... this book touches base with a little bit of everything.

Polanski fans should definitely pick this up. Others, maybe not...
but the entire 'Conversations with Filmmakers' series should be invaluable to all with an avid interest in film.

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Roman Polanski
Denis Meikle
Manufacturer: Reynolds & Hearn
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1905287216

Book Description

A look at the career of Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski—one of the few directors who has moved from art-house classics to the Cineplex, with films like Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, and The Pianist.

Roman Polanski is a towering figure in modern cinema. He has done it all: psychological thrillers (Killer in the Water, Cul-de-sac); horror (Repulsion, Rosemary's Baby); film noir (Chinatown); the literary classics (Tess); even comedy (The Fearless Vampire Killers). In this timely retrospective of Polanski's career, film historian and critic Denis Meikle draws together the strands of a complex, sometimes contradictory career. Meikle looks at how Polanski's troubled life has informed his filmmaking and analyzes his unique skills as a director, skills that have allowed him to tackle such diverse themes and genres with unerring success. Finally, the latest Polanski film, Oliver Twist, is examined and placed in the context of the director's 50 years at the heart of cinema.

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It's All Here

a sinner and a genius ...

One of the most impressive books ever read

From the heart

Paradoxical Roman - by Polanski

Roman
Roman Polanski
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Roman Polanski: Interviews (Conversations With Filmmakers Series)

Sharon Tate and the Manson Murders

Roman Polanski

The Fearless Vampire Killers, or Pardon Me but Your Teeth Are in My Neck

The Tenant

ASIN: 0688026214

Customer Reviews:

It's All Here.......2007-07-13

Covers his childhood memories of war-torn Poland, reminiscent of "Schindler's List". His struggles as a young director and the heartache of the tragic murder of his wife Sharon Tate and their unborn child. And he even discusses his envolvement with the underaged girl at Jack Nicholson's place, that caused his exhile from the U.S. to this very day. You be the judge. An all-around well written autobiography.

a sinner and a genius ..........2005-08-16

Roman Polanski, born on august 18, 1933, has written a fascinating autobiography. He is a sinner and a genius, a chaotic man and a passionate, he is a machismo and a vulnerable human being, he overcame the WWII, the Polish ghettos and the Holocaust as a resilient child and he lost his wife Sharon Tate and an unborn child in 1969 by the Manson Group massacre, and on the other hand he overcame (as an adult) a special pattern of machismo-self-destruction (with 13 year old girl accusing him of sexual contact). He had lived a lousy life in Nazi-surpressed Polish ghettos and he had lived with too much pride and arrogance in Hollywood, he was arrested in the United States and nevertheless now he releases movies in Paris (presently married with French actress Emmanuelle Seigner). He is a gifted filmmaker and indeed: a writer, better than any crime-author I know; his book, published in 1984, is not a larmoyant, self-pitiful autobiography alike 1001 others - it is an absorbing story about a personality-mixture-hybrid of a Robin Hood mixed with Mac Beth, an Idi Amin mixed with a Mother Theresa, it is the story of "Roman" P., who started his life 1933 in Paris as "Raymond" P.; the first sentence of his autobiography: "For as far back as I can remember, the line between fantasy and reality has been hopelessly blurred." That became his helping trick to survive some struggles and tragedies, downfalls and comebacks ...

One of the most impressive books ever read.......2004-12-31

I lost my copy of this book years ago and am so glad to have it back. Anyone who admires Polanski's work will love this book. Anyone who questions Polanski's love of life, Sharon, and the World he lives in should read this book. You will understand him in a whole new light. He's amazing. Read this before any other about him. Please!!!!!!

From the heart.......2004-11-16

I have always admired Roman Polanski. He strikes me as a person with a very powerful presence and state of mind and that impression certainly comes through in his films.

Although published 20 years ago, Roman bared his soul to the world, telling his story in a way that you felt you lived his life right there beside him.

People who believe that those who have had lousy lives should be excused from taking responsibility for their crimes should read Roman's book. After all he's been through, he had every excuse in the world to be a lowlife, drunken, drug addict, thief, murderer, scumbag. Instead, this man took all the bad things that have happened to him in his life and turned it into something positive.

And even though he has expressed his emotions through his movies, he is still a very mysterious man whose depths no one will ever know.

That's what makes Roman so damn intriguing.

Paradoxical Roman - by Polanski.......2001-03-16

The myriad and often contradictory superlatives that define Roman Polanski are evident in his 1984 autobiography. A man of immense dichotomy: by turns exquisitely sensitive and dazzlingly brilliant yet capable of staggering insensitivity and cruelty; a singularly gifted filmmaker who has sometimes betrayed that talent completely; a man blessed with the reciprocal love and devotion of three of the world's most beautiful women (most notably Sharon Tate) and yet easily capable of sexist and loutish behavior, etc. The parade of paradoxes attendant to Polanski's life make for fascinating reading, evoke extremes of admiration and disdain on the part of the reader, and ultimately remind us that the author, like life itself, is not easily defined nor pigeonholed by a pool of platitudes.

As this tome lacks the direct input of anyone other than Polanski himself, much of the director's foibles and missteps are congealed in the inevitable patina of celebrity and privilege. But that's not the whole story - by far. Polanski's appalling childhood and the Manson murders of 1969 (Polanski's pregnant wife and unborn child were murdered by disciples of the would-be messiah) undoubtedly contributed to the self-destruction that is too frequently an underlying theme in his life.

The passages in which the author pays noble tribute to Tate provide a touching - and fitting - legacy to the lovely actress whose abundant goodness - her superior heart and her abiding selflessness - are manifest in Polanski's memories. It is, ultimately, this aspect of the book that remain in the reader's memory - long after the last page has been turned. In Polanski's relationship with his late wife - we are allowed to observe the director's vulnerability, tenderness and love - qualities that are all too frequently sublimated in his own overweening arrogance, pride and machismo.

Book Description

A new take on an eclectic and controversial director

James Morrison's Roman Polanski offers one of the most comprehensive and critically engaged treatments ever written on Polanski's work. Tracing the filmmaker's remarkably diverse career from its beginnings to the present, the book provides commentary on all the major films in their historical, cultural, social, and artistic contexts. By locating Polanski's work within the genres of comedy and melodrama, Morrison argues that the director is not merely obsessed with the theme of repression, but that his true interest is in the concrete--what is out in the open--and in why it is so rarely seen.

A volume in the series Contemporary Film Directors, edited by James Naremore

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a review.
In my estimation this is THE book on Roman Polanski
A comprehensive and unbiased look at Roman Polanski's career and life
behind the curtain ...

Roman Polanski (Directors)

Manufacturer: Taschen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 3822825425

Book Description

"I like shadows in movies. I don't like them in life." Roman Polanski Roman Polanski's ability to wring laughter from the most degrading heartbreaks will carry the same wealth of healthy shocks in a hundred years. He creates a macabre beauty to be wooed by and wondered at. But behind the laughter and the beauty is the ghostly truth that Polanski was orphaned by the Nazis and wandered Poland alone from ages 9 to 13. Consider the isolated intensity that bridges Knife in the Water, Cul de Sac, Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, Death and the Maiden and his Oscar-winning masterpiece The Pianist. In each, the omniscient viewpoint feels "childlike" in the least innocent sense: we listen and watch, ever-wary; the truth of what's been hidden, or is being planned in secret, is always a matter of life and death; one's survival (even within the playful confines of a fantasy) depends on not missing so much as one detail.

This book has been made with full access to Roman Polanski's archives.

Customer Reviews:

a review........2006-12-03

I am a huge Polanski fan. That's the #1 reason I picked up this book.

The reason I give this three stars, maybe four... is because a lot of the information contained within the book (a good 50% + of written content) is simply a synopsis of each film. From his short films & Knife in the Water, all the way up to Oliver Twist. Frankly, I don't need the majority of the book to summarize movies that I already own. Even if you haven't seen some of the films, spoilers are revealed. Ones you probably could do better without.

The other half of the writing, is quite nice. It talks about what Polanski did immediately after the film and the steps he took into starting his next. All the 'in between' stuff. His way of thinking, his struggles, of course his tragedy, and other issues of the like. The book is written chronologically, so the author finds nice segues from film to film. It is also separated rather well, so reading it in sections is not a problem at all.

Overall, this is not a bad buy. It is a relatively inexpensive item with nice photographs and stills from the movie. There are some interesting facts contained within... however, if you are looking for a really informative book you might look elsewhere. This book is painfully easy to read and I personally knew most of the facts written in it already. It probably makes for a nice gift item to the younger crowd who has an interest in a particular director. It also makes for a good collectors item, so if you're a fan... by all means purchase this book. However, I favor the Roman Polanksi Interviews over this book.

In my estimation this is THE book on Roman Polanski.......2006-07-16

F.X. Feeney's ROMAN POLANSKI showcases the most perceptive and insightful career overview of this complex and contradictory director that's ever been published. Based in comprehensive research and exclusive access, Feeney - one of our finest critics - gives us an exhaustive, but never exhausting, look at the remarkable life and career of one of cinema's greatest artists. Maybe the best entry yet in Taschen's lovely directors series, ROMAN POLANSKI by F.X. Feeney is essential reading for both the discerning cineaste and the enthusiastic movie buff, neither too scholarly nor too pop, beautifully balancing a thoroughly thoughtful and scholarly critical view with an unabashed love of Polanski's work. Can't wait to see Feeney's take on Michael Mann!

A comprehensive and unbiased look at Roman Polanski's career and life.......2006-04-15

Leave it up to the rest of the world to be able to look at Roman's career and life objectively and not dwell on one unfortunate and unnecessary thing that he did nearly 30 years ago.

F.X. Feeney and editor Paul Duncan obviously spent a lot of time combing through numerous archives to come up with the many beautiful movie stills that grace these 192 pages. It may not seem like a lot for your money but appearances are indeed deceiving.

While the information and quotes are rehashed from Roman's 1984 autobiography "Roman," and other sources, it was presented in such a way as to make it fresh and interesting.

But the most refreshing facet of this book is that the author and editor refrained from writing about Roman condescendingly or passing judgment on him. They just presented the facts and ran beyond beautiful movie stills alongside the info. If only more biographies could be as objective ...

This covers Roman's life from birth to the making of last year's "Oliver Twist" so this is updated and comprehensive.

Highly recommended. - Donna Di Giacomo

behind the curtain ..........2005-12-18

Roman Polanski, born on August 18th, 1933, - he is a sinner and simultaneously unquestionably a genius. He is alarmingly chaotic and passionate, he acts as a macho and is wounded so extremely and deeply at the same time, that in his films it is often only an atmosphere of fear. He survived Poland occupied by the Nazis in the second World War like by a miracle: While both his mother and his father were taken away in concentration camps, he made himself to hide again and again. Psychologists call this power "resistance", which makes it possible for certain people to lift themselves up from the ash and to beat the dust off the clothes. Polanski lost his Mrs Sharon Tate (and an unborn baby) at the Helter-Skelter massacre of the Manson commune. Then losing his balance he stumbled into the net of a 13-year girl. The treatment by the American justice induced Polanski to leave the USA and to get local in Paris. Now there he (aged 70) lives together with his substantially younger wife Emmanuelle Seigner (leading role in his film "Bitter Moon"). Polanski was optimistic and anxious, arrogant and reckless, ironic and traumatized. The experiences of his early youth helped him for his newest cinema plant, that one about the sad childhood situation in the England of the Charles Dickens. Once Polanski noticed: "For as far back as I can remember, the line between fantasy and reality has been hopelessly blurred." Polanski indeed describes himself indirectly by the film topics which he chooses: Therefore we have to regard a hybrid character mixture of a Robin Hood with a Mac Beth, an outrageous Idi Amin mixed with a mother Theresa-type. The book of F. X. Feeney about Polanski shows us a world behind the curtains of the too briefly advisable keep-smiling interviews, it reveals something of the tricks which may help one, to overcome defeats and tragedies, depriving encirclements and downfalls by climbing tricks: This book is almost more interesting than some of the available films of Polanski ...

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Complete Fiction
Polanski Revealed

The Roman Polanski story
Thomas Kiernan
Manufacturer: Delilah/Grove Press : distributed by Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0394513967

Customer Reviews:

Complete Fiction.......2005-11-26

This is what Roman Polanski had to say about Thomas Kieran's book on him in a 1984 interview: "It's really humiliating having to delve into these books, but there is one by a certain Kieran, for example. Everything in it is false, from start to finish. It's complete fiction, pure and simple.

Polanski Revealed.......2003-07-02

I bought this book at a used book store because dust jacket art caught my eye and it was a first edition. It sat on my shelf for several years until I moved. While I was unpacking I procrastinated by opening it up and flipping to the photo section. Then I sat down and started reading. I read it from cover to cover. Thomas Keirnan is an engaging author and his subject matter is facinating. The chapters alternate between Polanski's biography starting with his childhood in a Nazi occupied Polish ghetto and the suspenseful development of the child rape charges against him during the 1970's. The cinematic 'parallel editing' style makes reading this book like watching a movie. Anyone who enjoyed Tess, The Pianist or any other Polanski film will love this book. Several scenes from The Pianist echo moments from Polanski's tragic childhood. While I abhor the crimes he easily admitted to, this book reveals the development of both his creative genius and his justifications for his criminal actions. The author knew Polanski and many of his famous friends. His insider's view is deliciously intimate.

The cinema of Roman Polanski (The International film guide series)

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The cinema of Roman Polanski (The International film guide series)
Ivan Butler
Manufacturer: A. S. Barnes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0498077128

Customer Reviews:

excellent book.......2006-01-01

This is a brilliantly written book.None of the simplistic oppositions for Rockwell:this is a guy who can find virtues in both Phil Glass (minimalism) and Milton Babbitt(hyper intellectual) but can take gentle side swipes at them as well.

Captures the time very well.......2005-05-06

The original Knitting Factory, ABC No Rio, White Columns; the early 80's were a time when many experimental "classical" musicians seemed to say the heck with Julliard and the academy and cast their lot with jazz - yet to be Wynton-ized and smoothed to suffocation and still wandering in that DMZ between post-funk and ECM Lexicon modal bliss - and rock - battling its own rear guard action from English synth-pop that for awhile threatened to render the electric guitar (and acoustic piano) obsolete. Eno, Bowie and Byrne got much recognition as popularizers, but there were many others doing more daring, if less-accessible, work. Taken as a whole, this book paints a broad portrait of those in and out of various establishments - commercial and academic, and tries to find common ground in their expression of American music.

And yeah, it's fun to recall how Laurie Anderson was more famous for her hair back then for her performances.

Full disclosure: I participated in the concert of Terry Riley's "In C" at White Columns for a group of around 20 electric guitars, mentioned in one of the book's chapters.

Open-minded but over-critical.......2005-01-16

This book receives kudos for the broad range of genres covered, and the open mind that indicates. It also deserves kudos for its actually critical attitude. However, that critical attitude is the main drawback of the book. Nearly every artist presented is set up only to be knocked down. Ernst Krenek goes first and gets the worst treatment, and everyone till at least Ornette Coleman is dismissed by the end of their respective chapters. The goal is to criticize the American music scene through examining individual partcipants, but this seems both inaccurate and unfair and is depressing through its unending negativity.

good but slightly dated review of american "serious" music.......1997-07-08

just a brief warning that this book wasoriginally written and published in the UK in1985, and as such is a little dated in its coverage. still, with chapters on artists as diverse as keith jarrett, talking heads, neil young, sondheim and elliott carter, its a satisfying romp through distinctly american music.

All American Music: Composition in the Late Twentieth Century

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All American Music: Composition in the Late Twentieth Century
John Rockwell
Manufacturer: Da Capo Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSYUIQ

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