No director has had a roller coaster of a career and social life than Roman Polanski. Holocaust survivor, the Manson Family’s brutal murder of his pregnant wife, sexual assault charges and his subsequent exile from the the countries with the most prevalent film industries. Polanski is one of first directors to become pointing material for the tabloids, yet able to control the anxiety of his audience and critics with his large body of films.
Polanski a biography from Christopher Sandford re-tells many of the most famous events of Roman’s life with vivid detail and examines it as if Sanford was the therapist on the couch. Sandford is able to pinpoint exact moments and instances that would change Polanski as a person.
Each film features vivid accounts from the script to pre-production to shooting. Almost each shoot has similar experiences; Roman as a multi-take director that commanded the best out of everyone. From his early near-blockbuster hits such as Knife in the Water and Repulsion, major blockbuster releases such as Rosemary’s Baby and Chinatown, to his Palme d’Or winning, Best Director Oscar winning The Pianist; Polanski has been to hell and back more than once.
Sanford’s Polanski has what any cinema/film buff could ever want from a important director as Polanski and should be essential reading for anything Roman Polanski.
