Roman Polanski

[kiddo]

Some hate him, some love him, some doesn`t care. But no one can doubt he has a great talent.
:




...Discuss...

[PTAhole]

I LOVE Polanski. Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby, Repulsion, The Pianist, all fantastic films.

[kiddo]

Nice to hear!

I put up a list with the one`s I`ve seen from best to "worst"

- Chinatown
- Repulsion
- Le Loctaire (The Tenant)
- The Pianist
- Cul-de-Sac
- Rosemarys Baby
- Knife in the Water
- The Ninth Gate
- Frantic

I also reccomend this great dvd: www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/123238/Roman_Polanski_Box_Set/Product.html

[captainofbeef]

I was pretty disappointed in Knife in the Water. It wasn't a bad film by any means, but I thought that it was going to be a lot better than it was.

[adelinemorty]

I really like this director
I' ve seen:

The Pianist 10/10
Tess 9/10
Frantic 8/10
Rosemary's Baby 8/10
The Ninth Gate 7/10
Oliver Twist 7/10
The Fearless Vampire Killers 6/10
Macbeth 5/10

[criterionmaster]

Rosemary's Baby is easily one of the best horror films ever made. The Pianist is one of my favorite films in the past few decades. And Chinatown is one of the best films EVER. I will be seeing Knife in the Water soon too.

[kiddo]

criterionmaster said:

Rosemary's Baby is easily one of the best horror films ever made. The Pianist is one of my favorite films in the past few decades. And Chinatown is one of the best films EVER. I will be seeing Knife in the Water soon too.

I agree. Chinatown is one of the most perfect films from what I have seen, and ranks as my personal favorite for this moment.

Don`t expect too much from Knife in the Water. It`s easy to see that Polanski is in the start of his career. But, when that is said, It is a very good film, packed with symbolic elements and great atmosphere.

[mixed]

I love the atmosphere of rosemaries baby. It has such a dreamy undercurrent about it. Though in the end its a bit disappointing, the ending isn't that good imo. Still and 8/10 though I think.

[kiddo]

Agree with your 8/10 on Rosemarys Baby. I love the "rape"-scene. Just brilliantly constructed.

[Nomansvally]

I'm watching Frantic with Harrison Ford this evening. Anybody got an opinion on that film?

[kiddo]

I thought Frantic was pretty unsatisfying. Polanski creates an ok thriller, with some tense moments, but overall this piece of work is far from a "must". One of his weakest.

[Nomansvally]

I agree, it's an 2.5 of 5 in my opinion. It tries to be more complex than it really is. Some scenes were far from convinsing.

[kathryn49]

I've seen:
Knife in the Water
Rosemary's Baby
Chinatown
The Fearless Vampire Killers

all really cool in their way. I know Vampire Killers doesn't exactly fit but it's a fun cult movie... I thought Knife in the Water was incredible for a first by him and the other two are legitimately the top of their genres.

[Nomansvally]

In my opinion Roman Polanski did his best work in his early days. 'Knife In The Water' was made in Poland and got Polanski to England where he learned English while doing the psychological horrorfilm 'Repulsion' and black comedy 'Cul-De-Sac' almost back to back. All his first three films are all in all very different from each other. These are his top three in my opinion. He started on the top and sadly went down hill with his filmography. Exceptions are of course Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown and The Pianist, these are next in line concerning his very best films.

Knife in the Water is my third favourite Polanski film after Repulsion and Cul-De-Sac.
Fearless Vampire Killers is hilarious! That was the first Polanski film I ever saw. I was about 13 or so and the film was on Swedish TV.

[kiddo]

Oh, I want to see The Fearless Vampire Killers so bad. I`ll come back with thoughts if i get hold to it.

Have you seen Le Loctaire, Espen? If yes, what do you think of it?

[agentknight]

I have only seen The Pianist and Rosemary's Baby. The latter was absolutely wonderful, I had a hell of a time watching it, but I thought The Pianist was kind of dull.

[criterionmaster]

I loved The Pianist and it was really Polanski's best film in a long time. The performances were amazing and the film didn't have the feel that most war films have, Hollywood-ish. It felt much more real and true to me. By the way Rosemary's Baby is fantastic.

[captainofbeef]

Polanski is wonderful in general. The Pianist was one of the most horrifying films I have seen in a long time. The Pianist doesnt feel Hollywood-ish cause it wasnt made in Hollywood. Twas made over in Romania I believe, where Polanski is in exile.

[criterionmaster]

Yeah, but I was saying that the reason it was better than other war films (in general) is because it didn't have that feel. Doesn't matter where it was made, films don't have to be made in Hollywood to have that feel (it was just what I was calling a certain look). The feeling of being flashy instead of gritty, and blah blah blah.

Anyway, I really need to see Repulsion!

[kiddo]

Yes, you sure do. Repulsion is filled with so much brilliant camera work, as well as a genious sense of detail. I`m eager to know what you think about it...

[Nomansvally]

Yes Endre, I've seen Le Loctaire, I got it on DVD but haven't seen it since last year and only once. I remember back then I thought it was a strange film and both Polanski and Adjani's characters were'nt engaging enough for me. Some scenes were convincingly frightening though... as well as the atmosphere towards the end, but I guess it's just a so-so film for me. Not among Polanksi's best! Besides some of Polanski's acting seemed forced and the dialogue was also quirky.

I need to rewatch it, that's for sure!

[Nomansvally]

I will rank the Roman Polanski feature films I've seen as following:

1. Cul-de-sac
2. Repulsion
3. Nóz w wodzie
4. Chinatown
5. The Pianist
6. The Fearless Vampire Killers
7. Rosemary's Baby
8. The Tragedy of Macbeth
9. Le Locataire
10. The 9th Gate
11. Frantic


and I've seen his first 8 short films.

[kiddo]

nomansvally said:

Yes Endre, I've seen Le Loctaire, I got it on DVD but haven't seen it since last year and only once. I remember back then I thought it was a strange film and both Polanski and Adjani's characters were'nt engaging enough for me. Some scenes were convincingly frightening though... as well as the atmosphere towards the end, but I guess it's just a so-so film for me. Not among Polanksi's best! Besides some of Polanski's acting seemed forced and the dialogue was also quirky.

I need to rewatch it, that's for sure!

In my view, Le Loctaire is very engaging, and Polanskis acting seems very appropiate for the role. I get to feel a bit for him, and therefore, in addition to other things, the whole film gets very interesting. Also, it`s one of the scariest films I`ve seen; the mental state of the diverse characters manage to scary me to pieces! It`s very well put together, the whole thing, and the result is, wierd yes, but convincingly brutal and frightening, as well as interesting. It`s a film where most of the story takes place inside the main characters` brain.

[Nomansvally]

OK, I understand. I better watch it again real soon, so I can give a proper verdict. I really can't remember many scenes from the film besides the intro, some café-scenes and the cross-dressing part.

[Nomansvally]

Roman Polanski To Direct Pompeii
An adaptation of the Robert Harris novel
Source: Variety

"Well, Roman Polanski’s next movie certainly promises to be explosive: he’ll direct an adaptation of Robert Harris’ best-selling novel, Pompeii, about the last days of the legendary Roman town that was destroyed when nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D.

Harris’ book follows the fortunes of a young engineer, Marcus Attilius Primus, who arrives in the town from Rome with plans to restore a vast aqueduct that supplies Pompeii and eight other towns. Once there, though, he is caught in a web of political intrigue, manages to fall in love, and then, of course, there’s the small matter of a temperamental mountain about to spew its guts over the surrounding countryside…

As you might have guessed, Pompeii won’t be a thriller on a small scale. In fact, with a reported budget of $130 million, it will be Polanski’s biggest film to date. But it could be an absolute corker, with romance, conspiracy and juicy parts for the principal actors (whoever they may turn out to be), while the climactic eruption should provide tons of spectacular eye candy, underpinned for the viewer that the events actually happened.

In fact, you could say that Pompeii’s formula of ‘tragic historical event’ + ‘acclaimed director’ + ‘passionate romance’ x ‘epic effects’ is not too dissimilar from the one that powered… Titanic. Now, before you get your knickers in a twist, we’re not saying that Pompeii is going to gross anywhere near as much as Jim Cameron’s behemoth (after all, countless epics trying to recapture the magic of that movie have sunk without trace since), but we are saying that it could well be one to watch with great interest."

From www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=20323

Man, hope this come out as a masterpiece. I think Polanski deserves credit!

[kiddo]

I hope, hope, hope that this will be good. Haven't seen Oliver Twist (any good?), but I will try to catch this in the cinema.

[criterionmaster]

Oliver Twist was actually pretty good, I liked the original more, but this was still a good film from Polanski and worth checking out, at the very least for the performances.

As for this new film, I am not sure. That is such a big budget, it will be interesting to see what he can do with this film, although I think I like his smaller pictures more (Rosemary's Baby, hell, even Chinatown was small I think, etc.). I have The Tenant at my house too, which I will watch sometime.

[PTAhole]

It seems that movie would be good in the hands of somebody like... Ridley Scott or Spielberg, not Polanski. I actually have always been interested in Pompeii, though, so I'll check it out.

[sacrilegend]

Le Locataire is a new addition to my list.