Roman Polanski’s Masterpieces: Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown & More

Roman Polanski is among the Hollywood greats of foreign origin who have helped shape American cinema.

Born on 18 August 1933 in Paris, to a Polish father and a Russian mother, filmmaker Raymond (Roman) Polanski’s characters belong to different nationalities, classes, epochs and occupations. In short, to different cultures, thereby mirroring the real as well as the metaphorical journey undertaken by the 83-year-old director.

A graduate of the film school National Film School in Lodz, Polanski is among the Hollywood greats of foreign origin, like Fritz Lang, Otto Preminger, Billy Wilder, and Douglas Sirk, who have helped shape American cinema.

His social and personal life have also attracted popular controversies. The mysterious murder of his second wife Sharon Tate and the sexual abuse of 13-year-old Samantha Geimer brought a hiatus in the film-making career of the self-professed nomadic existence of the filmmaker.

Here is a list of five films that have been considered a milestone in the career of the director whose themes have been a compilation of assorted cinematic genres, encompassing surrealism, psychological thriller, the horror story and its parody, and the detective mystery.

1. Knife in the Water (1962)

The debut feature film from Polanski is the tale of Christine and Andrezj on a yacht trip on the Mazurian Lake of the northeastern region of Poland, accompanied by a young student who has accidentally stumbled upon the married couple.

As the sailboat plunges farther out into the water, the tale of power through sexual jealousy is set in motion. Andrzej is only interested in affirming his territory and possessions, in terms of his job, his yacht, and his wife. But the student’s indifference arouses Christine’s interest and threatens Andrzej’s self-esteem.

The plot thickens when the student swims to a buoy and dives underwater, terrifying Andrzej into thinking he has drowned. The film is left with an open ending where Andrzej is left uncertain as to whether or not to believe that he is guilty of drowning the boy, or whether his wife has been unfaithful to him. An outstanding debut, it is unique in Polanski’s filmography as the only feature shot entirely in Poland.

2. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Adapted from a novel by Ira Levin, the film was Polanski’s first major Hollywood production. The film narrates the story of Rosemary, played by Mia Furrow, who finds herself pregnant after a bizarre nightmare in which she was being raped by the Devil in the middle of a black mass.

In the film, Polanski emphasises the arrival of the Antichrist as a turning point in the antagonistic struggle between Christianity and the Devil. Upon its release, the US Roman Catholic Church condemned the film because they thought that the film has perverted the use of fundamental Christian beliefs and represented a mockery of religious persons and practices.  Till date, the film remains one of the biggest box-office successes of the director.

3. Chinatown (1974)

Considered as a classic, the film depicts the moral corruption in Los Angeles seen through the eye of the detective Jake Gittes played Jack Nicholson. Polanski himself considers the film as a mere directing job done to reinvigorate his flagging critical reputation and renew his Hollywood credentials after Macbeth and What?.  Robert Towne’s Oscar-winning screenplay for the film is regarded as the yardstick of traditional Hollywood narrative.

The film reworked the downbeat noir themes for the 70s and is being taught as part of the three-act structure model of screenplay writing in various workshops, seminars and film school across the world.

4. Tess (1979)

The adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles takes place in England, but the film was shot in France so that Polanski could avoid extradition because of his embroilment in a case of ‘Unlawful Sexual Intercourse with a minor’ in 1977.

The aesthetic of Tess demonstrates Polanski’s agility as a filmmaker, where each shot is carefully constructed and the costumes, performances and sets all exquisitely executed. The film was dedicated to his deceased wife, as it was Sharon who had brought the story into Polanski’s life.

5. The Pianist (2002)

Having survived the Holocaust as a child, Polanski was not aware of his Jewish identity until the invasion of Poland in 1939. So under such context, the film can be cited as the most personal film of the director.

The film is based on the autobiography of Wladyslaw Szpilman, who escaped deportation and hid in the ruins of the city of Warsaw during World War II. The film premiered at the Cannes film festival where it impressed the jury president David Lynch to win the coveted Palme d’Or. Polanski also won his first Academy award for the best director, but could not be present at the ceremony because of the obvious reason.

(Dipankar Sarkar is a graduate in film editing from the Film & Television Institute of India, and is currently working as a Data Manager in the film industry.)