Editing Roman Polanski (section)

=== 1962–1976: Breakthrough and stardom ===
[[File:Polanski 1969.png|thumb|Polanski in 1969]]

''' ''Knife in the Water'' (1962)'''
Polanski's first feature-length film, ''[[Knife in the Water]]'', was also one of the first significant Polish films after the Second World War that did not have a war theme. Scripted by  [[Jerzy Skolimowski]], [[Jakub Goldberg]], and Polanski,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wyborcza.pl/1,102030,7114095,Spieprzaj_do_Hollywood_.html |title=Polanski and the writing of "Knife in the Water" |publisher=Wyborcza.pl |access-date=19 July 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527213705/http://wyborcza.pl/1,102030,7114095,Spieprzaj_do_Hollywood_.html |archive-date=27 May 2014}}</ref> ''Knife in the Water'' is about a wealthy, unhappily married couple who decide to take a mysterious hitchhiker with them on a weekend boating excursion. ''Knife in the Water'' was a major commercial success in the West and gave Polanski an international reputation. The film also earned its director his first Academy Award nomination (Best Foreign Language Film) in 1963. [[Leon Niemczyk]], who played Andrzej, was the only professional actor in the film. Jolanta Umecka, who played Krystyna, was discovered by Polanski at a swimming pool.<ref name="california1"/>

Polanski left then-communist Poland and moved to France, where he had already made two notable short films in 1961: ''[[The Fat and the Lean]]'' and ''[[Ssaki|Mammals]]''. While in France, Polanski contributed one segment ("La rivière de diamants") to the French-produced omnibus film, ''[[The World's Most Beautiful Swindlers|Les plus belles escroqueries du monde]]'' (English title: ''The Beautiful Swindlers'') in 1964. (He has since had the segment removed from all releases of the film.)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://olivefilms.com/product/the-worlds-most-beautiful-swindlers/|title=The World's Most Beautiful Swindlers – Olive Films|website=olivefilms.com|access-date=11 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428051213/https://olivefilms.com/product/the-worlds-most-beautiful-swindlers/|archive-date=28 April 2017}}</ref> However, Polanski found that in the early 1960s, the French film industry was [[xenophobia|xenophobic]] and generally unwilling to support a rising filmmaker of foreign origin.<ref name="mississippi"/>

''' ''Repulsion'' (1965)'''
Polanski made three feature films in England, based on original scripts written by himself and [[Gérard Brach]], a frequent collaborator. ''[[Repulsion (film)|Repulsion]]'' (1965) is a psychological horror film focusing on a young [[Belgians|Belgian]] woman named Carol ([[Catherine Deneuve]]).

The film's themes, situations, visual motifs, and effects clearly reflect the influence of early [[surrealist]] cinema as well as horror movies of the 1950s—particularly [[Luis Buñuel]]'s ''[[Un chien Andalou]]'', [[Jean Cocteau]]'s ''[[The Blood of a Poet]]'', [[Henri-Georges Clouzot]]'s ''[[Les Diaboliques (film)|Diabolique]]'' and [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]''.

''' ''Cul-de-sac'' (1966)'''
''[[Cul-de-sac (1966 film)|Cul-de-sac]]'' (1966) is a bleak [[nihilism|nihilist]] [[tragicomedy]] filmed on location in [[Northumberland]]. The tone and premise of the film owe a great deal to [[Samuel Beckett]]'s ''[[Waiting for Godot]]'', along with aspects of [[Harold Pinter]]'s ''[[The Birthday Party (play)|The Birthday Party]]''.

In 1966 Polanski co-produced the short film ''[[G.G. Passion]]'', directed by [[David Bailey]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=G.G. Passion |url=https://player.bfi.org.uk/rentals/film/watch-gg-passion-1966-online |access-date=29 January 2025 |website=BFI Player}}</ref>

''' ''The Fearless Vampire Killers/Dance of the Vampires'' (1967)'''
[[File:Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski in The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967).jpg|thumb|Roman Polanski with [[Sharon Tate]] in "The Fearless Vampire Killers", 1967]]
''[[The Fearless Vampire Killers]]'' (1967) (known by its original title, "Dance of the Vampires" in most countries outside the United States) is a parody of vampire films. The plot concerns a buffoonish professor and his clumsy assistant, Alfred (played by Polanski), who are traveling through [[Transylvania]] in search of vampires. ''The Fearless Vampire Killers'' was Polanski's first feature to be photographed in color with the use of [[Panavision]] lenses, and included a striking visual style with snow-covered, fairy-tale landscapes, similar to the work of Soviet fantasy filmmakers. In addition, the richly textured color schemes of the settings evoke the paintings of the Belarusian-Jewish artist [[Marc Chagall]], who provides the namesake for the innkeeper in the film. The film was written for [[Jack MacGowran]], who played the lead role of Professor Abronsius.

Polanski met [[Sharon Tate]] while making the film; she played the role of the local innkeeper's daughter. They were married in London on {{nowrap|20 January}} 1968.<ref name="polanski4" /> Shortly after they married, Polanski, with Tate at his side during a documentary film, described the demands of young movie viewers who he said always wanted to see something "new" and "different".<ref>video: [https://vimeo.com/135750398#t=8m4s ''The New Cinema'' (1968)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911170248/https://vimeo.com/135750398 |date=11 September 2015 }}, fair use clip</ref>

''' ''Rosemary's Baby'' (1968)'''
Paramount studio head [[Robert Evans]] brought Polanski to America ostensibly to direct the film ''[[Downhill Racer#Development and writing|Downhill Racer]]'', but told Polanski that he really wanted him to read the horror novel ''[[Rosemary's Baby (novel)|Rosemary's Baby]]'' by [[Ira Levin]]<ref name="california2"/> to see if a film could be made out of it.<ref name="christopher"/> Polanski read it non-stop through the night and the following morning decided he wanted to write as well as direct it. He wrote the 272-page screenplay in just over three weeks.<ref name="christopher3"/> The film, ''[[Rosemary's Baby (film)|Rosemary's Baby]]'' (1968), was a box-office success and became his first Hollywood production, thereby establishing his reputation as a major commercial filmmaker. The film, a horror-thriller set in trendy Manhattan, is about Rosemary Woodhouse ([[Mia Farrow]]),<ref name="publishing4"/> a young housewife who is impregnated by the devil. Polanski's screenplay adaptation earned him a second Academy Award nomination.

On 9 August 1969, while Polanski was working in London, his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, and four other people were murdered at the Polanskis' residence in Los Angeles by cult leader [[Charles Manson]]'s [[Manson family|followers]].<ref name="bugliosi" />

''' ''Macbeth'' (1971)'''
Polanski adapted ''[[Macbeth]]'' into a screenplay with the [[Shakespeare]] expert [[Kenneth Tynan]].<ref name="publishing5"/> [[Jon Finch]] and [[Francesca Annis]] played the main characters.<ref name="Bate, Jonath page 132"/> [[Hugh Hefner]] and Playboy Productions funded [[Macbeth (1971 film)|the 1971 film]], which opened in New York and was screened in Playboy Theater.<ref name="california6"/> Hefner was credited as executive producer, and the film was listed as a "Playboy Production".<ref name="shakespeare"/> It was controversial because of Lady Macbeth's being nude in a scene,<ref name="Bate, Jonath page 132" /> and received an X rating because of its graphic violence and nudity.<ref name="shakespeare7"/> In his autobiography, Polanski wrote that he wanted to be true to the violent nature of the work and that he had been aware that his first project following Tate's murder would be subject to scrutiny and probable criticism regardless of the subject matter; if he had made a comedy he would have been perceived as callous.<ref name="polanski5" />

''' ''What?'' (1972)'''
Written by Polanski and previous collaborator [[Gérard Brach]], ''[[What? (film)|What?]]'' (1972) is a mordant [[absurdist fiction|absurdist]] comedy loosely based on the themes of ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]'' and [[Henry James]]. The film is a rambling [[shaggy dog story]] about the sexual indignities that befall a winsome young American hippie woman hitchhiking through Europe.

''' ''Chinatown'' (1974)'''
{{quote box|align=right|width=25em|bgcolor = #e1fcff|quote=Polanski was an outstanding director. There was no question, after three days seeing him operate, that here was a really top talent.|source=Co-star [[John Huston]]<ref>Grobel, Lawrence. ''The Hustons'', Charles Scribner's Sons, N.Y. (1989) p. 678</ref>}}
Polanski returned to Hollywood in 1973 to direct ''[[Chinatown (1974 film)|Chinatown]]'' (1974) for [[Paramount Pictures]]. The film is widely considered to be one of the finest American mystery crime movies, inspired by the real-life [[California Water Wars]], a series of disputes over southern California water at the beginning of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/bfi-film-releases/chinatown |title=Chinatown |access-date=3 September 2013| url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130904201934/http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/bfi-film-releases/chinatown |archive-date=4 September 2013}}</ref>

It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including those for actors [[Jack Nicholson]] and Faye Dunaway. [[Robert Towne]] won for Best Original Screenplay. It also had actor-director [[John Huston]] in a supporting role,<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnptsyyut6A John Huston Retrospective Trailer: "Chinatown"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213215611/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnptsyyut6A |date=13 December 2017}}, ''Film Society of Lincoln Center''</ref> and was the last film Polanski directed in the United States. In 1991, the film was selected by the [[Library of Congress]] for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" and it is frequently listed as among [[List of films considered the best|the best in world cinema]].<ref name="guardian.co.uk">{{cite news |last=Pulver |first=Andrew |title=Chinatown: the best film of all time |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/22/best-film-ever-chinatown-season |url-status=live |location=London |work=The Guardian |date=22 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010211710/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/22/best-film-ever-chinatown-season |archive-date=10 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=100 Greatest Films |url=http://www.filmsite.org/momentsindx.html |url-status=live |work=filmsite.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014162835/http://www.filmsite.org/momentsindx.html |archive-date=14 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Greatest film ever: Chinatown wins by a nose |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/greatest-film-ever-chinatown-wins-by-a-nose-20101023-16yk6.html |url-status=live |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=24 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321002324/http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/greatest-film-ever-chinatown-wins-by-a-nose-20101023-16yk6.html |archive-date=21 March 2016}}</ref>

''' ''The Tenant'' (1976)'''
Polanski returned to Paris for his next film, ''[[The Tenant]]'' (1976), which was based on a 1964 novel by [[Roland Topor]], a French writer of Polish-Jewish origin. In addition to directing the film, Polanski also played a leading role of a timid Polish immigrant living in Paris. Together with ''Repulsion'' and ''Rosemary's Baby'', ''The Tenant'' can be seen as the third installment in a loose trilogy of films called the "Apartment Trilogy" that explores the themes of social alienation and psychic and emotional breakdown.<ref name="trilogy" />

In 1978, Polanski [[Roman Polanski sexual abuse case|became a fugitive]] from American justice and could no longer work in countries where he might face arrest or extradition.<ref name="Romney2008-10-05-1">{{cite news |last=Romney |first=Jonathan |date=5 October 2008 |title=Roman Polanski: The truth about his notorious sex crime |work=The Independent |location=London |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/roman-polanski-the-truth-about-his-notorious-sex-crime-949106.html |access-date=10 October 2009 |quote=Hoping to preserve Geimer's anonymity, her attorney Lawrence Silver arranged for Polanski to plea-bargain, to keep the case from going to trial. Accordingly, Polanski pleaded guilty to the lowest of the counts against him, unlawful sexual intercourse.}}</ref><ref name="timeline">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/27/AR2009092703488.html |title=Timeline of Director Roman Polanski's Life |date=28 September 2009 |access-date=24 October 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231010417/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/27/AR2009092703488.html |archive-date=31 December 2016 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>{{verify source|date=September 2021}}