Roman Polanski
Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, The Pianist — Oscar-Winning Director
The Haunted Leo
Roman Polanski survived the Krakow Ghetto as a child, lost his mother to Auschwitz, and then lost his wife Sharon Tate to the Manson murders. From this biographical darkness came Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown, The Tenant — some of cinema’s most psychologically penetrating films. The Pianist, his autobiographical Holocaust film, won the Palme d’Or and Best Director Oscar.
Leo Legacy
- Rosemary’s Baby: 1968 — psychological horror masterpiece that invented a genre
- Chinatown: 1974 — with Jack Nicholson, a perfect film of cynicism and power
- The Pianist: 2002 — won Palme d’Or and Best Director Oscar
- Holocaust survival: Escaped Krakow Ghetto as a child — his life is inseparable from his art
Polanski’s Leo artistic fire burned from the darkest personal experience imaginable.
“Cinema should make you forget you are sitting in a theater.”