Roman Polanski

A Life in Exile

Julia Ain-Krupa

• Publisher: Praeger
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN:
  9780313377808
• eBook ISBN:
  9780313377815
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Film & Video

This book offers an examination of the films of Roman Polanski, focusing on the impact that his life as an exile has had upon his work.

Roman Polanski: A Life in Exile is a revealing look at this acclaimed filmmaker whose life in exile seems to have made his films all the more personal and powerful.

Written by a film critic, this insightful book follows Polanski's story from his childhood in a World War II Jewish ghetto to his early films in Poland; from his American breakout, Rosemary's Baby, to his wife's murder by the Manson family; from the spectacular return of Chinatown, to his exile as a convicted sex criminal, to the monumental career peak, The Pianist. The Holocaust, the oppression of communism, the shattering of the swinging 60s, the decadence of Hollywood, the life of a fugitive—Polanski experienced all of these firsthand, and understanding those experiences provides a fascinating pathway through his work.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Series Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. Poland: The Early Years
• 2. Knife in the Water (1962)
• 3. Bridge to Freedom: England in the Sixties
• 4. American Lullaby: Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
• 5. No Man’s Land
• 6. Redemption: Chinatown (1974)
• 7. The Stranger Upstairs: The Tenant (1976)
• 8. “A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented”: Tess (1979)
• 9. Where Is Polanski?
• 10. Return to Suspense
• 11. The Pianist (2002)
• 12. Oliver Twist (2005)
• Epilogue
• Afterword
• Filmography
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index