Top 5 Roman Polanski Films |
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| Written by Trent Daniel | ||||||
| Thursday, 08 October 2009 | ||||||
 Because Roman Polanski has found himself, for better or worse, in the news again,I think it is fitting to offer a list of the what I see as the 5 best films by a truly great director. Chinatown (1974) "You may think you know what you're dealing with, but believe me, you don't." This menacing line, uttered by the main villain, beautifully summarizes Polanski’s best film, one that is perhaps the greatest film noir ever made. It marked Polanski’s return to Hollywood 5 years after the horrific murder of his wife Sharon Tate. Perhaps fittingly, few films are as bleak and cynical regarding the level of corruption, deception and flat out evil humanity can stoop to when motivated by greed and power. Nicholson, in one of his greatest performances, is a private eye who first searches for a missing husband and eventually finds himself involved in an enormous water scandal in the Los Angeles of the 30s. He genuinely tries to help good triumph over evil, only to find his previous assumptions inaccurate and his efforts ultimate futile. A tragic masterpiece from a man who has seen more than his share of tragedy. Macbeth (1971)  Polaski’s Macbeth is arguably cinema’s greatest adaptation of Shakespeare. The Bard’s grimmest play finds the perfect director in Polaski (it seems fitting this is the first film he made after his wife’s death). There is no hero in this film (certainly not Macbeth; not even Macduff, the presumed hero in other adaptations). There is also no sympathy for Macbeth in this adaptation; he gets what is coming to him for his crimes. All the characters in this adaptation seem driven by bloodlust and power. Polanski even dares to add a grim coda in which Malcolm goes to consort with the three witches who deceived Macbeth. One can understand, even admire Polanski for making a film that is indeed full of sound and fury-leading to actions that signify nothing. Rosemary’s Baby (1968) Polanski’s horror masterpiece works like Nicholas Roeg’s classic Don’t Look Now in that the horror comes not from “Boo!” scares, but from a relentless, mounting sense of danger and dread for the heroine. It is also one of the most genuinely creepy films ever made (with an unforgettably eerie score). The story on the surface is ridiculous: a group of modern day witches try to find the perfect young woman to deliver Satan’s child. However, the film’s wicked sense of humor (“He has his father’s eyes.”) and terrific performances (especially Ruth Gordon’s Oscar winning performance as Mrs. Castavet) not only enhance the film, but make it truly frightening. The Pianist (2003) Polanski’s life and career as a director happened only because his father pushed him through the barbed wire of a concentration camp during WW2. His mother died in Auschwitz, a wound Polanski has said will never heal. Polanski drew from his own experience for this film. His last great film is not only personal, but bleakly honest. In telling the story of one Wladyslaw Szpilman, a master pianist who survived the Holocaust, Polanski makes it painfully clear that Szpilman survived not because of courage, but because of plain luck and the help of others. Most Polish Jews did not survive the Holocaust and only fate and good luck decided who did. Repulsion (1965) Polanski’s first great horror film touches on a theme seen in other films of his, such as Rosemary’s Baby, The Pianist and The Tenant. Namely, he finds horror not in the abandoned mansion isolated in the woods, but in a small apartment, surrounded by tenants you are not sure you can trust. Catherine Deneuve plays a young manicurist in London who is left alone in her small apartment and has a complete psychological breakdown. This nerve-racking thriller masterfully mixes genuine jump scares with a mounting sense of unease as Deneuve gradually loses her sanity (in a truly terrifying scene, even the walls seem to grab at her). Not recommended for autophobics (the fear of being alone).
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