Essential auteur: Five Polanski films

Roman Polanski’s latest film – The Ghost Writer – is due in Australian cinemas in the coming days, with the official release on August 12 preceded by sneak peak screenings in selected cinemas this weekend. Despite a high profile cast (Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall, Olivia Williams and Tom Wilkinson) and topical political premise (vaguely alluding to former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair), it is far from his best; yet somehow even the release of an average Polanski feature provides the perfect opportunity to discover the master director at work. In that spirit, inspired by his return to film-making after a five year break (including the latest instalment in his very public legal woes), we take a look at five essential Polanski films, each worth viewing for insights into the man as an auteur, and the vision, style and themes that have permeated his work since his 1962 debut Knife in the Water – the first film on our list.

Knife in the Water: For cinephiles and film school graduates enamoured with auteurs as the cult figures in filmmaking (a line of thinking that I myself am guilty of), the first feature from a given director is often seen as a critical, pivotal art work from which all manner of assumptions and clues about the artist and his future work can be gleaned. And whilst there are numerous exceptions (George Lucas’ brilliant science fiction debut THX 1138 doesn’t quite predict the commercial mess of the later efforts in the Star Wars series – or the travesty of Jar Jar Binks, for that matter), thankfully in Polanski’s case Knife in the Water (Nóż w wodzie) proves the attention afforded debut efforts is often worth it. Starring Leon Niemczyk, Jolanta Umecka and Zygmunt Malanowicz, it is an atmospheric and foreboding thriller imbued with suspense, tension and minimalism as it dissects the devious dynamics of a wealthy married couple and a hitchhiker, bound together on the open seas. Received positively in Polanski’s native Poland (gaining extra significance as the first post-war film from the country that didn’t mention the war) as well as internationally (with Oscar and BAFTA nominations for best foreign film, and a FIPRESCI prize win at the Venice Film Festival), it immediately heralded his arrival as a filmmaker to watch – a proclamation cemented by his equally outstanding, fellow FIPRESCI prize winning second feature, Repulsion.

Rosemary’s Baby: Only one year prior to the brutal murder of his second wife (actress Sharon Tate, eight and a half months pregnant at the time, and the star of the director’s comic vamp flick The Fearless Vampire Killers) at the hands of Charles Manson’s followers, Polanski delved into all things evil and occult in the seminal horror offering Rosemary’s Baby (in an interesting side note, Polanski touches upon the topic again in The Ninth Gate, starring his third wife Emmanuelle Seigner). Adapted by the director from Ira Levin’s iconic novel, and starring Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes as newlyweds in a new apartment looking to conceive, it cast a dark shadow over the American dream of starting a family, with a demonic cult corrupting the young wife under a horrific conspiracy to impregnate her with the spawn of Satan. With Ruth Gordon (in her Academy Award-winning supporting role) and Sidney Blackmer perfectly cast as the creepy neighbours at the centre of the scheme, and a haunting score from previous Polanski collaborator Krzysztof Komeda, Rosemary’s Baby is a powerful, emotional, and slightly diabolical feature about the menace inside and the monster outside, in one of the undeniable landmark films of the genre.

Chinatown: For the sake of full disclosure, I must confess that Chinatown – Polanski’s 1974 neo-noir throwback starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston – is my favourite film of all time. The director’s masterpiece – and one of the greatest features ever committed to celluloid – it relates the tale of private investigator Jake Gittes (Nicholson) and his efforts to navigate a complex labyrinth of deception and misdirection involving an early energy mogul, his daughter, and the dwindling L.A. water supply. Combining classic 1940s-style filmmaking with a cracking script (from powerhouse Oscar-winning screenwriter Robert Towne), breakthrough performances from the cast, and a nosy cameo from the auteur himself in perhaps his most prominent role in front of the camera (although his recent work in Quiet Chaos received significant attention), it is a deserved highlight of Hollywood cinema, lauded by viewers, critics and awards guilds alike. Nominated for eleven Academy Awards but criminally receiving only one (the above-mentioned nod for original screenplay) due to the dominance of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather: Part II in the same year, Chinatown instead amassed a slew of BAFTAs, Golden Globes and festival accolades, recognising it as Polanski’s unmistakeable best.

Frantic: At a time when Harrison Ford was known for rollicking adventures both in space and on earth in the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises (in addition to high profile roles in Blade Runner, The Mosquito Coast and Witness), Polanski cast him opposite wife-to-be Seigner in Frantic, a harried chase drama about a man searching for his missing spouse in the midst of an international terrorist attack. Although it may seem like an unlikely combination, it proved a fruitful alliance for the actor and his director, giving Ford the opportunity to demonstrate depth not normally called for, and allowing Polanski his first real taste of the action genre. Exquisitely shot in Paris, this European precursor to Ford’s work in the likes of The Fugitive may not compare to the filmmaker’s standout features, however it does illustrate his willingness to try his hand at new styles whilst incorporating favoured narrative elements (such as the trademark game of cat and mouse, seen in almost all Polanski films), in an effective thriller not always given the credit it is due.

The Pianist: It took sixteen films and three best director nominations, however in 2002 Polanski finally won the Oscar he rightly deserved – albeit not for Chinatown, but almost three decades later for his intimate look at war-torn Poland, The Pianist. The film that brought Adrien Brody into the spotlight after roles in Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line, Spike Lee’s Summer Of Sam, and Ken Loach’s Bread And Roses – and an Academy Award for best actor to match Polanski’s triumph – it is tender and heartbreaking, tough and horrifying, in a personal look at the experiences of a Jewish musician in Poland during the second world war. Of extra significance to the director with a story closely mirroring his own, his filmed version of Władysław Szpilman’s autobiography is his most introspective work, as well as his most emotive. Winner of the Palme d’Or, two BAFTAs, seven Césars, a Goya, eight Eagles (or Polish Film Awards), and almost everything else in between, The Pianist is a flawless modern addition to his resume, and his justifiably most celebrated feature since Chinatown.

DVD Bits can be found on Twitter @DVDBits. DVD Bits is at http://www.dvdbits.com.

Tags: action, auteur, films, horror, lists, movies, mystery, noir, Polanski