Polanski: A Biography

by Christopher Sandford

Overview

This dramatic account weaves together the rich and complex life of the celebrated and controversial film director, Holocaust survivor, and exile, based on a wealth of sources and new material. New revelations about Polanski's life include:

— The connection between his mother's death in Auschwitz and wife Sharon Tate's murder by the Manson family—both women were pregnant
— His radical transition from childhood poverty in a Krakow ghetto to a glamorous Hollywood life among socialites
— The psychological complexity and central thread of sexuality that runs throughout his films and his relationships with younger women
— A culmination of tragedies in Polanski's life, from the Holocaust to the Manson murders to his sexual assault charges and subsequent exile from the U.S.

The unique humor of the "rascal genius" that keeps the world watching and awaiting his new projects
Acclaimed biographer Sandford draws on dozens of interviews with actors who have worked with Polanski, as well as previously sealed transcripts of his criminal hearings, testimony before the California grand jury following the accusations that led to his exile, and personal reflections on the murders of Sharon Tate and other friends of the couple. Polanski's films from 1962 to 2005 are contextualized within his life, including such highlights as Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, and the Oscar-winning The Pianist. Sandford's fascinating biography illuminates the life and work of one of the most important careers in modern cinema.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780230611764
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/10/2009
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.80(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Christopher Sandford has published acclaimed biographies of Kurt Cobain (now in development as a major feature film), Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, and Bruce Springsteen. He has worked as a film and music writer and reviewer for over twenty years, and Rolling Stone has called him "the pre-eminent author in his field today." He divides his time between England and Seattle.

Read an Excerpt

Polanski

By Sandford, Christopher Palgrave Macmillan
Copyright © 2008
Sandford, Christopher
All right reserved.

ISBN: 9780230607781

Early on the morning of 14 March 1943, the Krakow ghetto was finally liquidated. It was exactly a month since [Roman’s mother] Bula Polanski had disappeared; the destruction of families “one Jew at a time” was specifically encouraged in the German plan. [His father] Ryszard was able to smuggle Romek [Roman] out of the immediate area, [his friend] Stefan being left to his fate, before the SS came for him. From there the 9-year-old took to his heels, crossing Podgorze Bridge and riding the tram out of town to the [neighboring] Wilks, who happened to have been away. Unsure of what to do next, Romek doubled back to the bridge, where he found a column of men being marched off to the waiting trains. Among them was Ryszard.



        Romek came as close as he dared and gestured to his father. As the long line of prisoners went by, Ryszard was able to slip back through the ranks to a position furthest away from the guards. Like all the detainees, he had had his tie, belt, and shoelaces removed. It was standard procedure.



        For several seconds, the irregular-looking squad shuffled on in silence towards the wagons. Then Ryszard’s lips moved, though just barely, and he spoke in a voice so low that Romek had to strain to hear it from six feet away.



       “Zjezdzaj,” he said. “Get lost.”



…

                This was the backdrop at the time Romek Wilk, as he styled himself, went into permanent hiding in the spring of 1943. It was hard to say which was worse, the war situation or his own predicament. Either way, he was alone

Continues...

Excerpted from Polanski by Sandford, Christopher Copyright © 2008 by Sandford, Christopher. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations     viii
Acknowledgements     ix
Director's Cut     1
Hitler     11
Stalin     39
'Bolshevism's Boy Wonder'     75
Manson     119
Shakespeare, Sex and Surrealism     165
The Trial     213
Frantic     263
Roman Holiday     301
Oscar     327
Filmography     357
Bibliography     361
Sources and Chapter Notes     363
Index     371

Editorial Reviews

Sandford deftly portrays a disturbed, disturbing man who happens to be a great filmmaker.” —New York Times Book Review

“In this fine biography, Sandford gives [Polanski's] films the praise they deserve, and he is fair as well to Polanski the man.” —Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World

“Engrossing, lucid presentation of a uniquely complicated and productive life... In slyly playful prose... Sandford admirably extracts all of the salient information from the maelstrom of controversy and urban myth surrounding Polanski.” —Kirkus Reviews

“…Sandford's obvious knowledge and critical estimation of Polanski's work conveys a tough but appealing fairness that should be welcomed by scholars and lay readers alike.” —Library Journal

“...clear-eyed, entertaining...” —L.A. Weekly

“Sandford's emphasis on accuracy... is impressive.” —The Seattle Times

“Polanski fetishists will luxuriate in Sandford's details of Polanski's schizophrenically fascinating life.” —New York Press

“At a certain point in his well-researched, decently written biography of Roman Polanski, Christopher Sandford characterizes his subject as 'a permanent alien,' which is about as good a summary of the director as you are likely to encounter.” —Richard Schickel, Los Angeles Times

“Respectful but smoothly objective... Using material drawn from more than 270 interviews with friends, relatives, and acquaintances, Sandford's biography is rich with the sort of anecdotes and minutiae true fans of an artist love to devour... all brought together by a lively style that manages to be sympathetic but also miles from being hagiographic.” —Chad Denton, http://liheliso.com/

“Incisive, gripping and carefully-researched biography of one of the most polarizing figures of modern cinema. Sandford has clearly devoted considerable efforts to teasing out the myth from the reality of Polanski's extraordinary life.” —Andrew Morton, author of Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography

“Biographies of living figures are generally embarrassing. This one, unauthorized, critically admiring, expertly put together, is an exception, a notable tribute to a rascal genius with an unending capacity for surprise.” —The Spectator

“Sandford's Polanski emerges as a cross between Oliver Twist and Artful Dodger, and is by and large sympathetic.” —The Guardian

“A loving yet unflinching portrait ... a deft account based on exhaustive research and interviews.... The book is most compelling, in its description of how Springsteen's social conscience grew as he matured ... a worthy analysis of rock's most generous soul ... This book makes one realize Springsteen deserves any peace he has found.” —Boston Globe on Christopher Sandford's book, "Springsteen: Point Blank"

“A solidly researched and coherently argued portrait of Nirvana's front man.” —Amazon.com on Christopher Sandford's book, "Kurt Cobain"

“Sandford does an expert job of capturing a complicated subject ... his easy storytelling style and expert musical knowledge make for a satisfying read.” —Publishers Weekly on Christopher Sandford's book, "Keith Richards: Satisfaction"

From the Publisher

Polanski has lived for his work, and it is by his work that he must be judged. It is a pity that there are so many stains on his record, but there are few stains on his films. In this fine biography, Sandford gives those films the praise they deserve, and he is fair as well to Polanski the man.
—The Washington Post

Jonathan Yardley

Celebrity biographer Sandford (McCartney, etc.) tackles the life of director Roman Polanski, but only scratches the surface of one of cinema's most controversial figures. Born in Paris in 1933, Polanski, with his family, moved to Poland in 1936 on the eve of World War II. His mother died in Auschwitz and his father was imprisoned for the duration of the war, leaving Polanski to fend for himself in the Kraków ghetto. He later attended Lódz's National Film School and began attracting attention for themes that would become his trademarks: voyeurism, sexual tension and latent violence. Polanski took full advantage of the "swinging" '60s in Paris, London and later America, and developed a reputation as a lothario with an eye for younger women. His life and career in America, which included the classics Rosemary's Baby(1968) and Chinatown(1974), were marred by two pivotal events: the 1969 slaying of his pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate, by members of Charlie Manson's "Family" and Polanski's own arrest in 1977 for the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl. (Sept.)

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Publishers Weekly

Biographer Sandford (McCartney; Kurt Cobain) delivers the latest work to explore Roman Polanski, notoriously controversial director of Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, and The Pianist. Recounted are many of the hideous events Polanski witnessed as a child in German-occupied Poland, from which he formed a worldview often reflected in his films. Sandford takes every opportunity to address the transformative events of Polanski's life, often initiated by Polanski himself; not surprisingly, the author speculates on the possibility that many a metamorphosis was, and is, intentional fabrication. Drawing from firsthand interviews with the director's associates and colleagues, as well as Polanski's autobiography, Roman by Polanski, Sandford writes this life-spanning survey with casual fluidity-seemingly appropriate for a man so well known for his nonchalant personal exploits. Stories of Polanski are seemingly always up for dispute and practically by default evoke conflicting views of his personal moral character. Nonetheless, Polanski's artistry is generally held in high regard, and Sandford's obvious knowledge and critical estimation of Polanski's work conveys a tough but appealing fairness that should be welcomed by scholars and lay readers alike.
—Eric Pasteur

Library Journal

The tumultuous story of a director whose signature movies-dark, bleakly funny, shot through with perversity and paranoia-reflect the sensibility of an artist shaped by circumstances more harrowing, unpredictable and absurd than any Hollywood melodrama. Roman Polanski's troubles began in 1939, when the Nazis invaded his native Poland. The family was confined to Krakow's Jewish ghetto, and in 1943 his parents were sent to concentration camps, leaving their ten-year-old son to fend for himself. (After the war, reunited with his father, he learned that his pregnant mother had been gassed at Auschwitz.) Cunning and possessed of a ferocious drive, Polanski eventually attended film school in Lodz, where he quickly became the star pupil and developed a reputation for lavish spending, partying and prodigious sexual conquests. In slyly playful prose, Sandford (McCartney, 2007, etc.) limns the young artist as a mercurial changeling, alternately arrogant, tender, hilarious, boorish and charming, always striving for (and coming thrillingly close to) technical perfection in his cinematic technique. After he emigrated to America, Rosemary's Baby and Chinatown helped define a new era in movies and cemented their director's status as one of the greats. Polanski's personal life remained gothic: In 1969 his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, was horrifically murdered by the Manson Family; eight years later, the director pled guilty to the charge of "unlawful intercourse" with a 13-year-old girl, fled the country before sentencing and has lived in Europe since. Sandford admirably extracts all of the salient information from the maelstrom of controversy and urban myth surrounding Polanski's often lurid personalhistory, neither damning nor exonerating him. When he won the Academy Award for Best Director in 2002 for his Holocaust drama The Pianist (obviously, he could not attend), the driven, 69-year-old director was in Paris, preparing his next film. Engrossing, lucid presentation of a uniquely complicated and productive life. First printing of 100,000

Kirkus Reviews