Masters of Cinema: Roman Polanski

by David Ehrenstein

Roman Polanski (born 1933) is a French - Polish film director, producer, writer and actor, who stands as one of the most influential directors living today. A truly international filmmaker, Polanski has received numerous awards, including the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and five Oscar nominations. Polanski has tackled many genres, including the horror film (Rosemary's Baby, 1968), film noir (Chinatown, 1974), historical drama (Tess, 1979), and, more recently, the war film The Pianist (2002), about the holocaust, and the thriller The Ghost Writer (2010). Polanski has also directed some of the most talented actresses of our time, including Catherine Deneuve, Mia Farrow and Kate Winslet. Polanski's films are dominated by a sense of claustrophobia and deal with the existential themes of loneliness, fear and uneasiness.