Roman Polanski is an extraordinary filmmaker. Most of his films are intellectually challenging, highly cinematic masterpieces. Before starting on an international career, Polanski acted in a few film productions in his home country Poland, where he attended the film academy in the years 1954-1959. At that time he also made a few (prize-winning) short films.
Among Polanski's best films are REPULSION, THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS, ROSEMARY'S BABY, CHINATOWN and THE TENANT. The director was married to Sharon Tate, who was murdered by the Charles Manson sect in 1969. Polanski is certainly one of the most important filmmakers of the 20th century.



Filmography:

Trzy Opowiesci (1953; act; aka Three Stories)
Zaczarowany Rower (1955; act; aka Magical Bicycle)
Rower (1955; dir, scr, act; short film)
Pokolenie (1955; act; aka A Generation)
Nikodem Dyzma (1955; act)
Usmiech Zebiczny (1957; dir, scr; aka Teeth Smile; short film)
Rozbijemy Zabawe (1957; dir; short film)
Moderstwo (1957; dir, scr; short film)
Koniec Nocy (1957; act; aka End of the Night)
Kanal (1957; act?; aka Canal, They Loved Life)
Wraki (1957; act; aka The Wrecks)
Dwaj Ludzie z Szafa (1958; dir, scr, act; aka Two Men and a Wardrobe; short film)
Co Rekne Zena? (1958; act)
Lotna (1959; act)
Lampa (1959; dir, scr; short film)
Gdy Spadaja Anioly (1959; dir, scr, act; aka When Angels Fall [Down]; short film)
Zezowate Szczescie (1960; ass dir, act)
Do Widzenia Do Jutra (1960; act; aka Auf Wiedersehen bis morgen)
Niewinni Czarodzieje (1960; act; aka Die unschuldigen Zauberer)
Le Gros et le Maigre (1961; dir, scr, act, prod; a 15m.short)
Ostroznie, Yeti! (1961; act)
Samson (1961; act; not the peplum movie)
Ssaki (1962; dir, act; a 10m. short)
Noz w Wodzie (1962; dir, coscr; aka Knife in the Water)
Les Plus Belles Escroqueries de la Monde (1964; seq dir, seq coscr; aka Beautiful Swindlers)
Aimez-Yous les Femmes? (1964; coscr; based on a novel by Georges Bardawil; aka Taste for Women)
Repulsion (1965; dir, coscr)
Cul-de-Sac (1966; dir, coscr)
G.G. Passion (1966; coprod; a 30m. short)
La Fille d'en Face (1967; coscr)
The Fearless Vampire Killers or: Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are in My Neck (1967; dir, coscr, act)
Rosemary's Baby (1968; dir, scr; based on a novel by Ira Levin)
A Day at the Beach (1969; coscr, coprod)
The Magic Christian (1970; act)
Macbeth (1971; dir, coscr, coprod; based on the tragedy by William Shakespeare)
Le Bateau Sur l'Herbe (1971; coscr; aka The Boat on the Grass)
Afternoon of a Champion (1972, coscr, act; documentary about racing champion Jackie Stewart)
Che? (1972; dir, coscr, act; aka What?, Diary of Forbidden Dreams)
Chinatown (1974; dir, act)
Blood for Dracula (1974; act; aka Andy Warhol's Dracula)
The Tenant (1976; dir, coscr, act; based on Roland Topor's Le Locataire Chimérique)
Tess (1979; dir, coscr; based on Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy)
Chassé-Croisé (1982; act)
Pirates (1986; dir, coscr)
Frantic (1988; dir, coscr)
En Attendant Godot (1989; act; made for TV)
Back in the USSR (1991; act)
Bitter Moon (1992; dir, coscr, coprod)
Death and the Maiden (1994; dir)
Una Pura Formalità (1994; act)
Grosse Fatigue (1994; act; aka Dead Tired)
Castlenuovo (1999; prod)
The Ninth Gate (1999; dir, coscr, prod)
The Pianist (2002; dir, coprod))
Zemsta (2002; act)
Oliver Twist (2005; dir, coprod)

© Ron Altman (last update 04/08/2007)