Polanski - Hardcover

Sandford, Christopher

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1844138798 ISBN 13: 9781844138791

Publisher: Century, 2007

Synopsis

Born in Paris to Polish-Jewish parents, Polanski dealt with the terrors of his childhood — including internment in Auschwitz — by creating an elaborate fantasy world in which he lived as a film star. Polanski would go on to become one of the best and most infamous directors in Hollywood’s history, with a list of achievements that includes Repulsion, Rosemary’s Baby, Macbeth, Chinatown, Tess, Frantic, and more recently, the Golden Globe- and Oscar-winning The Pianist.

Yet the most dramatic story has unfolded within his own personal life: in August 1969, his pregnant wife Sharon Tate and seven of their friends were butchered by the Manson family. Polanski was in London at the time. Eight years later he was arrested by L.A. police on charges of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl in Jack Nicholson’s home. Polanski fled the country and has since lived in exile in Paris.

The director is currently filming Oliver Twist and promises to follow it with his version of the Tate killings. Both projects, dealing with child exploitation and murder, can only fuel the controversy that surrounds him. This biography is timed to coincide with the release of the movies, and will be the first opportunity to read about this talented yet wildly excessive personality in such depth for over fourteen years.

About this title

About the Author

Christopher Sandford has been writing about pop music for twenty years, his articles appearing in the Times, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, The Spectator and New York Times, among others. In 1998 Rolling Stone called him “the pre-eminent author in his field today.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

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

About this edition

• Publisher: Century
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1844138798
• ISBN 13: 9781844138791
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304