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Roman Polański (born August 18 , 1933 ) is an Oscar-winning Franco - Polish Film Director and Actor . A celebrated Hollywood director of such films as '' Rosemary's Baby '' ( 1968 ) and '' Chinatown '' ( 1974 ), he is also known for his tumultuous personal life. His wife, actress Sharon Tate , was murdered by the Manson Family in 1969 and he fled to Europe following a 1978 guilty plea to Statutory Rape of a 13-year-old girl. Unwilling to return to the United States and face arrest, he has continued to direct films in Europe, including '' Frantic '' ( 1988 ), the Academy Award -winning '' The Pianist '' ( 2002 ), and '' Oliver Twist '' ( 2005 ). BIOGRAPHY Early life Polański was born in Paris , France as Rajmund Roman Liebling to Ryszard Polański (aka '''Ryszard Liebling'''), a Polish Jew , and '''Bula Polanska''' (née Katz), who was born in Russia to a Jewish father and Roman Catholic mother. Because of growing Anti-semitism , the family moved back to Poland in 1937. Poland was occupied by German and Soviet troops in 1939. On November 13, 1939, Kraków became the seat of office of Hans Frank . The General Government surrounded parts of the Polish state, which had not been annexed to the Germany. The declared goal of the German occupiers was to make the General Government '' Judenfrei '', and to expel the Poles, that Germans could settle there. The Polański family was therefore the target of Nazi persecution and was forced into the Kraków Ghetto , along with millions of other Polish Jews. Roman Polański's mother subsequently died in Auschwitz Concentration Camp ; his father barely survived the Austrian concentration camp Mauthausen-Gusen . Polański himself escaped the Kraków Ghetto, and survived the war with the help of a Polish farmer, where he had to sleep in a cow stall. He was informed of his mother's death from his sister after the war. He was educated at the film school in , Russian , English , French , Spanish , and Italian . in ''The Fearless Vampire Killers'' (1967)]] Several short Film s made during the study gained considerable recognition. His first major film '' Knife In The Water '' (1962) was the first significant Polish film after the war that was not associated with the war theme. It was Polański's first nomination for the Oscar . Polański then made films in the United Kingdom ; '' Repulsion '' (1965), a disturbing tale of madness and alienation; '' Cul-de-Sac '' (1966) is similar in tone to the plays of Samuel Beckett , telling the story of a couple ( Donald Pleasence and Françoise Dorleac ) living on a remote island who are visited by two gangsters ( Lionel Stander and Jack MacGowran). '' The Fearless Vampire Killers '' (1967) is the American title for ''Dance of the Vampires'', an unusual combination of Comedy and Horror . Polański's visuals give the film the feeling of a Fairy Tale , and at the same time he continues to explore the darker side of human relationships. The director was not happy with the American version of the film, which was re-cut in addition to having its title changed. Relationship with Sharon Tate Polański met rising star Sharon Tate while filming ''The Fearless Vampire Killers'' and during their time together doing the film they began dating. In 1968 Polański went to Hollywood , where his reputation was enhanced by the success of the sophisticated psychological thriller '' Rosemary's Baby '' ( 1968 ), based on Ira Levin 's book of the same name, about a woman ( Mia Farrow ) who discovers she is pregnant with Satan 's baby. On January 25, 1968, he married Tate in London , England . On August 9, 1969, Tate, who was eight months pregnant, and four others ( Abigail Folger , Jay Sebring , Wojciech Frykowski , and Steven Parent ) were brutally murdered by members of Charles Manson 's "Family", who entered the Polański home on Cielo Drive in the Hollywood Hills with the intention that they would "kill everyone there". Distraught and heartbroken, Polański returned to Europe shortly after the killers were arrested. Also in 1969, Polański lost friend and collaborator Krzysztof Komeda ( 1931 – 1969 ). Komeda had been a popular Jazz artist in Poland when the director first approached him to Score a short film. He went on to score almost all of Polański's feature films until a head injury resulted in the composer's premature death. He is probably best known in the US for the haunting Soundtrack to the movie ''Rosemary's Baby'', but Komeda is also considered one of the most important figures of the Polish jazz scene of the 1950s and 1960s . The seventies Polański's next feature was a film version of '' Macbeth '' ( 1971 ), which was both praised for its intelligence and criticized for its explicit violence. This was followed by '' What? '' ( 1972 ), a surreal comedy about a young woman (Sydne Rome) and her adventures in a remote villa inhabited by an assortment of eccentric, and sometimes scary, people. The director's next commercial success was '' Chinatown '' ( 1974 ), based on a Screenplay by Robert Towne . The film was also embraced by critics, in part for its skillful evocation of the film noir classics made by the Hollywood studios. ''Chinatown'' references the history of the real Los Angeles , but it also alludes to the imaginary Los Angeles of the movies. It may be telling that Polański chose to play the lead in his next film, ''The Tenant'' ( 1976 ), the story of a Polish Immigrant living in Paris. ''The Tenant'' is a chilling exploration of alienation and identity, asking disturbing questions about how we define ourselves. Pleaded guilty to statutory rape of 13-year-old girl In 1977 Polański, 43, became embroiled in a scandal involving a 13-year-old girl, Samantha Geimer, that eventuated with Polański's guilty plea on Statutory Rape charges. Polański was initially charged with rape, suspicion of Sodomy , Child Molestation and providing Alcohol to a minor, but these charges were dismissed. The grand jury transcript describes the alcohol that Polański allegedly supplied before engaging in oral, vaginal and anal sex on the girl. (In ''Roman by Polański'', Polański alleged that the mother had set up the daughter as part of a Casting Couch and Blackmail scheme against him.) It was alleged that the director drugged her with Quaalude s and alcohol, during a "photo shoot", and then proceeded to have Sexual Intercourse with her at the empty Hollywood Hills home of actor Jack Nicholson . The sister of the girl overheard her describing this to her friend over the phone, and the mother reported the incident to the police. After being indicted and spending 45 days in psychiatric evaluation, Polański fled the United States for Paris when it seemed that the judge would not honour his Plea Bargain deal for no prison sentence. A fugitive from the United States On February 1 , 1978 , after pleading guilty to the charges, Polański skipped Bail and fled to France on learning that the judge was going to disregard the plea bargain and that he (Polański) could be sentenced to as much as 50 years in prison. France has a policy not to Extradite its own citizens, which is reflected in the extradition treaty between France and the United States. As a consequence, American requests of extradition could not be heeded. It was possible for the US government to request Polański's Prosecution by the French authorities. ('' The Washington Post '', February 3 , 1978 {Link without Title} ). However US authorities chose not to avail themselves of this possibility, because the French have traditionally been unwilling to return U.S. criminals. The United States could still request the arrest and extradition of Polański from other countries, should he visit them. As a consequence, Polański has since avoided visits to countries that were likely to extradite him, such as the United Kingdom , mostly travelling between France and Poland. In a 2003 interview , Samantha Geimer said that "I'm sure if he could go back, he wouldn't do it again. He made a terrible mistake but he's paid for it." She is now in her second marriage, with three sons, living on Kauai, Hawaii . ''Vanity Fair'' libel case In , 2005 , and Polański made English legal history as the first claimant to give evidence by video link. During the trial, which included the testimonies of Mia Farrow and others, it was proved that the alleged scene at the famous New York restaurant Elaine's could not possibly have taken place on the date given, because Polański only dined at this restaurant three weeks later. Also, the Norwegian then-model disputed the accounts that he had claimed to be able to make her "the next Sharon Tate". Polański was awarded £50,000 damages by the High Court in London. Graydon Carter , editor of ''Vanity Fair'', responded "I find it amazing that a man who lives in France can sue a magazine that is published in America in a British courtroom" while Samantha Geimer commented "Surely a man like this hasn't got a reputation to tarnish?" {Link without Title} Later career He received another Academy Award nomination for '' Tess '' ( 1979 ). '' Pirates '' ( 1986 ), a lavish period piece, was a commercial and critical failure. This was followed by '' Frantic '' ( 1988 ), probably the most conventional of the thrillers the director has made, and it, too, failed to excite critics or the general public. ''Frantic'' featured Actress and Model Emmanuelle Seigner , whom the director married in 1989 . She starred in others of his films including '' Bitter Moon '', in 1992, and '' The Ninth Gate '' (1999). They have two children: Morgane and Elvis, the latter named as a tribute to his favourite singer, Elvis Presley. In 1997 he directed a stage version of '' The Fearless Vampire Killers '', a musical, which debuted on October 4 , 1997 in Vienna as '' Tanz Der Vampire '', which was also the German title of the film version. After closing in Vienna, the show had successful runs in Stuttgart and Hamburg , Germany . In May 2002 , Polański won the '' Palme D'Or '' (Golden Palm) award at the Cannes Film Festival for '' The Pianist '', which also later won the 2002 Academy Award For Directing . He could not attend the Academy Awards in Hollywood , because he still faces sentencing of up to 50 years in prison if he ever returns to the U.S. In 2004 he received the Crystal Globe award for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival . During the summer and autumn of 2004, Polański shot a new film adaptation of Charles Dickens ' novel '' Oliver Twist ''. The shooting took place at the Barrandov Studios in Prague , Czech Republic , based on Ronald Harwood 's screenplay. The actors included Barney Clark (Oliver Twist), Jamie Foreman (Bill Sykes), Harry Eden ( The Artful Dodger ), Ben Kingsley ( Fagin ), Leanne Rowe (Nancy), and Edward Hardwicke (Mr Brownlow). Besides the cast, the director gathered again some of his collaborators from his previous movies: Ronald Harwood (screenplay), as noted, Allan Starski (production designer), Pawel Edelman (director of photography), and Anna Sheppard (costume designer). STYLE Most of Polański's works are often considered psychological thrillers. He has been called a Genius of exploring the dark sides of human personality. His favourite theme that can be found in almost every movie he made is the relationship between the victim and the hangman (''Death and The Maiden'', ''Bitter Moon'', ''Cul-de-Sac'', ''Rosemary's Baby''). The world of Polański's movies is cruel, grotesque and filled with brutal sex and dark humour. The main characters seem to be frail and weak, not able to fight whatever is surrounding them. Polański likes to shoot his films from the position of a Voyeur . He has been critically praised as a director who brought intelligent and artistic values to commercial cinema (''Rosemary's Baby'', ''Chinatown''). ''Death and the Maiden'' star Stuart Wilson said of Polański, "Roman is very deep water pretending shallow water." OTHER FACTS
FILMOGRAPHY Film director
Actor
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