This in-depth examination of one of Hollywood’s most famous, and infamous, directors and stars is utterly absorbing.
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. He would go on to become one of the very best and most infamous directors in Hollywood’s history — with a backlist that includes Repulsion; Rosemary’s Baby; Macbeth; Chinatown; Tess; Frantic and, more recently, the Oscar– and Golden Globe–winning The Pianist. Yet it is within his personal life that the most dramatic story unfolds.
In August, 1969, his wife Sharon Tate, eight months pregnant, and seven of the couple’s friends were butchered by the Manson family. Polanski, the intended target, was in Paris at the time. Then, eight years later, he was arrested by LA police on charges of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. He fled the country and has since lived in exile in Paris. Polanski’s latest film was the hit Oliver Twist and, it is rumoured, he promises to follow it with his long-awaited version of the Tate killings. Both projects, dealing with child exploitation and murder, can only fuel the controversy that surrounds him.
This biography is the first chance his fans and detractors have had to read about him in real depth. It reveals the brilliant creativity, talent, self-destruction, sex, drugs and wild excesses, with names and stories told for the first time.
