Polanski, Roman (1933– )

Polish film director. His films are often dark and violent, and early successes such as Repulsion (1965), Rosemary's Baby (1968), and Chinatown (1974) brought an innovative European style to US and UK cinema. He had little critical or commercial success from the late 1970s onwards, but made a return to form with The Pianist (2002), which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and won Polanski an Academy Award for Best Director.

Polanski came to international attention with his film Nóz w wodzie/Knife in the Water (1962), and moved to the USA. He fled the country in 1977 after pleading guilty to statutory rape, and made most of his subsequent films in France. Other films include Cul de Sac (1966), Tess (1979), Frantic (1988), Bitter Moon (1992), Death and the Maiden (1995), and The Ninth Gate (2000).

His life has been marked by tragedy – he suffered a traumatic childhood in Nazi-occupied Poland, his wife, the actor Sharon Tate, was the victim of murder by followers of the cult leader Charles Manson.