Polanski

[poliphilo]

I never liked Polanski's work. I saw his early films as they came out- Knife in the Water, Repulsion, Cul-de-Sac. There was something about them that made me feel queasy- migrainey, sick to the stomach.  It was weird.  Art doesn't usually hit me that way. It was as if  they beamed out negativity. 

The last thing of his I saw in sequence was The Fearless Vampire Slayers- the one with Sharon Tate in the bubble-bath. It's Polanski's idea of a romp- self-indulgent, unfunny, really rather tiresome. After that I avoided him.

More recently- because they came my way- I've watched Rosemary's Baby and Macbeth. They didn't make me feel ill-  maybe because my powers of resistance are stronger- maybe because Hollywood didn't give him the absolute control he'd had in Europe.  I liked Macbeth more than I thought I would, though artistically it's a bit of a mess. Rosemary's Baby was undone for me by the absurdity of its ending. They're schlocky films, both of them, a little silly and immature.  It would be nice to think Francesca Annis' nude scene had nothing to do with Hugh Hefner being sat in the producer's chair.

I haven't seen Chinatown. I don't suppose one should come to a final judgement without seeing Chinatown.

Comments

[arielstarshadow.livejournal.com]

I'd be curious what you think of Chinatown. Having seen it...meh. Not that it was a bad film, but I didn't think it was a masterpiece, either.

[upasaka.livejournal.com]

I've always thought that negative quality was what stood out most about Polanski's work, and what gives it identity. I don't find it at all appealing, and I've never understood what all the fuss was about. I think he'll be forgotten eventually -- unless of course he keeps himself in the headlines in other ways.

[ideealisme.livejournal.com]

I've seen Bitter Moon and The Pianist. Adrien Brody was hot, and so was the German officer, but god it dragged.

Bitter Moon is just sick and twisted, which suits me :) was that Mrs Polanski playing the main female role?

chinatown

[seraphimsigrist.livejournal.com]

I saw it. not interesting to me.
go ahead make your final judgement!
instead perhaps see the b movie
'big trouble in little china' speaking
of chinatowns it is far more fun

[halfmoon-mollie.livejournal.com]

I suppose his movies will be popular again, because of all this ... publicity. You are way more of a movie enjoyer than I am, I saw Knife In the Water and that was it for me.

[ryanstrong.livejournal.com]

I really like Death and the Maiden, Chinatown, and the Ninth Gate. All very different and well-constructed movies. In the Seattle Film Institute, Chinatown is shown as the model for a perfect script.

I also like Fearless Vampire Killers and Rosemary's Baby, because they feel a bit like the Hammer horror films I like so much. They're campy, of course, but that's the way I like them.

I don't know that your opinion could necessarily be changed by any of these, but if the films you've listed are the only ones you've seen, you've neglected his work after 1971--which may not be fair.