Sunday, May 20, 2012

The first reviews of Polanski's new Memoir Film are being released
...and they're not too positive.
Cannes Reporter - Sharon Waxman - May 17, 2012 :

If you didn’t like Roman Polanski before, you’re not going to like him any better after seeing him tell his life story in “Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir.”

Producer Andrew Braunsberg, one of the director’s closest friends, sits with him to talk through an extraordinary life: a childhood torn to shreds by the Holocaust, a film career in Poland, his marriage to Sharon Tate and her murder by the Manson clan, his rape of Samantha Geimer and the media circus aftermath and his life in exile, capped by arrest in Switzerland in 2009 after an extradition request by the Los Angeles district attorney.

It’s enough twists and turns to make anyone gasp. Yet Polanski recounts these events with calm and humor and a sense of intelligent perspective.

All that doesn’t help. It still feels self-serving.

On the heels of the far more probing – and useful -- documentary by Marina Zenovich last year, “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired,” this “Film Memoir” resonates more like a home movie than a doc.

In the hands of a more disinterested interviewer, the film might have uncovered the real person behind the competing mythologies.

Who is Roman Polanski? This is his version of himself. Notably missing is the Polanski whose life is an emblem of the cultural upheaval of the '60s and '70s – both the Helter Skelter murders that helped end the era of peace and love, and the drug-and-sex fuelled party that followed, of which he was a part.

Polanski is moved to tears by things that may be new to us – his father’s return to the family bosom during Nazi deportations; his mother’s dispatch to Auschwitz where she died.

But he is composed when talking about Sharon Tate’s murder, and equanimous when talking about the Geimer rape and his treatment by the legal system (the Zenovich documentary showed that the judge reneged on an agreement for Polanski to get probation with time served).

If Polanski does not visibly wallow in self-pity – and he may have cause to do so – he also does not spend time on self-reflection. He is far too proud, even if one feels his deep intelligence in all his comments. Only late in the film does he allow that “of course it was wrong” what he did, and calls Geimer a “double victim,” for enduring the media gauntlet.

The tendentious Braunsberg – who was sitting beside Polanski when the director got the call about Sharon Tate saying, “They’re all dead” -- doesn't allow an uncomfortable moment. Neither does director Laurent Bouzereau.

Like everything else in Polanski’s life, reactions to this new documentary will be bifurcated: the French will love him all the more as a victimized genius. Americans will think he’s concocted a tendentious piece of drivel to excuse his past.
Neither are right. And both are.
Submitted by Venus.  Thanks Venus.

48 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can I start please????

Roman had a really terrible childhood...

so did Charlie

Roman lost his family in his early years...

so did Charlie

Roman still had a chance to live a really great life- surrounded by love and support and even a shot at the big time as a young man...

so did Charlie

Roman decided to let his past be an excuse to love nobody besides himself- and to make his own selfish needs the priority in his life....

so did Charlie

Roman gave drugs to and forced sex on underage girls...

so did Charlie

Roman, at the very least, used questionable judgement and allowed himself to be surrounded by people who put his pregnant wife Sharon in harms way- and it cost her her life...

So did Charlie


one of them is the most evil man alive

one is a tortured artist who has half of Hollywood sticking up for him....

Makes me scratch my head

I think I have less respect for Roman Polanski than almost anyone I have ever come across who is not behind bars...

He came here and treated our women like toys and objects for his own pleasure...

He laughed and joked when they were trying to help him figure out what happened to his wife...

He made jokes when referring to the rape- and blamed our judges because they were jealous he got to ' fuck young broads"...

He told us to screw ourselves when we asked him to honor our system and pay for what he did to our children....

and went to a country that basically told us to do the same when we asked for their help...

So F roman, F the french, and F every American Asshole who knows nothing more about life than how to primp there hair and read the script in front of them...

When the time comes I need someone like Adrien Brody to tell me my politics- I'll re-watch Ten- Benny and drink 15 more coors- lights then go take a wiz on the Eiffel Tower...

Then jump off....

surely my time will have come :)

Anonymous said...

by the way- pardon me...

Very good post lol

a subject that provokes me

Thanks Venus

Dilligaf said...

Maybe Roman should have followed his instincts, and geared this towards a thirteen-year old audience. He seems to have better luck with them.....

katie8753 said...

Thanks Venus!!

>>>In the hands of a more disinterested interviewer, the film might have uncovered the real person behind the competing mythologies.>>>

It's too bad he wasn't interviewed by Geraldo. LOL.

>>>But he is composed when talking about Sharon Tate’s murder, and equanimous when talking about the Geimer rape>>>

He speaks of his wife's horrific murder and the rape of a young innocent girl like he's talking about a trip to the grocery store I guess.

This guy doesn't seem to have a moral compass of any kind.

katie8753 said...

Paul & Doris Tate couldn't possibly have approved of Sharon marrying this guy.

Paul had a military career, and as such, I'm sure he was adamant about always following the rules, life should be in a certain order, always acting with decorum, etc. I can't imagine that he approved of a Bohemian like Ro-Man Pole-Yan-ski.

It's probably why they weren't at the wedding.

Vikess said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-huxXMsKlM

CarolMR said...

Thanks, Venus!
katie, I always thought it was strange that Doris and Paul (and Debra and Patti) were not at Sharon's wedding. Not attend their beloved oldest daughter's wedding? Very strange. They didn't elope. There was plenty of time for all of them to fly to London.

katie8753 said...

Thanks Vikess. That's very disturbing....

katie8753 said...

Hi Carol. I've always thought it was strange that they didn't attend the wedding either. If nothing else, they could have had another ceremony in the USA afterward for Sharon's family & friends.

I just can't imagine Doris or Paul being happy about Sharon marrying this guy. He was quite a bit older than her and already had one divorce under his belt. Not to mention his wild-boy ways and penchant for weird movie making.

Not exactly the kind of guy you would "hand pick" for your beloved daughter.

CarolMR said...

"I've always thought it was strange that they didn't attend the wedding either. If nothing else, they could have had another ceremony in the USA afterward for Sharon's family & friends." - katie

I've never read any explanation as to why the Tates were not at Sharon's wedding. I don't remember Greg King, in his bio of Sharon, giving any reason.

katie8753 said...

Carol, I've never read anywhere why the Tate family didn't attend Sharon's wedding. It's a mystery to me.

I've never even heard Doris or Debra or Patti in any interview explaining that.

I can only think that there was a problem with it. Like I said, I can't imagine Doris or PJ being overjoyed by their daughter marrying a virtual stranger that I don't believe they had even met!!!

katie8753 said...

I read in a different article recently that when Roman got back to LA when he heard of the murders, that no hotel would allow him to stay there. They were scared to death of him. They thought the murders had something to do with him. He had to stay on the back lot of a movie studio while he was there for the funerals.

LynyrdSkynyrdBand said...

Thanks Vikess!

LynyrdSkynyrdBand said...

Hi Carol!

LynyrdSkynyrdBand said...

I agree Saint C.
There are many parallels between Manson and Polanski.

What kind of a guy F's two airline stewardesses 2 days after his pregnant wife (and baby) are brutally slaughtered?
The man is totally depraved.

Then there's the sodomy of a thirteen year old girl.

It always amazes me, how the evils of rich and famous people go overlooked, by so many...

katie8753 said...

Roman didn't appear to care at all about Sharon or the baby being massacred.

A short time after Sharon's murder and his "friends'" murders, he was at the Cielo Drive house with Life Magazine, making news for himself.

That is so grotesque. He was stepping around on Sharon's blood and everyone else's.

There's really something wrong with this guy.

starship said...

And then Roman begins to suspect that John Phillips may have had something to do with the murders.

If a seriously depraved dude like Roman thinks John Phillips is a murderer, then how depraved must John Phillips be?

Oh, yeah:

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/mackenzie-phillips-sexual-affair-dad/story?id=8647172

CarolMR said...

Hi, Lynyrd!

katie8753 said...

Hi Starship. I'm not sure if I believe MacKenzie. She's always been kind of a nutjob.

But maybe Roman knows more about this than he's admitted. It takes a perv to know one. LOL.

Unknown said...

i read john phillips book 'papa john' awhile back and he was a real freakshow.
there was some manson info in it but nothing that has'nt been discussed before.

beauders said...

katie, i believe mackenzie only because denny doherty (also in the mama's and the papa's)told his daughter that mackenzie and her father where having sex while all of them were touring together. this was before mackenzie wrote her book. when mackenzie's book was published the daughter came forward with the confirmation.

starship said...

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/polanski-takes-surprise-ad-prada-cannes-183731119.html

katie8753 said...

Hi Beauders. I guess anything is possible.

I'm just leery of people who come out with this incredible information after someone is dead and gone and can't defend themselves.

katie8753 said...

Thanks Starship.

Wow, this guy is strange.....and he's still hanging with Nastassia Kinski?

katie8753 said...

St. Circumstance was listing the similarities between Roman & Charlie. There are quite a few. Another similarity that I have never figured out is how these 2 guys attracted so many good looking women.

They're both short, relatively unattractive men. In fact, should I go ahead and say downright ugly? HA HA.

But for some reason, they're both babe-magnets. It's a mystery to me....

leary7 said...

I hate to say it Katie, but it is called charmisma. A half dozen women killed themselves over Hitler (the most famous case, the English blueblood Unity Mitford tried but even though she shot herself in the head she survived - an interesting tale, hers and her sisters).
Apparently evilness has its own special lure - respectfully, I think that is an element that remains misunderstood as far as TLB and the Family is concerned. There was some real evil stuff happening at Spahn and Barker in
'69. Watkins and Kitty and DeCarlo and others sensed it and still couldn't stay away.
In my younger and dumber years I hung out at a really nasty and wild bar in Austin. You couldn't pay me ten grand to go in there now, but when I was young I was addicted to the danger and such. I think for allot of us that is the X factor when thinking about TLB - we wonder how we would have reacted to those circumstances. Me, personally, I've never been into the gay thing AT ALL so the first time Charlie ordered Paulie to go down on someone I would have been out of there. Not that there is anything wrong with it (Seinfeld) just that it is not my thing. The violence? I don't know. I was a pretty pissed off teen so I have to wonder if the acid was pure and Ouish and Cappy had sandwiched me if I woulda bought into the revolution. Just something to ponder as I sit on the back porch in my old age.

leary7 said...

charmisma....brain fart...charisma

leary7 said...

you'd think with multiple wives, Brigham Young had 28 I think, those idiot Mormon men would get some group action but alas no - strictly one on one procreating for Jesus. the reason Mormons have so many kids is their belief that we exist in a spirit world before we are born and by giving birth to as many kids as possible they are freeing those stuck in the spirit world by giving them a human vassal.
Crap, don't get me started.
I was just engaging in that age old male fantasy about two women and you ruined it with that Mormon comment Bobby. Just for that I am going to have my LDS friends baptize you...oh wait, you have to be dead first.
Ted Bundy joined the Mormon church by the way.
Damn, Bobby, I started out thinking about Ruth Ann and Cappy and you got me thinking about Mormons and Bundy. You're like the worse wingman ever.
Kidding muchos.

beauders said...

i believe the mormons have so many kids is the church wants more people to tiethe.

katie8753 said...

Wow Leary, I didn't know so many women would choose to meet their maker for the Fuehrer. Well...I guess when they crossed over they said the inevitable "DOH!!!" HA HA.

Those Mormon wives, from my understanding, are numbered from 1 to infinity. And if you think there isn't "cat fighting" amongst the ranks, then you haven't lived with women.

I can guarantee you that. Even within the Manson family, there was a lot of hissing and meowing.

You can take the woman out of jealousy, but you can't take the jealousy out of the woman. LOL.

katie8753 said...

Hi Bobby!!! I've missed your comments!!! (wiping tear) Sweeeeettt!!! HA HA.

>>>Beauders said: i believe the mormons have so many kids is the church wants more people to tiethe.>>>

That's true Beauders. There's more strength in numbers.

Plus they buy more bicycles. Anytime you see 2 guys riding bikes up the street wearing a suit and tie, you know exactly who they are....Mormons.

They used to TRY to sell their wares around here quite a bit around 15 years ago. They finally gave up.

Leary, the Mormon population isn't as grandiose as you think.

katie8753 said...

Oh....speaking of Hitler...

I like the happy ending Little Nicky gave us... HA HA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMEv8YYOEgc

leary7 said...

Mormonism is fantasy central, Bobby. The Book of Mormon is like The Lord of The Rings meets The Electric Koolaid Acid Test. It's just warp speed wacko. And yet so many intelligent wonderful people buy into it, just blows the mind.
If by gandiose, Katie, you mean their claims of membership are exagerated I agree - they keep dead folk and inactives on the books to pad the numbers.
I remember Charlie saying once in an interview he wasn't much for "book learnin", but it would be a gas to get his take on Mormonism.
Which Family member would you vote "most likely to have become a Mormon"? I'm thinking Kitty or Barbara Hoyt.

katie8753 said...

>>>Leary said: If by gandiose, Katie, you mean their claims of membership are exagerated I agree - they keep dead folk and inactives on the books to pad the numbers.>>>

Leary that's exactly what I mean. Much ado about nothing. Like any cult, there are inner strugglings of power, dominance, exaggerated importance, etc. that eventually kill the host.

You'd be more productive worrying about if the moon is made of green cheese or not. LOL.

katie8753 said...

Bobby thanks for that link. It's apparent that Bobby B. has indeed, just like Lynyrd suggested, decided to re-vamp his website and get away from this Manson stigma.

I'm sure it's an attempt to finally extricate himself from this heinous legacy and live what's left of his life. He does have artistic ability. I'm surprised he spent five seconds with this family of thieves and murderers.

It's funny how in his photo gallery, especially pictures #12 & 13, he looks uncannily like Manson. They looked nothing alike when they were young.

You know, he could have been another Johnny Depp. What a waste. Sigh.....

katie8753 said...

Bobby, thanks!

S*W*A*K!!! (Ear tug like Carol Burnett, LOL).

I've often wondered why Bobby B. would even bother himself with this business with Gary Hinman. If Charlie wanted money from Gary, why didn't he just let Charlie march over there with Bruce and the girls and demand it?

It makes no sense that Bobby would hold Gary hostage for days demanding money that Gary didn't even have. And end up killing him.

But then....nothing about this case makes any sense.....

leary7 said...

With muchos respect, Katie, I really couldn't disagree more. I understand your perspective, but I think it is shortsighted.
The reason is this - what 99.9% of people don't understand about the Mormons is that they really truly believe it is a manifest destiny that America be a Mormon country. They believe that the Second COming will NOT happen in Jerusalem but in Independance Missouri. That is what Joseph Smith decided. And it will not happen until the Mormon Temple is built there, and that won't happen until the country is Mormon. Not that everyone in the country is Mormon, just that the Mormon church has control.
Insane. Ridiculous. Absurd. Well, the exact same things were said about the Nazis in Germany in the 1920's amd early 30's.
Do you know how many Mormon govenors there are now? Or how many Mormons's are in Congress? In 2011 the head of the senate Harry Reid and the senior republican were both Mormon as were 15 other members. And now we have a Mormon who has a decent shot at the top job.
You think this is by accident, that it is not by design? The Mormon Church is not a benign cult that just wants to practice its chants in peace. No, they are the equiviland of spiritual fascists who truly believe they are destined to be in charge of this country. There are 58,000 of those bicycle riding Mormons out there working to convince everyone it is true.
Again, I have nothing but total respect for you but on this matter I think you are not seeing the big picture. Don't kid yourself, the Mormons have a plan, and it extends far beyond Utah.

leary7 said...

Bottom line, despite the amazing P.R. job the Mormon Church has done promoting itself as "the family values" church, they are in fact a doomsday cult. They truly believe that once they have 'functional' control of the U.S.A. they can then build their master Temple in Independence Missouri and the Second Coming will then happen.
If that sounds benign or irrelevant to you Katie, I simply disagree. And if you are comfortable having someone from this mindset as president, Bobby, then more power to ya.
William Shirer, the author of The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich was once asked if he thought fascism would make a comeback and he answered 'yes'. He was then asked where and he answered 'America. But, he said, it would not come back in a military form but instead in a economic or spiritual form.
I know I sound like a conspiracy kook when I talk about the Mormons, but their true agenda remains unknown to the vast majority. And it IS NOT a secret agenda, if you study the church history and do the research, it is all there in black and white.
And it IS scary as shit.

katie8753 said...

Leary I guess I just don't get what it is that you are fearing.

>>>They believe that the Second COming will NOT happen in Jerusalem but in Independance Missouri. That is what Joseph Smith decided. And it will not happen until the Mormon Temple is built there...>>>

So what? They're wrong, so what difference does it make what they think? They can think that 'til the cows come home and they're still wrong.

No matter how dogmatic you think they are in their pursuit to "take over the world", they can't change what God said will happen, whether Joseph Smith likes it or not.

katie8753 said...

There are about 287,000 mormons in Texas, which has a population of over 24 million. That's about 1.2%. A drop in the bucket.

Okay, okay, if it makes you feel safer, just picture the mormons Vs. the 3 Stooges. The Stooges always win. Moe knows how to "dot the eyes". HA HA.

Dilligaf said...

Yeah, but those wacky Mormon's have Marie Osmond, Eliza Dushku, Amy Adams, Cristina Aguilera, and Katherine Heigl. I may be a huge Stooge fan, but they sure have some good looking ones.... ;-)

katie8753 said...

Dill, those Mormons may have some babes, but I'll choose the 3 Stooges anytime. They're unbeatable.

I picture the Stooges at Cielo Drive. They would win hands down. No contest.

If Tex pointed a gun at Moe, he would have wrestled with him and pointed it up and it would go off and hit a light fixture, which would come down on Tex's head. LOL.

Lots of eye-poking, belly-kicking, forehead-slapping, hair-pulling, nose-flicking fun. When Pat dared to knife Abigail, she would have gotten a pie right in the kisser. LOL.

Aaahhhh....I LOVE the stooges.

beauders said...

mormons also spent eighteen million dollars to take my right away to get married in california. mormonism is a vile cult. i live in oregon, the tenth most highly populated state with mormons. i eveb have family who are mormons who buy into the whole creed. we were not allowed to attend any of my cousins weddings. that's okay with me but it hurt their grand-parents. this family went from being ruled by an alcoholic child abuser to cult member who continued abusing his kids with permission from the cult. they had one visit from a mormon and were hooked.

leary7 said...

Yes, Katie, but if we have a Mormon president and a Mormon head of Senate Majority and 8 Mormon govenors and half the FBI is Mormon then you have a small doomsday cult exerting a ridiculous amount of power in this country.
You can rightfully make fun of them and consider them harmless. I respectfully choose otherwise.

katie8753 said...

Leary I think the Scientologists are much creepier and scarier. And they have a lot more money than the mormons.

And don't forget the JW's.

LynyrdSkynyrdBand said...

I feel somehow... that I should say something in regards to this topic.

Unfortunately... I know absolutely nothing about Mormons, or Mormonism.

Leary has proven himself to be an intelligent guy... and not one to sensationalize.

I'll assume his concerns have some basis.

I believe what we're talking about here, is "potential".
The "potential" for future problems.
That's always hard to assess.

I have (personally) not seen anything overly alarming about the Mormons (from a standpoint of complete ignorance on the subject).

But...
Maybe as Leary says... there could be potential problems if these folks attain enough status.

Unfortunately (as I said)...
It's hard to gauge (or prove) "potential danger" in regards to organized groups.

Most groups ultimately turn out benign.
Others... like the Nazis do not.
Unfortunately... We rarely know for sure, until it's too late.

Leary's is a prediction.
I haven't enough knowledge in this area to criticize him.
So...
I'll just say Leary's warnings are duly noted... and leave it at that.

Peace to All... Lynyrd.

leary7 said...

read about The Mountain Meadow Massacre guys - the largest mass murder in America till the World Trade Center - both amazingly enough taking place on Sept 11th
http://mountainmeadowsmassacre.com/

El Roy 13 said...

To the final commenter in ref to the date of 9/11

It's also the last day Haile Selassie was ever seen alive, and up until around 2004 you could even find it on the internet in reading up on the Julian Calender (which Ethiopia still uses) that it was the first day of the New Year.

Did I mention that I don't believe in coincidence?