Polanski

This was an excellent biography, insightful and at times shocking; but intelligent and thought provoking. It could have had more on the actual films as well as the man and would have been 5 stars were it not for the constant split infinities which marred the writing.

If you are a fan of Polanski then I would recommend this book. It's very well written and gives a fair account of the director's life.His films are covered just as well as his day-to-day life is. So expect long, detailed summaries of both the Sharon Tate murder and the 'rape' trial. I was interested to hear that Polanski did actually do time in an institution for the crime, but left America after a judge appeared to renege on a promise not to jail him again afterwards.Sandford doesn't just rely on cuttings and former books, he interviews several people who have been associated with Polanski. Charles Manson declined his request for information. Because of the nature of little Roman's life (and his litigous nature) we can presume that the lawyers scanned this one very carefully before publication. Hence there is nothing that is disgracefully salacious (and presumably untrue...)By the end you really admire Polanski. He is not just one of the finest living film directors (despite dreadfulness like Pirates, What and The Ninth Gate) but a unique and brilliant man of many shades. He has slept with hundreds, if not thousands of beautiful women, he is fluent in three or four languages, he learned to fly, he consumes complex books in one evening, he applies the stage blood to actors on his films, he is a believer in science not superstition, he was nearly battered to death in Poland, his wife and mother were both slain while pregnant...With a story like this, it'd be a strange thing if this were not an engrossing book. And it is. It's a good solid read full of amazing incident.