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Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
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Directed by Marina Zenovich.
The events of 1977 and 1978 permanently marred director Roman Polanski's life. Accused of unlawful sexual assault on minor Samantha Geimer during his stay at actor Jack Nicholson's house in March of '77, Polanski wound up in the midst of controversial judicial proceedings that many read as supremely unfair. After being temporarily sprung on $2,500 bail, Polanski then fled the United States for Europe in 1978, with the threat of incarceration hanging over him should he ever return. With her documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, filmmaker Marina Zenovich revisits this difficult case via extensive interviews with Geimer, defense attorney Douglas Dalton, assistant DA Roger Gunson and others. In the process, she raises pivotal questions about the U.S. legal system and the fairness of the judge, Laurence Rittenband (who was reportedly extremely vocal about his desire to topple Polanski) and encounters many recollections of judicial malfeasance from those who were involved. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
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SpoutBlogSpoutBlog FilmCouch 78 - /Filmcast, Karin ...
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com
hasn't rated it.
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"This week we’re taking movies with fans, colleagues, and friends. An e-mail from a listener gets us thinking critically about our love for post-apocalyptic movies, and watching the amazing 1962 French short, La Jetée (pictured above). Kevin talks with David Chen and Devindra Hardawar from /Filmcast about podcasting, Roman Polanski, and really good cartoons. Later we check in with Karina Longworth, where she tells us about overlooked Japanese classic When A Woman Ascends the Stairs and a whimsical WWI quasi-musical, La France. 0:00 - Intro, post-apocalyptic movies, La Jetée 8:00 - /Filmcast’s David Chen and Devindra Hardawar 19:50 - Karina’s Media Diet (Subscribe to FilmCouch–Spout’s weekly movie podcast–in the iTunes store or to our RSS feed and an episode will download each Friday) filmcouch-78 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog " [More]
lmstanleylmstanley Mixed Emotions
by lmstanley in lmstanley Blog
liked it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. [What do you think?]
"I didn't know much about Roman Polanski before watching this film and it certainly left me with mixed emotions. I was torn between feeling sympathy for the victim as well as feeling poorly for how Roman was treated. I was left thinking that justice wasn't served on either end. This film highlights the theatrics of the judicial system for the sake of pleasing the media. What also struck me that since this film was how it made me think of today's big cases and how courts might be influenced by the press, more worried about the story and the presentation, than the situations of the victims or the defendants. Overall, it’s a good watch and it’ll certainly make you think. " [More]
lopezdashlopezdash June 25, 2008: Roman Polanski: ...
by lopezdash in Movie Watchin Wednesday
liked it.
"The movie we will be watching today: Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired. The film will be preceeded by an excerpt from: FilmCouch #73 - Be careful what you laugh at 
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, The Promotion " [More]
magrebimagrebi more desire than anything else
by magrebi in magrebi Blog
lost interest.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. [What do you think?]
"I think it is hard to go back and look at the events around the Polanski rape case objectively, obviously that didn't happen during the trial nor since then.I have to say that I didn't know much about Polanski besides watching a few of his films. I didn't know anything about his past, nothing about his childhood during WWII, the death of his wife, the sexual fiasco he had with a 13 year old, nor the subsequent sham of the trial he had to go through. With that said I think the guy is a fantastic director and has a tremendous ability to tell stories. However, this film set out to explain what happened during the trial of Polanski for "sex with a minor"... and succeeded to tell one of the most manipulative stories I have ever heard/seen. Let me explain:Before the film really gets into the trial the moviemaker of this documentary decides to show the audience Polanski's background--the most unfortunate parts of it. We learn that Roman survives the holocaust however his parents do not, w ... " [More]
SpoutBlogSpoutBlog FilmCouch #73 - Be careful what ...
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com
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"Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, a riveting documentary airing June 9 at 9:00pm on HBO, digs into the facts of Polanski’s notorious case around his sexual misconduct with a 13 year old, and how the justice system failed them both. The Promotion–opening tonight–looks like a comedy but is more an unnerving lightning rod for middle class anxiety, a darkly comic portrayal of what the American Dream has become. People expecting John C. Reilly and Seann William Scott to be foolproof laugh material will be surprised. (Subscribe to FilmCouch–Spout’s weekly movie podcast–in the iTunes store or to our RSS feed and an episode will download each Friday) FilmCouch #73 - Be careful what you laugh at Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, The Promotion Originally posted on:SpoutBlog " [More]
paulpaul FilmCouch #73 - Be careful what ...
by paul in paul on spout.com
hasn't rated it.
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"Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, a riveting documentary airing June 9 at 9:00pm on HBO, digs into the facts of Polanski’s notorious case around his sexual misconduct with a 13 year old, and how the justice system failed them both. The Promotion–opening tonight–looks like a comedy but is more an unnerving lightning rod for middle class anxiety, a darkly comic portrayal of what the American Dream has become. People expecting John C. Reilly and Seann William Scott to be foolproof laugh material will be surprised. (Subscribe to FilmCouch–Spout’s weekly movie podcast–in the iTunes store or to our RSS feed and an episode will download each Friday) FilmCouch #73 - Be careful what you laugh at Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, The Promotion Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Paul Moore " [More]
lopezdashlopezdash Women Under-represented at Cannes
by lopezdash in The Movie Blog
liked it.
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"I was surprised to see this reported over at Women & Hollywood: "[at Cannes] only 1.5 films out of 19 are directed by women." They include: La Mujer Sin Cabeza directed by Argentine Lucrecia Martel and Linha de Passe which is co-directed by Daniela Thomas and Walter Salles.Un Certain Regard is a bit better with 2.5 out of 19. Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir's film debut Milh Hadha Al-Bahr (Salt of the Sea) is in the lineup along with and Kelly Reichardt, (Old Joy) with Wendy and Lucy starring Michelle Williams. Joana Hadjithomas co-directed Jeveux Voir with Khali Joreige.Other women directed films include: Jennifer Lynch's Surveillance; Marina Zenovich's Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired and Alison Thompson's The Third Wave. " [More]
dunedonkeydunedonkey Polanski: Victimizer, Victim
by dunedonkey in film phlegm
liked it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. [What do you think?]
"This documentary really hit a spot with me. I have an immense amount of respect for Polanski as a director. Rosemary’s Baby is one of my favorite films and the controversy surrounding his exile from the US saddens me to a certain extent, since I really have no insight into the story of what happened. This documentary explores the unfortunate circumstances of his life: his beginnings as a Jew during the holocaust, the death of Sharon Tate, and the corrupt Hollywood trial he was forced to endure before he desperately went to Dino DeLaurentis seeking a way out of the country he really loved. At points the film tries to make him out as the victim (the fact is, he did admit to sleeping with a 13 year old), but it does a fair job of showing that he is living a life in exile and that it’s also due, in part, to the corrupt criminal system in this country. " [More]
SpoutBlogSpoutBlog FilmCouch #53
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com
hasn't rated it.
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"As you may well know, the Spout team is knee-deep in Sundance, that juggernaut of American film festivals. For this episode of FilmCouch we present a conversation between the regulars (Paul, Kevin, Karina) and Filmspotting’s Adam Kempenaar about what we’re up to at the festival this year. Adam is looking forward to a pair of docs about legendary artists, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired and Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson. Among the many film’s on Karina’s to-see list are two movies by pairs of brothers: the Zellner brothers’ Goliath and the Duplass brothers’ Baghead. Kevin is hoping the Mexican near-future dystopian sci-fi film Sleep Dealer can live up to the expectations set by Cuar??n’s Children of Men. FilmCouch 53 Originally posted on:SpoutBlog " [More]
 



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