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Special Features
- Audio commentary with director Marina Zenovich and editor Joe Bini
- Deleted Scenes
- Never-Before-Seen and Extended Interviews
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
When Polanski’s defense attorney says midway through this film that he "isn’t surprised Polanski left under the circumstances" surrounding this corrupted court case, one really begins to understand why the director has not returned to America in nearly 20 years. Wanted and Desired, Marina Zenovich’s documentary about Polanski’s 1977 arrest for rape of a minor set facts straight about a case that was blown to ridiculous proportions by a sensationalistic press and a judge who was far from judicious. Comprised of interviews with producers and friends Andrew Braunsberg, Daniel Melnick, Mia Farrow, and many others, the film obviously sympathizes with Polanski. But ample interviews with D.A. Roger Gunson and defense attorney, Douglas Dalton, lend factual credence to the film’s assertion that the director was not guilty as charged and further, shows how separate public image and the real person are. Wanted and Desired covers the tragic loss of his wife, Sharon Tate, only to preface the court case and Polanski’s departing the country as a result. Short clips from many of his fine films are interspersed to poignant effect between interview clips, to show how his public image has been wrongly writ based on his films’ dark subject matter. Polanski’s lack of participation in the film, then, seems not like his condemnation of its making, but rather in keeping with his desire to avoid press in general. At best, Wanted and Desired may serve as a further invitation to the brilliant director, who has been living in France for almost 20 years with a wife and two children, to someday return to America. —Trinie Dalton
Product Description
The tumultuous life and career of famed director Roman Polanski are the focus of this striking documentary. Accused of rape and other offenses against a minor in 1977, Polanski fled to France a year later before his sentencing. Through interviews with lawyers involved in the case, members of the media, and the victim herself, the film examines the often difficult relationship between justice and celebrity. 100 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital 5.1.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This documentary by Steven Soderbergh was fascinating and I learned quite a bit about Roman Polanski that I never knew because I hadn't followed his case that closely. I didn't know he was a Holocaust survivor and had lost his parents to the camps. I did know that his wife Sharon Tate was brutally murdered by the freakish Manson clan. And I imagine that all those hideous and traumatic incidents left a terrible and indelible mark on his psyche. But does this somehow justify drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl?
The production is far too sympathetic toward Polanski. Yes, it appears he had a judge who was obsessed with celebrities and his own fame and publicity. Yes, it looks as though his sentence was unfair, but even the original proposal to incarcerate Polanski for 90 days for a diagnostic was absurd. 90 days for taking a pubescent girl and giving her Quaaludes and sodomizing her? Please? What century are we living in?
Although the girl who was molested appeared on the show and spoke as an adult, I got the distinct impression that the message was "poor Roman", not "poor 13-year-old girl." At one point her prior sexual history was even mentioned -- disgraceful -- yet she clearly said that she had said *no* to him. Even if she had said *yes* and begged him to have sex with her, at 13, she didn't have the mental or legal ability to give consent.
The whole situation is very sad. If only Polanski had served out his time properly in the US, some of this would be behind him and perhaps he could have continued to be a wonderful director. People are complicated. Just because he committed a heinous act doesn't mean that he doesn't have redeeming qualities. He is brilliant and the French realize this. But one problem I had with the documentary is that it's not either or -- it's not that he is wanted in America and desired in Europe where he has won awards, so the Americans are wrong and prudish. It's that he has complex human traits that make him phenomenal in some respects and ugly in others.
The production is far too sympathetic toward Polanski. Yes, it appears he had a judge who was obsessed with celebrities and his own fame and publicity. Yes, it looks as though his sentence was unfair, but even the original proposal to incarcerate Polanski for 90 days for a diagnostic was absurd. 90 days for taking a pubescent girl and giving her Quaaludes and sodomizing her? Please? What century are we living in?
Although the girl who was molested appeared on the show and spoke as an adult, I got the distinct impression that the message was "poor Roman", not "poor 13-year-old girl." At one point her prior sexual history was even mentioned -- disgraceful -- yet she clearly said that she had said *no* to him. Even if she had said *yes* and begged him to have sex with her, at 13, she didn't have the mental or legal ability to give consent.
The whole situation is very sad. If only Polanski had served out his time properly in the US, some of this would be behind him and perhaps he could have continued to be a wonderful director. People are complicated. Just because he committed a heinous act doesn't mean that he doesn't have redeeming qualities. He is brilliant and the French realize this. But one problem I had with the documentary is that it's not either or -- it's not that he is wanted in America and desired in Europe where he has won awards, so the Americans are wrong and prudish. It's that he has complex human traits that make him phenomenal in some respects and ugly in others.
22 of 32 people found the following review helpful
By Clare Quilty
Format:DVD
This is a crisp, well-structured documentary which brings together most of the principal facts and figures in Polanski's 1977-1978 unlawful sexual intercourse trial.
Two are missing from the scene -- Polanski himself and Judge Laurence Rittenband, who presided over the case -- and they're the most important and, among followers of the situation, the most divisive.
The filmmakers have a clear respect for Polanski the artist, but they make two points painfully clear: That, in 1977, he gave a 13-year-old girl Quaaludes and champagne before having sex with her; and that the case was poorly (in some cases illegally) handled by Rittenband, who was eventually removed from the case.
Rittenband is dead and Polanski fled to France rather than face his judge's increasingly sketchy demands but most of the principals are here, particularly defense attorney Douglas Dalton, former assistant D.A. Roger Gunson and the victim herself, Samantha Geimer, who's now in her mid-40s, a mother of three children and seems ready to put the whole matter to rest.
The account is fascinating, and artfully punctuated by scenes from Polanski's films, particularly those he appeared in including "Chinatown," "The Tenant" and "The Fat and the Lean," which was made a decade-and-a-half before the trouble but which features Polanski dancing on cue to a drum beaten by a man who, ironically, bears no small resemblance to Rittenband himself.
I never like to assume that I'm an expert on a situation simply after seeing one documentary about it, but it's a persuasive argument when a Mormon district attorney sides with a sex offender and his defense lawyer against a judge. That's pretty convincing evidence this movie is spouting something close to the truth.
Two are missing from the scene -- Polanski himself and Judge Laurence Rittenband, who presided over the case -- and they're the most important and, among followers of the situation, the most divisive.
The filmmakers have a clear respect for Polanski the artist, but they make two points painfully clear: That, in 1977, he gave a 13-year-old girl Quaaludes and champagne before having sex with her; and that the case was poorly (in some cases illegally) handled by Rittenband, who was eventually removed from the case.
Rittenband is dead and Polanski fled to France rather than face his judge's increasingly sketchy demands but most of the principals are here, particularly defense attorney Douglas Dalton, former assistant D.A. Roger Gunson and the victim herself, Samantha Geimer, who's now in her mid-40s, a mother of three children and seems ready to put the whole matter to rest.
The account is fascinating, and artfully punctuated by scenes from Polanski's films, particularly those he appeared in including "Chinatown," "The Tenant" and "The Fat and the Lean," which was made a decade-and-a-half before the trouble but which features Polanski dancing on cue to a drum beaten by a man who, ironically, bears no small resemblance to Rittenband himself.
I never like to assume that I'm an expert on a situation simply after seeing one documentary about it, but it's a persuasive argument when a Mormon district attorney sides with a sex offender and his defense lawyer against a judge. That's pretty convincing evidence this movie is spouting something close to the truth.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Excellent documentary, well researched, giving an unbiased and full account of the Polanski case. Excellent testimony of his lawyer who plainly told him that he could not expect a fair treatment from judge Rittenband.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sympathy for Mr. Polanski!
It is difficult to decide how one should judge Roman Polanski and his mistakes. After viewing this documentary I felt both sorry for him and discusted by his criminal behavior in... Read more
Published 13 days ago by Natja Kristy
3.0 out of 5 stars
Justice denied?
This documentary examines celebrated film director and jet-setter Roman Polanski's arrest and legal troubles in connection with the statutory rape of a thirteen-year-old girl in... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Tom
5.0 out of 5 stars
God Bless Roman Polanski
My father married my mum when he was 24 and she was 15 in 1941. Today this would be considered molestation. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Transatlantique
1.0 out of 5 stars
What if Polanski Had been a Priest?
Asking that question above do you think the sycophantic sympathy of the documentary makers and most of the reviews on here would have given him any slack? Read more
Published 16 months ago by Demosthenes
4.0 out of 5 stars
Culture Clash
Extremely well-balanced documentary. Devolves into a referendum on the central question: how do you feel about teenage prostitution? Read more
Published on October 30, 2010 by Ubiq
4.0 out of 5 stars
He made great films;does the man stand up?
A documentary which reopens the controversial and complex case of director Roman Polanski's public conviction for having unlawful sex with a minor some 30 years ago. Read more
Published on July 21, 2010 by technoguy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Polanski wanted and desired
I found the documentary interesting in that Polanski's victim also speaks regarding the 30 year old case that had Polanski fleeing from the US to escape his sentence from a judge... Read more
Published on December 9, 2009 by Patricia Richards
3.0 out of 5 stars
Okay documentary; reveals a lot of info
The way this documentary is put together is at times sloppy, at other times plodding, and sometimes it includes footage which is not needed at all, like the absurdist bit with... Read more
Published on October 24, 2009 by Viva
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great piece of work!
Excellent movie and arrived on time at great conditions! Keep the high quality service up! Congrats.
Published on October 15, 2009 by F. Romo
1.0 out of 5 stars
POLANSKI WAS ALWAYS A DOG
Throughout his relationship with Sharon Tate, Roman was completely unfaithful and as often as possible. Read more
Published on August 25, 2009 by L. Ross
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