Amazon.com: Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired: Istvan Bajzat, Steve Barshop, Marilyn Beck, Madeline Bessmer: Video On Demand

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Product Details

Synopsis: One of the most controversial and brilliant directors, Roman Polanski has long been a subject of fascination for his films (Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, The Pianist) and his personal life.

Starring: Pedro Almodóvar, Istvan Bajzat

Supporting actors: Steve Barshop, Marilyn Beck, Madeline Bessmer, Pierre-André Boutang, Andrew Braunsberg, Richard Brenneman, Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, John Cassavetes, Dick Cavett, Furnell Chatman, Joan Collins, Michael M. Crain, Stephen Daldry, Douglas Dalton, Catherine Deneuve, Faye Dunaway, Mia Farrow, Harrison Ford, Samantha Geimer

Directed by: Marina Zenovich

Genre: Documentary, Crime

Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes

Release year: 2008

Studio: Egami

ASIN: B001U3MR4S (Rental) and B001QU412G (Purchase)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #24,335 in Amazon Video On Demand (See Bestsellers in Amazon Video On Demand)

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Amazon Video On Demand > Movies > Documentary > Biography

Rights & Requirements

Rental rights: 7 day viewing period, play online or download to one location. Details

Purchase rights: No time limits. Play online and download to 2 locations. Details

Compatible with: Mac and PC online viewing, Windows PC download, TiVo DVRs, Sony BRAVIA Internet Video Link, Roku player, compatible portable video devices. System requirements

Format: Amazon Video on Demand (streaming online video and digital download)

Also available on DVD

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired DVD ~ Pedro Almod�var

3.7 out of 5 stars (13) $27.49

Theatrical Release Information

US Theatrical Release Date: January 01, 2008
Production Company: Antidote Films (I), British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Graceful Pictures

Video Format Details

Online Viewing	PC Download	TiVo box	Portable device
View instantly from any PC or Mac with a broadband connection	Ready to watch in about 40 minutes*	Ready to watch in about 45 minutes*	Ready to transfer in about 40 minutes*

* Your download times may vary--estimates shown are for a typical DSL connection (1.5 Mbits/sec). Rental videos cannot be transferred to a portable device.

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

3.7 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Persuasive arguments, November 2, 2008

By	Clare Quilty (a little pad in hawaii) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (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.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Polanski wanted and desired, December 9, 2009

By	Patricia Richards "Truth Seeker" (somewhere out there) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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This review is from: Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (DVD)

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 he felt was "out to get him". Now it seems Polanski wasn't just being cowardly.

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11 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Stinging Indictment of the U.S. legal system, January 27, 2009

By	Cubist (United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (DVD)

There is an audio commentary by director Marina Zenovich and editor Joe Bini. She says that it took five years to get the film made: two to get financing and three to actually do it. She also talks about the challenge of merging Polanski's life and the court case. Zenovich points out that it was hard getting archival footage from the 1970s because much of it had been either taped over or lost. Bini talks a lot about the structure of the doc. - for example, where should they start the story? This quite a chatty track as Zenovich and Bini talk about how they put this film together.

Also included are five deleted scenes that feature the current L.A. District Attorney and his thoughts on Judge Rittenband. Prosecutor Roger Gunson returns to Rittenband's old courtroom. He also shares some of his memories of the case.

There are "Extra Interviews" with various attorneys talking about the case then and now, including the possibility that Polanski may come back to the U.S. They also discuss the possibility that he might be pardoned.

"Friends and Colleagues Talk about Polanski" feature several childhood friends and people who have worked with Polanski on films in the past. They talk about his rough upbringing during World War II and his time spent in film school in Poland. They take us through various periods in his life. Naturally, Mia Farrow talks about making Rosemary's Baby and speaks fondly of working with Polanski.

"Writers of Polanski" features three journalists talking about Polanski, the man and his career.

Finally, there is "Will He Ever Come Back?", a question posed to various people in the doc. Not surprisingly they almost all say no for a variety of reasons.