Dick Cavett, Faye Dunaway, Joan Collins

Reopening a case that has inspired curiosity, controversy, and confusion for over three decades, Zenovich's film is an extensive exploration of the circumstances that led up to--and the circus that fo...( read more  read more... )llowed--Polanski's conviction for having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. Zenovich had unprecedented access to several of the key players in the case, including the lawyers representing the case, the media covering it, and the unusually clear-eyed and candid victim. Unearthing a trove of telling footage from the past, and combining it with insightful interviews from today, she brings comprehension and clarity to events long clouded by myth and misconception. A thrilling examination of a trial that became the prototype for innumerable Hollywood courtroom scandals to follow, the film becomes a brilliant discourse on the attraction/repulsion that defines celebrity culture in contemporary America.

Flixster Users

77% liked it

1,912 ratings

Critics

89% liked it

44 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 39 min.

Directed by: Marina Zenovich

Release Date: July 11, 2008

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DVD Release Date: January 27, 2009

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Flixster Reviews (279)


  • June 1, 2009
    I didn't like this documentary very much. It was hard to determine what the actual point of the movie is. Polanski pleaded guilty to having sex with a 13 year old. America thought this was pretty revolting, Europe wasn't so worried and was happy to have Polanski direct another...( read more) movie. This movie suggests that the judge mishandled the case and that should be the most significant plot line in the movie.

    I guess I'm old fashioned, but movie star or not - sex with children should not be allowed and I feel Polanski should have served more than 42 days of "analysis" behind bars.
  • October 20, 2008
    Unlike other reviewers, I didn't find this especially illuminating. I don't suppose we'll ever know exactly what happened on March 10 1977, to what extent, if any, Polanski was entrapped, or just what was going on in his head to make him do something so unforgivably vile, but I d...( read more)id expect Samantha Geimer, Polanski's victim, to set the story straighter than she does here. Combining archive news footage and old Polanski interviews with the recollections of some of the characters directly or indirectly involved in the case (Geimer, Assistant D.A.s, attorneys, retired L.A.P.D. officers, journalists, Polanski's cronies, etc) the film is more or less just a record of the media circus that ensued after the director's arrest. An entertaining but disappointingly superficial piece of muckraking, the documentary only really fascinates on the subject of the trial, as retold by the prosecution and defence attorneys, where Polanski became the plaything of judge more obsessed with his own celebrity than justice.
  • November 16, 2008
    Interesting look into Polanski's trial in 1977.
  • September 7, 2008
    A deeply thorough and in-depth investigation about not only the incident that involved Polanski with a 13-year old girl, but the judicial circus and media frenzy that followed. This documentary is an exercise in examining the relationships between our predatory, yet ignorant medi...( read more)a and the flaws of our judicial system. Of course public opinion is the medium that ties the two together here. Marina Zenovich poses the question: "Which is the bigger crime: Polanski's actions or the injustices incurred against him by the judge presiding over his case?" Zenovich objectively presents all perspectives of the fiasco and gives equal consideration to Polanski both as a perpetrator and as a victim. Most of all, she gives us insight as to the trauma, confusion, and loneliness experienced by the man who ended up bringing more of this upon himself as a result of his actions.
  • June 24, 2008
    A documentary that premiered at Sundance and was picked up by HBO and sent directly to television in the network's desperate attempt to fill up time with original programing other than then their normal summer series, which were delayed because of the strike. I had a pretty good ...( read more)knowledge of what happened to Polanski during this era and expected to hear mostly what I already knew repackaged. But as it turned out there was an element I hadn't heard before, namely the behind the scenes, off the recored going-ons of the trial. It sounds like the Judge that presided over his case was an irresponsible asshole who drove him out of the country. What's more, all the facts about the injustices of the case are backed up by the prosecuter. The film is very well put together, the filmmaker had a particularly artful skill at using clips from Polanski's films in order to help tell the story. Still, it's probably for the best that this ended up on tv, because at the end of the day I don't think I would have gotten my $6.25 worth if I went to see it in theaters, if only because this isn't really as deep a story to tell that I would have demanded from a theatrical doc. It's crazy that Roman Polanski is still living in exile, while R. Kelly is now walking free.
  • November 10, 2009
    I realy want to see this but they sold all the copys at my local blockbuster before I could rent it!
  • October 11, 2009
    I never knew about the press hungry/corrupt judge that oversaw Polanski's trial, which shed a new light on why he fled the country. There are a lot of screwed up people in the world, even talented filmmakers, and in this documentary, you at least get a peak into his story.
  • September 7, 2009
    Revealing doc about a flawed talented man. Life has hit him hard and although there is no question that what he did was wrong it seems apparent that he was ill treated by the US justice system.
  • July 20, 2009
    A documentary about Roman Polanski and his trial for having sex with a minor. Found it to be rather boring and was wondering why it couldn't have been a one hour television episode.
  • June 7, 2009
    Informative and watchable. Not really revelatory.

Critic Reviews


July 25, 2008
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

Though Marina Zenovich's film deals with the notorious case of the film director who pleaded guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old, the film's real subject is the California legal system turned upsi... full review

July 25, 2008
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

Roman Polanski (The Pianist, Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown) is unquestionably a great filmmaker, but as Marina Zenovich's documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired perhaps unintentionally demonstrat... full review

July 25, 2008
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

She has achieved extraordinary access to the other still-living players in the case, and they all seem to be in agreement: Polanski is correct in saying the judge played with him as a cat might play w... full review

June 28, 2008
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

Its indictment ultimately feels like a secondary issue to Polanski's apparently incontrovertible guilt, which makes him--in this instance--still more victimizer than victim. full review

View more Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • jdlightning69
    July 6, 2008
    A very interesting documentary that details the life of Roman Polanski. There are also details about the case that drove this wonderful director into exile. Also, we get to learn about how the media was crazy even in the 1970s and how a judge had ruined his career by worrying about what the publc thought of him.
  • red70560
    June 22, 2008
    I love this man!

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