Roman Polanski is a towering figure in modern cinema. He has done it all—psychological thrillers such as Killer in the Water and Cul-de-sac; horror films such as Repulsion and Rosemary’s Baby; film noir as in Chinatown; the literary classics like Tess; and even comedy in The Fearless Vampire Killers. In this timely retrospective of Polanski’s career, film historian and critic Denis Meikle draws together the strands of a complex, sometimes contradictory career. Meikle looks at how Polanski’s troubled life has informed his filmmaking and analyzes his unique skills as a director, skills that have allowed him to tackle such diverse themes and genres with unerring success.