Roman Polanski Collection - 8-DVD Box Set ( Lunes de fiel / Pianista / Che? / Nóz w wodzie / Usmiech zebiczny / Morderstwo / Gdy spadaja anioly / Ssaki / Rozbijemy zabawe / Dwaj ludzie z szafa / Lampa ) ( Bitter Moon / Repulsion / Cul-de-sac / The Pianist / Tess / What? / Knife in the Water / A Toothful Smile / A Murderer / When Angels Fall / Mammals / Let's Break the Ball (Break Up the Dance) / Two Men and a Wardrobe / The Lamp )

Roman Polanski Collection - 8-DVD Box Set (DVD) (*)

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Original Title: Lunes de fiel / Pianista / Che? / Nóz w wodzie / Usmiech zebiczny / Morderstwo / Gdy spadaja anioly / Ssaki / Rozbijemy zabawe / Dwaj ludzie z szafa / Lampa
Alternate Title: Bitter Moon / Repulsion / Cul-de-sac / The Pianist / Tess / What? / Knife in the Water / A Toothful Smile / A Murderer / When Angels Fall / Mammals / Let's Break the Ball (Break Up the Dance) / Two Men and a Wardrobe / The Lamp
Screened, competed or awarded at:
BAFTA Awards
Berlin International Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
Ceasar Awards
Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain
David Donatello Awards
European Film Awards
Golden Globes
Goya Awards
Oscar Academy Awards
Venice Film Festival
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
Dutch ( Subtitles )
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
Silent ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
Netherlands ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
935 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Anamorphic Widescreen
Box Set
Filmographies
Interactive Menu
Multi-DVD Set
Scene Access
Short Film
Trailer(s)
Black & White

Movie filmed in 1957 - 2002 and produced in:
France ( France, Benelux )
Germany ( Germany, Central Europe )
Italy ( Italy, Greece )
Poland ( Russia, Eastern Europe )
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Roman Polanski

Written By:
Roman Polanski
Gérard Brach
Ronald Harwood
Wladyslaw Szpilman
Jakub Goldberg
Andrzej Kondratiuk

Actors:
Peter Coyote ..... Oscar
Emmanuelle Seigner ..... Mimi
Hugh Grant ..... Nigel
Kristin Scott Thomas ..... Fiona
Victor Banerjee ..... Mr. Singh
Sophie Patel ..... Amrita Singh
Patrick Albenque ..... Steward
Smilja Mihailovitch ..... Bridge Player
Leo Eckmann ..... Bridge Player
Luca Vellani ..... Dado
Richard Dieux ..... Partygoer
Danny Wuyts ..... Bandleader
Daniel Dhubert ..... Bus Inspector
Nathalie Galán ..... Girl in Boutique
Eric Gonzales ..... Cook
Catherine Deneuve ..... Carole
Ian Hendry ..... Michael
John Fraser ..... Colin
Yvonne Furneaux ..... Helen
Patrick Wymark ..... Landlord
Renee Houston ..... Miss Balch
Valerie Taylor ..... Madame Denise
James Villiers ..... John
Helen Fraser ..... Bridget
Hugh Futcher ..... Reggie
Monica Merlin ..... Mrs. Rendlesham
Imogen Graham ..... Manicurist
Mike Pratt ..... Workman
Donald Pleasence ..... George
Françoise Dorléac ..... Teresa
Lionel Stander ..... Richard
Jack MacGowran ..... Albie
Iain Quarrier ..... Christopher
Geoffrey Sumner ..... Christopher's Father
Renee Houston ..... Christopher's Mother
Robert Dorning ..... Philip Fairweather
Marie Kean ..... Marion Fairweather
William Franklyn ..... Cecil
Jacqueline Bisset ..... Jacqueline
Trevor Delaney ..... Nicholas
Adrien Brody ..... Wladyslaw Szpilman
Emilia Fox ..... Dorota
Michal Zebrowski ..... Jurek
Ed Stoppard ..... Henryk
Maureen Lipman ..... Mother
Frank Finlay ..... Father
Jessica Kate Meyer ..... Halina
Julia Rayner ..... Regina
Wanja Mues ..... SS Slapping Father
Richard Ridings ..... Mr. Lipa
Nomi Sharron ..... Feather Woman
Anthony Milner ..... Man Waiting to Cross
Lucy Skeaping ..... Street Musician
Roddy Skeaping ..... Street Musician
Ben Harlan ..... Street Musician
Thomas Lawincky ..... Schutzpolizei (as Thomas Lawinky)
Joachim Paul Assböck ..... Schutzpolizei
Roy Smiles ..... Itzak Heller
Paul Bradley ..... Yehuda
Daniel Caltagirone ..... Majorek
Andrzej Blumenfeld ..... Benek
Darian Wawer ..... Child at the Wall
Zbigniew Zamachowski ..... Customer with Coins
Lejb Fogelman ..... Customer with Coins
Detlev von Wangenheim ..... SS Officer (as Detlev Von Wangenheim)
Popeck ..... Rubenstein (as Popek)
Zofia Czerwinska ..... Woman with Soup
Emilio Fernandez ..... The Soup Snatcher
Udo Kroschwald ..... Schultz
Uwe Rathsam ..... SS Shooting the Woman
Joanna Brodzik ..... Woman Shot in the Head
Katarzyna Bargielowska ..... Wailing Woman
Maja Ostaszewska ..... Woman with Child
John Bennett ..... Dr. Ehrlich
Cyril Shaps ..... Mr. Grün
Wojciech Smolarz ..... Boy with Sweets
Lech Mackiewicz ..... Fellow Worker
Ruth Platt ..... Janina
Frank-Michael Köbe ..... SS Shooting Benek (as Frank Michael Köbe)
Torsten Flach ..... Zig Zag
Peter Rappenglück ..... SS Making a Speech
Ronan Vibert ..... Janina's Husband
Krzysztof Pieczynski ..... Gebczynski
Katarzyna Figura ..... Neighbour
Valentine Pelka ..... Dorota's Husband
Andrew Tiernan ..... Szalas
Tom Strauss ..... Dr. Luczak
Thomas Kretschmann ..... Captain Wilm Hosenfeld
Cezary Kosinski ..... Lednicki
Grzegorz Artman
Adam Bauman
Pawel Burczyk ..... Polish Workman
Zbigniew Dziduch
Marian Dziedziel
Nina Franoszek ..... Polish Woman
Jerzy Góralczyk ..... (as Jerzy Goralczyk)
John Keogh ..... Polish Officer
Jaroslaw Kopaczewski
Patrick Lanagan
Dmitri Leshchenko ..... Russian Soldier (as Dymitr Leszczenko)
Dorota Liliental
Rafal Mohr ..... Schutzpolizei
Andrzej Pieczynski ..... Prisoner
Morgane Polanski ..... Girl
Norbert Rakowski
Piotr Siejka
Weronika Szen
Andrzej Szenajch
Tomasz Tyndyk
Andrzej Walden
Zbigniew Walerys
Maciej Winkler
Tadeusz Wojtych
Andrzej Zielinski
Maurycy Zylber ..... German Film Crew
Xawery Zylber
Tomasz Golaski ..... Zyd
Rafal Dajbor ..... Soldier (uncredited)
Roman Garbowski ..... (uncredited)
Anna Gryszka ..... Woman in Ghetto (uncredited)
Adrian Hood ..... Piano Buyer (uncredited)
Ryszard Kluge ..... Jew Working on the Bulding Site (uncredited)
Maciej Kowalewski ..... SS Officer (uncredited)
Ireneusz Machnicki ..... SS Officer (uncredited)
Pawel Malaszynski ..... Man in Ghetto (uncredited)
Adam Malecki ..... German Soldier in the Ghetto (uncredited)
Aleksandra Nizynska ..... Girl (uncredited)
Axel Prahl ..... German Soldier - Rummage Bags (uncredited)
Dagmara Sieminska ..... Women in Ghetto (uncredited)
Izabella Szolc ..... Women in Ghetto (uncredited)
Dawid Szurmiej ..... Man in Ghetto (uncredited)
Borys Szyc ..... Young Gestapo (uncredited)
Jacek Wolszczak ..... Man in Ghetto (uncredited)
Pawel Zdun ..... (uncredited)
John Collin ..... John Durbeyfield
Tony Church ..... Parson Tringham
Nastassja Kinski ..... Tess
Brigid Erin Bates ..... Girl in meadow
Jeanne Biras ..... Girl in meadow
Peter Firth ..... Angel Clare
John Bett ..... Felix Clare
Tom Chadbon ..... Cuthbert Clare
Rosemary Martin ..... Mrs. Durbeyfield
Geraldine Arzul ..... Child
Stephanie Treille ..... Child
Elodie Warnod ..... Child
Ben Reeks ..... Child
Leigh Lawson ..... Alec d'Urberville
Lesley Dunlop ..... Girl in henhouse
Marcello Mastroianni ..... Alex
Sydne Rome ..... Nancy
Hugh Griffith ..... Joseph Noblart
Guido Alberti ..... Priest
Gianfranco Piacentini ..... Tony
Carlo Delle Piane ..... Young Oaf #1 in Car
Mario Bussolino ..... Young Oaf #2 in Car
Henning Schlüter ..... Catone
Christiane Barry ..... Dresser
Pietro Tordi ..... Man-Servant
Nerina Montagnani ..... Chambermaid
Mogens von Gadow ..... German
Dieter Hallervorden ..... German
Elisabeth Witte ..... Nurse
John Karlsen ..... Edward
Leon Niemczyk ..... Andrzej
Jolanta Umecka ..... Krystyna
Zygmunt Malanowicz ..... Young Boy
Nikola Todorow ..... Man in window
Barbara Lass ..... Old woman
Roman Polanski
Henryk Kluba
Andrzej Kondratiuk
Michal Zolnierkiewicz
Jakub Goldberg ..... Man with the wardrobe
Henryk Kluba ..... Man with the wardrobe

Synopsis:

***WARNING***Films 'What?' & 'Knife In The Water' do not contain English***Short Films are Silent with Fullscreen aspect ratio***
Roman Polanski Collection - 7 Films & 7 Shorts
Bitter Moon (1992)
A perverse, dark-humored comedy drama crosses the line into intentional camp more often than not in its tale of a kinky cripple Oscar and his beautiful wife Mimi.
Repulsion (1965)
The first English-language film of director Roman Polanski is a psychological thriller in the vein of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.
Cul-de-sac (1966)
The wounded criminal Richard 'Dicky' and his dying partner Albie seek for shelter in an old seaside castle.
The Pianist (2002)
A brilliant pianist, a Polish Jew, witnesses the restrictions Nazis place on Jews in the Polish capital, from restricted access to the building of the Warsaw ghetto.
Tess (1979)
Nastassja Kinski plays Tess, a poor British peasant girl sent to live with her distant and wealthy relatives, the D'Urbervilles.
What? (1972)
A young American woman traveling through Italy finds herself in a strange Mediterranean villa where nothing seems right.
Knife in the Water (1962)
While driving to sail with his wife Krystyna in his yacht, the arrogant and wealthy Andrzej 'stumbles' with a drifter in front of his car hitchhiking on the lonely road.
A Toothful Smile (1957)
A man is descending a staircase and he stops at a window to stare at a topless woman washing in front of a bathroom sink...
A Murderer (1957)
The scene consists of a large man in a dark coat entering a bedroom, killing the man lying in the bed with a straight razor, and leaving the room.
When Angels Fall (1959)
About the lady attendant of an underground lavatory who thinks about her past life and the war.
Mammals (1962)
It features two men and a sled in the snow.
Let's Break the Ball (1957)
Young people arrive at a social dance where a jazz band is playing. A group of thugs hang out by the gated entrance, but they don't have tickets to get in.
Two Men and a Wardrobe (1958)
Story of two men who carry a large wardrobe from the sea to shore and their disappointments when they do not want to part from the wardrobe.'
The Lamp (1959)
A dollmaker makes repairs under the light of an oil lamp.

Bitter Moon (Lunes de fiel) 1992
Nigel Dobson is an English perfect gentleman, married to equally respectable Fiona. On a cruise heading for India, they meet a highly unconventional couple, American unpublished would-be literary celebrity Oscar, in a wheelchair, and his much younger Parisian wife, Mimi. Oscar insists to tell his unsettling life story to Nigel, who is too polite to refuse although its gore content, shamelessly explicit details and foul Yankee language rather disgust the well-bred Brit, yet becomes also fascinated. Oscar tells how he found by chance in Mimi a willing partner for sex, ever pushing their boundaries. When he tires of spiraling passionate devotion to her, the tables turn: Mimi begs Oscar to stay with her at any price, and gets what she bargained for, sadistic scorn and abuse till she's a mere shadow of her former self, yet is finally abandoned on a flight to Martinique. Later Oscar has a car accident, and Mimi returns to Paris to make sure he is condemned to a wheelchair for life, this time utterly dependent on her, no longer free to choose accepting her abuse, yet they get married. Meanwhile Fiona tires of waiting for Nigel during Oscar's story sessions and spends time with flirtatious Italian Dado. During the New year's Eve party, things come to a surprisingly real and personal closure, not in the least for Nigel...

Repulsion (1965)
Carol Ledoux, a beautiful, reserved Belgian woman, works in London as a manicurist and lives in an apartment with her sister Helen. Although she has an admiring boyfriend, Colin, Carol is repulsed by sexuality, and particularly by Michael, her sister's married lover. Carol is repelled by his razor and toothbrush in their bathroom and especially by the sounds of their lovemaking at night. Helen and Michael leave for a vacation in Italy, and left alone, Carol falls into a tortured state of mind. She leaves her job at the beauty salon and barricades herself in the apartment. Her mind becomes further unhinged when she receives an abusive telephone call, intended for her sister, from Michael's wife. She tears out the telephone, shutting herself in totally. She imagines a rapist coming through the door and sees arms reaching out of the walls to ravish her. The slight cracks in the apartment walls appear to enlarge and the walls to crumble. An uncooked rabbit in a dish decays and appears grotesque and hideous. Colin, concerned about Carol's condition, breaks down the door; when he turns his back, she bludgeons him with a candlestick and places his lifeless body in the bathtub. The landlord comes to collect the rent, and when he interprets Carol's scanty dress as a sexual invitation, she slashes him to death with Michael's razor. Returning from their vacation, Helen and Michael find Carol in a trance on the floor and telephone the police. The last scene had Michael carry Carol and presumed to place in mental hospital.

Cul-de-sac (1966)
The fact that there isn't a single likeable character in Cul de Sac does not diminish its artistic value in the least. Ageing, furtively kinky Donald Pleasence is married to sexy young Francoise Dorleac. The couple's hermitlike tranquility is shattered when wounded gangsters Jack MacGowan and Lionel Stander invade their home and hold them hostage. As Dorleac urges her tremulous husband to do something, the two criminals begin behaving in a fashion that can only inadequately be described as eccentric. Drawing upon two of Polanski's favorite themes-isolation and latent insanity--Cul de Sac actually improves upon each viewing, assuming that the viewer has the intestinal fortitude to sit through it once.

The Pianist (Pianista) 2002
The true story of Wladyslaw Szpilman who, in the 1930s, was known as the most accomplished piano player in all of Poland, if not Europe. At the outbreak of the Second World War, however, Szpilman becomes subject to the anti-Jewish laws imposed by the conquering Germans. By the start of the 1940s, Szpilman has seen his world go from piano concert halls to the Jewish Ghetto of Warsaw and then must suffer the tragedy of his family deported to a German concentration camps, while Szpilman is conscripted into a forced German Labor Compound. At last deciding to escape, Szpilman goes into hiding as a Jewish refugee where he is witness to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (April 19, 1943 - May 16, 1943) and the Warsaw Uprising (1 August to 2 October 1944).

Tess (1979)
A rural clergyman in 19th century England tells Durbeyfield, a simple farmer, that he is descended from the illustrious d'Urberville family -- now extinct. Or maybe not. Durbeyfield sends his daughter Tess to check on a family named d'Uberville living in a manor house less than a day's carriage ride away. Alec d'Urberville is delighted to meet his beautiful 'cousin' and seduces her with strawberries and roses. Actually Alec has gotten his illustrious name and coat of arms by purchasing them. Tess too takes up the game of illusion when she finds, loses and finds again her true love Angel.

What? (Che?) 1972
A young American woman (Sydne Rome) traveling through Italy finds herself in a strange Mediterranean villa where nothing seems right. Her visit becomes an absurd, decadent, oversexed version of 'Alice in Wonderland', with Marcello Mastroianni as the maddest of mad hatters and Roman Polanski a kinky March hare.

Knife in the Water (Nóz w wodzie) 1962
Noz w Wodzie was not only Polanski's first feature-length film, but it also marked the first screen appearance of Polish actor Zygmunt Malanowicz who played a young student. In fact, the only experienced thespian in the featured trio is Leon Niemczyk as Andrzej, the self-important, somewhat arrogant husband of Kataryna. Andrzej and Kataryna pick up the student as he is hitchhiking and invite him to join them on their boat for an outing. As the threesome head out to open water, the husband and the student start a kind of jealous interaction that keeps Kataryna mildly amused. What began as a macho sparring ends up in a fight that has the student falling overboard and the husband swimming to shore for help. But appearances are deceiving, as the husband will soon discover.

A Toothful Smile (Usmiech zebiczny) 1957
A man walks down the exterior staircase of building of flats; he's dressed to go out, taking care to wrap a scarf around his neck. He pauses as he passes a small window that's about eye high. He ventures to look in, and there a young woman stands at a washbasin, drying her hair, the towel that obscures her face her only covering. The peeping tom gets an eyeful and smiles; he's interrupted by a door opening, the flat's occupant bringing out empty bottles to place on the porch. The man pretends to leave, departing down the stairs, only to return to the window after the flat's door has closed. He again looks in the window, where a surprise awaits.

A Murderer (Morderstwo) 1957
The camera shows us a door handle and the door's striker plate; from this angle, they form a cross. The door opens and in steps someone in a dark trench coat. He approaches a bed in the room, where a shirtless man sleeps. The intruder takes out a knife. His movements are without haste, but deliberate and efficient. Will his sleeping victim awake in time to offer resistance?'

When Angels Fall (Gdy spadaja anioly) 1959
Roman Polanski made Gdy Spadaja Anioly ( When Angels Fall) as his final project at the State Film School in Lodz, Poland. This short film follows concerns an old woman who works as a bathroom attendant. Filmed in black-and-white, she is shown performing her work duties and sitting in a chair in a grimy men's lavatory. She stares at the various fixtures in the bathroom, daydreaming about her past.. Shown in color, her flashbacks involve a young romance, her infant child, and memories from the war. Starring Jakub Goldberg and Henryk Kluba, both of whom Polanski had previously cast for his short film Two Men and a Wardrobe. Also starring Polanski's then-wife Barbara Kwiatkowska-Lass.

Mammals (Ssaki) 1962
Against a barren winter landscape, a figure approaches: it's a man, pulling a small sleigh on which another man sits, plucking a dead bird. They stop to trade places; the one now on the sleigh takes out his knitting. Accidents, misunderstandings, disagreements, and an outright fight await our absurd protagonists as their trip to nowhere continues, first with one pulling, then the other. What if they were to lose the sleigh? What rules of civilization and partnership would guide them then?'

Let's Break the Ball (Rozbijemy zabawe) 1957
Youths get ready for a party, decorating the dance floor, cleaning out the fountain of a pond. That evening, the party starts and guests arrive: everyone has a ticket, and a guy at the gate, wearing a formal shirt, tails, and shorts, makes sure only those with tickets gain entrance. Some are in costume, some dressed informally, some in fancy clothes: everyone is there to have a good time. A group of tough-looking guys watch through the high fence while the band plays jazzy rock and couples dance or kiss. With the party in full swing, as the band plays 'When the Saints Go Marching In,' over the wall comes the gang. Is there any chance they'll join in the festivities?

Two Men and a Wardrobe (Dwaj ludzie z szafa) 1958
Dwaj Ludzie z Szafy (Two Men and a Wardrobe) is the first short film by Roman Polanski to be screened publicly. It won festival acclaim in Oberhausen, Brussels, and San Francisco. Two men emerge from the sea carrying a large wooden wardrobe. They carry it throughout the city, but they get kicked out of a restaurant and a hotel. Eventually they get beat up by thugs who smash the mirror on the wardrobe. The two men return to the sea with their wardrobe. Theorists believe this film is about the nonconformist in society and the consequences of carrying a burden.

The Lamp (Lampa) 1959
In waning winter light, a doll maker works in his shop, a kerosene lamp beside him, a jumble of dolls and doll parts, whole and broken, surrounding him. There are noises, too: a cuckoo clock chirps the workday's end. The artisan completes a repair and leaves, shuttering the shop from outside. Back inside, whispering begins. What else is in store for the shop's seemingly lifeless denizens?

Bitter Moon (Lunes de fiel) 1992
British couple Fiona and Nigel Dobson are sailing to Istanbul en route to India. They encounter a beautiful French woman, and that night Nigel meets her while dancing alone in the ship's bar. Later he meets her crippled American husband Oscar, who tells him their story. While living in Paris for several years trying to be a writer, he becomes obsessed with a woman he met by chance on a bus. He tracks her down and they start a steamy love affair. Soon Oscar finds himself enslaved body and soul by her love, and continues to tell Nigel the details of this relationship in various stages over a number of visits to Oscar's cabin.

Repulsion (1965)
A Belgian girl, Carol, works as a manicurist at a London beauty salon. While having lunch, a good looking young man, Colin, spots her and makes a date for another evening. She shares a flat with her sister Helen. Her sister's married lover, Michael, brings out her dislike of men which she cannot explain to Colin. Michael takes Helen abroad for a holiday. Left alone in their flat, Carol's moments of catalepsy and hallucination increase and deepen into madness.

Cul-de-sac (1966)
A wounded criminal and his dying partner take refuge at a beachfront castle. The owners of the castle, a meek Englishman and his willful French wife, are initially the unwilling hosts to the criminals. Quickly, however, the relationships between the criminal, the wife, and the Englishman begin to shift in humorous and bizarre fashion.

The Pianist (Pianista) 2002
Based on the novel by Wladyslaw Szpilman, one of Poland's most celebrated pianists known for his excellent interpretation of Chopin, Polanski's The Pianist tells about Szpilman's adventurous escape from certain death in the camps. He was noted by a music-loving Nazi officer who hid the pianist and brought him food.

Tess (1979)
In Roman Polanski's adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Nastassja Kinski plays Tess, a poor British peasant girl sent to live with her distant and wealthy relatives, the D'Urbervilles. Though Tess' father had hoped that the girl would be permitted a portion of the D'Urberville riches, he is in for a major disappointment: Tess' new housemates are not D'Urbervilles at all, but a social-climbing family that has bought the name. Tess won three Oscars, including a ''Best Cinematography'' statuette for the late Geoffrey Unsworth and his successor Ghislain Cloquet. The film also served to catapult Nastassja Kinski to stardom.

Knife in the Water (Nóz w wodzie) 1962
An attractive young woman, Christine, takes the wheel of a car belonging to her partner Andrzej, a sports columnist. While he criticizes her driving skills, a reckless student leaps out in front of the car. Andrzej gives the student a ride and invites him to accompany them on their yacht trip. Attracted to Christine, the student becomes increasingly clumsy. He spends his time jabbing the point of a pocket knife rapidly between the fingers of his other hand. Andrzek argues with the student, who topples overboard, vanishing into the lake. Andrzej dives in to save him, though he fails to find the student and swims ashore. Despite an earlier claim that he couldn't swim, the student manages to hide behind the nearest buoy.

A Toothful Smile (Usmiech zebiczny) 1957
Usmiech Zebiczny (Teeth Smile) is Roman Polanski's second short film at the State Film School in Lodz, Poland. A man is descending a staircase and he stops at a window to stare at a topless woman washing in front of a bathroom sink. She doesn't see him because she has a towel on her face. The man smiles and continues to walk down the stairs, but he returns for one more look out the window. This time there is a clothed man brushing his teeth at the bathroom sink.

A Murderer (Morderstwo) 1957
Morderstwo (Murder) is Roman Polanski's first short film made at the State Film School in Lodz, Poland. The scene consists of a large man in a dark coat entering a bedroom, killing the man lying in the bed with a straight razor, and leaving the room.

When Angels Fall (Gdy spadaja anioly) 1959
A church bell chimes. An old woman stops to feed pidgins on her way to work in the men's lavatory in the basement of a public building. She sits all day by the lavatory door as little dramas play out -- of illness, assignation, and routine -- a few tips her only acknowledgment. The sound of footsteps on the floor above her brings a reverie of her youth, when she was a beauty, the day a platoon of soldiers marched into her valley. As the day in the basement proceeds, she completes a set of memories that takes her from passion to maternal love to rejection and tragedy. Could there be more awaiting her on this day of remembering the fruit of her womb?

Mammals (Ssaki) 1962
Ssaki (Mammals) is a ten-minute short film by Roman Polanski. It features two men and a sled in the snow. Theorists connect the themes of this film with the political duplicity in his 1961 short The Fat and the Lean. Ssaki features music by frequent collaborator Krzysztof Komeda.

Let's Break the Ball (Rozbijemy zabawe) 1957
Rozbijemo Zabawe (Break up the Dance) is an eight-minute short film by Roman Polanski, his first to feature a soundtrack. Young people arrive at a social dance where a jazz band is playing. A group of thugs hang out by the gated entrance, but they don't have tickets to get in. They climb the fence and disrupt the dance by beating people up, pushing girls down, and throwing people in the water.

Two Men and a Wardrobe (Dwaj ludzie z szafa) 1958
Two men come up from the beach carrying a large wardrobe between them. They come up into the town but not only find that accommodation is difficult to come by with their wooden travelling companion but also that both women and men shun or mistreat them.

The Lamp (Lampa) 1959
The Lamp is a short black-and-white film made by Roman Polanski in his final year at the State Film School in Lodz, Poland. A dollmaker makes repairs under the light of an oil lamp. Broken doll parts are scattered throughout the workshop. The lamp breaks and the workshop goes up in flames.

This product was added to our catalog on Wednesday 22 June, 2011.