The new “Chinatown” 4K Bluray was made available to purchase three days ago and there’s no mention whatsoever of Roman Polanski on the front or back cover.
Naturally, we shouldn’t be too surprised about this development, but it is nevertheless worth noting. We all know why Paramount omitted his name. However, it should be noted that there is no “Chinatown,” or at least the magnificent version we know of today, released on June 20, 1974, without Polanski’s masterful direction.
Venice boss, Alberto Barbera, said it best last year, while defending the filmmaker, “Polanski is one of the last great masters of European cinema.” Distinctions must be made between the man and the artist. We can still admire their work. Here again is Barbera, continuing his defense …
I’m pretty sure, in some decades’ time, everyone will have forgotten about the personal history of Polanski, but they will still admire his films.
Nothing, no matter how hard people painstakingly try, will ever erase his greatest films, which include “Chinatown,” “Rosemary’s Baby,” “The Pianist,” “Repulsion,” “Knife in the Water,” “An Officer and a Spy,” and many more.