Repulsion (1965)

Repulsion is a 105-minute running British emotional terror movie, released during 1965. The movie was produced by a Polish-American movie producer, Gene Gutowski, and directed by Roman Polanski, a naturalized-French movie producer, director, author, and actor. Some of the most popular actors cast in the movie include Catherine Deneuve, John Fraser, Ian Hendry and Yvonne Furneaux. The screenplay of the movie was derived from a situation by Roman Polanski and Gerard Brach, a screenwriter from France.

The plot of the movie focuses on a juvenile woman who is left unaccompanied by her retreating sister at their residence, and starts relieving sufferings of her past in terrible ways. The movie was filmed in London, and it was the first English-language movie and second marked length movie making of Polanski, after “Knife in the Water” directed during 1962.

The movie was first screened at the Cannes Film Festival during 1965 earlier than getting theatrical releases in the United States and United Kingdom. Upon the release of Repulsion, the movie received substantial critical praise and currently, it is considered one among the best movies of Polanski. It was the first payment in "Apartment Trilogy" of Polanski, followed by the psychological horror movie, Rosemary's Baby in 1968 and another movie of the same category, The Tenant in 1976. Both these two movies Took place chiefly within apartment buildings.

Production of the movie

Even though the Repulsion movie typically produced as the third part of "Apartment Trilogy" of Polanski, this movie came about more by fortune than by plan. At first, the movie adaptation was created by Jack Clayton, a British movie director, who was involved in the project about seven years earlier than Polanski created it. Consistent with the biographer of Clayton, Neil Sinyard, and Clayton at first tried to make the movie ca. 1969, designed for Universal Studios, from a screenplay by Edward Albee, who was an American playwright, but this version not at all made it into fabrication following the relationship between the studio and Albee soured.

Paramount acquired the rights on the advice of Clayton during 1971. Clayton revisited the project in the middle part of the 1970s, and a rough sketch script was written by Christopher Hampton as Clayton was preparing a romantic drama movie, The Great Gatsby. By the moment Clayton has conveyed Gatsby to Paramount during March 1974, he came to know from Robert Evans that Polanski was paying attention to the project and desired to play the lead role. As Clayton was busy preparing foreign lingo versions of Gatsby for the European film market, Paramount studio started Barry Diller commenced negotiations with Polanski.

Even though later Clayton persisted that he was never particularly asked if he was still concerned, and never refused it, Diller erroneously understood that Clayton had lost curiosity and allotted the project to Polanski, without the knowledge of Clayton. When he discovered, Clayton called Diller during September 1974, expressing his disappointment that Diller had provided another director with a movie which had been purposely acquired by the studio for him, and for accomplishing so with no consultation.

Nominations and awards

The Repulsion movie won two 1965 Berlin International Film Festival awards for the Best Director, and a Special Prize of the Jury categories

The movie secured the second place in the Best Director category and the third place in the Best Actress category in the 1965 New York Film Critics Circle Awards.

The film was nominated for the 1966 BAFTA Awards for the Best British Cinematography category.