"You have to show violence the way it is. If you don't show it realistically, then that's immoral and harmful. If you don't upset people, then that's obscenity." --Polanski
Roman Polanski was a controversial director who made many daring decisions in his films. He felt that not "sugar coating" acts of violence when shooting was more truthful to the viewers. For example, in Chinatown, there is a scene in which Polanski himself plays a man with a knife, and he cuts Gittes' nose with it. The scene is shockingly graphic, and many modern directors would not show this level of detailed, up-close violence. When these things are shown in modern films, they are shot from a distance or far less bloody. Polanski felt that if he did not show the violence as it truly would occur, he would be deceiving his viewers and that it would be wrong.
Roman Polanski was a controversial director who made many daring decisions in his films. He felt that not "sugar coating" acts of violence when shooting was more truthful to the viewers. For example, in Chinatown, there is a scene in which Polanski himself plays a man with a knife, and he cuts Gittes' nose with it. The scene is shockingly graphic, and many modern directors would not show this level of detailed, up-close violence. When these things are shown in modern films, they are shot from a distance or far less bloody. Polanski felt that if he did not show the violence as it truly would occur, he would be deceiving his viewers and that it would be wrong.