Repulsion

I was introduced to Polanski at an early age, some time before he became well known through 'Rosemary’s Baby' (1968). At our school film club we saw his first feature film, ‘Knife in the Water’ (1962) and at the university film club I saw my favourite of his early films, ‘Cul de Sac’ (1966), which could well have been my choice but isn’t. This list is about films that especially affected me, rather than films I think are classic masterpieces. 'Cut de sac' is well worth seeing, though, inspired (I think) by Pinter and Beckett, and set on the island of Lindisfarne. It was one of the few films Françoise Dorleac made before her tragic death. 

Her sister, Catherine Deneuve, starred in the film I have chosen, 'Repulsion' (1965), Polanski’s highly acclaimed first English language film. It is one of the few films to have made me physically unwell – I saw it alone in a suburban cinema in Sydenham, SE 26, and actually had to leave my seat, though I returned and watched it through again (we could in those days). A ‘psychological horror’ with surreal dream sequences that are not for the fainthearted, it depicts the gradual departure from reality experienced by a young woman left alone in a London flat. Highly recommended (although ‘Cul de Sac’, which came out the following year, is perhaps the better film).

'Repulsion' is available on Youtube, as is a documentary about it (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPa8A6ITxlkpolanski).