Roman Polanski On Escaping The Jewish Ghetto In World War II | The Dick Cavett Show

Roman Polanski details his near death experiences and traumatic childhood during the war.
Date aired - December 22, 1971 - Roman Polanski
#RomanPolanski
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Dick Cavett has been nominated for eleven Emmy awards (the most recent in 2012 for the HBO special, Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett Together Again), and won three. Spanning five decades, Dick Cavett’s television career has defined excellence in the interview format. He started at ABC in 1968, and also enjoyed success on PBS, USA, and CNBC.
His most recent television successes were the September 2014 PBS special, Dick Cavett’s Watergate, followed April 2015 by Dick Cavett’s Vietnam. He has appeared in movies, tv specials, tv commercials, and several Broadway plays. He starred in an off-Broadway production ofHellman v. McCarthy in 2014 and reprised the role at Theatre 40 in LA February 2015.
Cavett has published four books beginning with Cavett (1974) and Eye on Cavett (1983), co-authored with Christopher Porterfield. His two recent books -- Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary, and Off-Screen Secrets (2010) and Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic moments, and Assorted Hijinks(October 2014) are both collections of his online opinion column, written for The New York Times since 2007. Additionally, he has written for The New Yorker, TV Guide, Vanity Fair, and elsewhere.
#thedickcavettshow

[@kasdfg776]

God, I never really appreciated Dick Cavett when I watched him growing up. He was just so damn rational and cool. He was a breed apart.

[@1SeanBond]

Awesome comment!

[@scottmerrow7617]

Great actor/liar

[@5speedMax]

Dick Cavett is by far the best.

[@carolgladfelder272]

@Melanie Willard Sounds delusional to me. His brain must have "flip flop". 🙄

[@shable1436]

@@dsaasd6300 person and countries are stupid comparison, with your America hating comments are hilarious, bet you wouldnt leave if you had a chance to come here lol

[@joeroberts2481]

He was only 38 here. We sometimes forget how close World War II was historically to the 1960s and '70s, and how young people were as late as 1971 who remembered the war vividly.

[@harryf1ashman]

It also help to explain why most chat shows these days are so superficial. A shocking crime for most millennials is misgendering

[@nardis4140]

And that's why the 60's were still so influential to us in the early 80's. It really was just yesterday, but not anymore.

[@Norman-Bates-60]

Im 37 , my mother is 66.

[@Norman-Bates-60]

@@joeroberts2481 its simple math.

[@EyeLean5280]

Yes, I was born in 1964 and I remember what a shock it was one day when I realized WWII had happened only 20 years before. It had seemed like such an alien period because all the pictures and films of it were in black and white, whereas our TV was in color. But it was * so * close in time, really, to my own life. And now, good Lord, I'm much further away in time from my birth than WWII is.

[@snowstormonsat]

I'm a survivor of extreme childhood abuse and let me tell you, trauma affects your view of the world and shapes your personality. It gets filed into the subconscious and one day when your all grown up you realize the damage that was done and you clearly see all the toxic patterns that have played out in your life. The trauma can manifest in all kinds of ways and even be passed down generations. All without you even being aware.

[@joejones9520]

part of it is due to epigenetics..very interesting phenomenon, everyone should read about it.

[@jewbergfagonstein7304]

This is why we must destroy gentile societies, or they'll keep killing us for absolutely no reason.

[@soeffingwhat]

@@jewbergfagonstein7304 I agree, I am a white european irish but I believe you totally, in fact why not destroy the whole world altogether. that'd be even better.

[@petmomful2260]

I, too, am a survivor of a terrible childhood. I am 65 and I still struggle. It does shape your actions and feelings forever. It is very hard to get over some things, such as the complete lack of nurturing, and the threat of violence at all times.

[@brainflash1]

You still needed a point of reference to know it was wrong.

[@abcun17]

For me personally, “The Pianist” always felt more impactful as a movie than “Schindler’s List”. One of the differences being that Polanski actually lived through the Holocaust and survived it. Spielberg told the story of those who did, but he himself did not have that direct, harrowing and horrible experience. Now, that isn’t meant as a competition in suffering, but I think that it is important because those different life experiences really influence the cinematic language of the two movies.

[@abrahamlupis9354]

I agree with you, The Pianist creeped me for what happened and today we aren't different by the people acting as the army going after people for abuses that happened over 30 years ago, one thing is fair punishment and other thing is blind solidarity I watched J'Accuse and is a good film, sadly the metoo members don't mind kicking all the people involved just because the director; the most dangerous is Adele Haenel, she's blinded with "haine" (hate) despite Roman Polanski not doing anything to her, she got what she wanted, that should be enough, but not

[@ellenolenska9141]

I was able to actually watch The Pianist. I could not bear watching certain scenes in Schindler’s List and had to keep turning off the TV then turning it back on.

[@annla7834]

Absolutely. The intimacy with horror was so much more vivid with "The Pianist." No comparison.

[@mnbv990]

Good point sir.

[@joanbaczek2575]

My grandparents did too

[@aplainjaneproduction8285]

Dick Cavett was a decent guy. So much more tact and respect towards his guests than many interviewers today.

[@olympiaskye2324]

Lol You act like the talk show hosts of today, punch their guests in the face, spit at them and curse them out, when they greet them. When did they get disrespected? These talk show hosts, wouldn't be on TV then, if that were true. Lol?

[@galacticoera]

Watch the dali episode, he wasn’t terrible but he was being kind of a dick

[@annamillan2903]

People were more polite.

[@ichbin4122]

@@galacticoera going to watch it now

[@ichbin4122]

@@galacticoera i ve watched most of it. I love Dali s paintings. Seen his rare work (watercolours) close. Admirable painter. Weirdo guy, not answering to any painting rules. Cavett loved his audience to laugh and this was too much of an opportunity. Dali s clever cause he knows the American is taking the p. but he carries on totally unphased by the sarcasm. Dali knows his English would make anybody laugh. But he tries.

[@madeleine8977]

Cavett was the interviewer of the thinking person. He was collected, asked interesting questions and made thoughtful comments. Definitely highbrow.

[@pam0626]

Madeleine Yes, sadly, his interviewing style is from a bygone era.

[@madeleine8977]

@@pam0626 More's the pity! I miss that genre.

[@annla7834]

@@pam0626 That interviewing style was even rare then.

[@pam0626]

@@annla7834 Yes, but at least back then we had Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin, Dinah Shore & Phil Donahue.

[@themiddlekid1966]

Dick Cavett is class.. pure class. And you can't help but be amazed by Romans life story

[@gotocustudiofilmsthecheapb3802]

And This is a class. On how to be a great interviewer.

[@6teezkid]

Polanski is now 86 years old. I can’t believe it. Time for us here is beyond short.

[@Cavallaro2376]

And the older one gets, the faster time goes by...unless they're doing time in one way or another.

[@lukaz3336]

@@mrbatman4robin Yep

[@romo2674]

@@mrbatman4robin ok, come on, you are repeating a made story

[@romo2674]

@Lennie Minder People like you are obnoxious

[@redwatch1100]

Life too short to have patience. 100 years is only 1200 months.

[@BanjoLuke1]

These memories of a childhood disrupted by horror are so beautifully told and unedited. His sheer acceptance of it somehow mirrors the appearance he gives of not quite understanding that others would have expected anything different. The aircraft, the fruit, the mushrooms, the mill.

[@dixonpinfold2582]

"The aircraft, the fruit, the mushrooms, the mill." Ravishing metre and word-music in there.

[@alanasda7705]

Polanski, in talking about his own experience during the Holocaust, has said that the death of his mother in the gas chambers remains so hurtful that only his own death will bring closure.

[@philcassidy3823]

I guess that makes it all right what he did to Samantha Jane Gailey

[@carlchilders9538]

People, including me, wonder how Roman was able to handle the brutal death of his gorgeous wife and unborn child. This video makes it clear that he had to cope with death and loss from a very early age, which helped him deal with his latest loss.

[@tomkassan248]

Do people still think the manson murders were real???I didn't think there were such gullible fools around.

[@santiagovillegas8840]

Carl Childers Well lets see

[@christiangasior4244]

Why wouldn’t the Manson murdered be real, btw? Did the people just drop off the face of the earth and convince the police and the killers themselves to make up some crazy story? You have to be trolling.

[@mayspainting7361]

tom kassan Roman probably wrote, produced, and directed the Manson Show. It is hard to believe people believe it to be real, but then they think there is a convertible in space and they watched a duel between a machete and a narwhal tusk on London Bridge. There is no threshold for most people. Not only will they believe anything they are told, they believe everything they are told.

[@conspiracycornerpodcast4302]

@@tomkassan248 dude I just ran across a whole rabbit hole of how they were fake. Its insane, I'm starting to question. Glad someone else is saying this. Your comment is probably gonna get alot of hate. Be kool, dont let sheep put u down.👍

[@halonothing1]

A child accepts anything as reality because they haven't known anything different. Believe me, it's a lot harder if you started off with a good life and lost everything as an adult. A child doesn't know to question how things are. They just roll with it. Ignorance truly is bliss. Thankfully my own experience with loss and trauma is nothing compared to those who survive war, but they're difficult none the less. But I consider each day to be a blessing.

[@herrfriberger5]

Well put.

[@heekyungkim8147]

I know what you mean. I had a perfect childhood then my parents died. Ever since then life goes downhill.... but still trying to hold on to life.

[@gerrynightingale9045]

*I consider each day I've lived to be a punishment for the crime of existing*

[@sad_is_fiction]

Same my childhood was trash im 20 I'm emotionally still a kid. I feel bad for my mom bless her soul for taking care of me still

[@davidlean1060]

​@@gerrynightingale9045 To quote Cormac Mc Carthy, 'it ain't all waiting on you, that's vanity'. Every life comes with a death sentence and, like it or not, you already know how to make the best version of yourself. The trouble is we convince ourselves we don't know. That is all you are doing. Stop whining for a start! I doubt your life is that bad...I mean you can afford a pc, an internet connection and the space to be able to write a post, so you are doing something right, even if you can't see it! It's a cliche, but get busy living, or get busy dying.

[@ciarraibuzz]

Just try to compare Fallon, Colbert, Corden with Cavett. Cavett is an adult and the others teenboppers.

[@ichbin4122]

The TV producers are mentally challenged

[@RhinocerosProductions]

of those Colbert is the best but he can't hold a candle to Cavett

[@adrianotero7963]

@@RhinocerosProductions agree 100 %

[@jayrowe6473]

You're being charitable. I can think of a long list of adjectives to describe that group, none of them flattering.

[@prnstarinterlude6510]

Conan is very good ‘modern’ television host. I acknowledge you didn’t mention him but I thought he was worth noting. So sad that Conan retired that leaves no good show host. Either way, no host can or will be capable of emulating what Dick Cavett did. Cavett was and remains to this day the greatest host.

[@shadowshow701]

What a fascinating interview. Compare it to the drivel you get on talk shows today

[@janeporter818]

Fact!

[@tracyfeldstein1555]

@@garywalega Another Genius... Oh Nazis...why do you never leave?

[@geo-george2639]

@@tracyfeldstein1555 OK, Tracy. Who owns the media? The Irish?

[@christianamerican473]

@@tracyfeldstein1555 Polanski, Allen, Schneider, Epstein, Weinstein, hmmm. Seems like a pattern of some sort.

[@peterenola2265]

@Mike Bailey yeah, well, you obviously know all the insides of the story to make that judgement.

[@certainperson9869]

The part where he describes seeing those American fighter planes was the most beautiful moment was very touching.

[@poexania]

only other innocent people when they see those planes are to strike them

[@muthahumpa2715]

I teared up listening to that.

[@phukyu9016]

I liken that to the Chinese in South Park telling Americans they have big dicks. Bullshit to satiate the dimwitted.

[@adaspaker8404]

they were russians airplanes, usa didnt fight in poland

[@phukyu9016]

@@adaspaker8404 hey bud the yanks saved the day then landed on the moon and dont you forget it!

[@mikesmith-pj7xz]

"A child accepts everything." Oy, Roman.

[@sratus]

@geno mccgeno How about putting in the context of what he did to that kid Geno?

[@mikesmith-pj7xz]

@geno mccgenoYou're pushing against an open door. However, while I admire many of his films the phrase "a child accepts everything" rings oddly and with a sinister tone. It reveals an attitude that speaks to his later actions and how he justified them. I of course also appreciate Caravaggio, Rimbaud, Baudelaire, and Eliot among others, and all were generally awful people.

[@mikesmith-pj7xz]

@@VirtualHolocaust"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt."

[@mikesmith-pj7xz]

@@rogfusionkidTo whom are you addressing your comment?

[@maskedmarvyl4774]

@@VirtualHolocaust , wow, you're the saddest troll on the board. I don't know if that's impressive or just pathetic. I'm going to go with pathetic.

[@yasminedey8612]

I am amazed how good his English is and how intelligent he is. I could listen to him for hours.

[@henbane2247]

I was thinking that as well

[@hasselett]

Yeah, a Polish person speaking such good English is really quite impressive. Especially for being back in the 1970's. Possessing such an extensive vocabulary and having such ingenuity in a foreign language is really not something a lot of people could brag about back then. Most young foreigners these days are far better at English, but that's only because they have much more exposure to the language in the media.

[@dedbusted]

You are "amazed" at "how intelligent" one of the most famous filmmakers of all time is? Ok.

[@DerekHundik]

ask yourself when and how he learned to speak english german and hebrew picking berries in some woods by the hills.

[@Berniewahlbrinck]

I am German, I teach English, and I also think his English is terrific.

[@davidcawrowl3865]

Credit Dick Cavett for gently eliciting these memories from Polanski, who was initially not wanting to talk about them. And the more he did talk about them the more elaborate the memories became. Stellar interview.

[@OksanaOksana1]

he just underestimates this distructive experience of his childhood. But it influences his personality unconsciously tremendously, and his life path just proves it. Too bad he didn't realize it

[@claycoleman4105]

I wouldn't say so. Quite the opposite

[@rachlovesthebeatles]

Of course he realizes it. Whether he wishes to discuss it in public is an entirely different matter.

[@robertwill23]

That is the problem with American idea of cult of therapy when every thing (big or little) from childhood supposedly influences person for the rest of his life. It is not true. Every child can have more or less awful experience or witness some awful incident but I guarantee you majority of them don't remember any of it or remember it vaguely on occasion and there is no point on dwelling on it like many today's cult of therapy supporters suggest. You move on with your life, everyone has some bad experience in their childhood but if you gonna dwell on it and blow it out of proportion then it will prevent your ability to develop further. Today we see extremes of cult of therapy when everyone on Twitter blows every little incident happened to them in very distant past (some even just inventing it) out of proportion and makes it as formative of their personality. Person is not defined by one incident or one bad experience. That is why bad experience often is easily forgotten by child.

[@OksanaOksana1]

@@robertwill23 nothing is ever forgotten, it's kept in unconscious, and its even worse. Because if you dont acknowledge something then you dont have a control over it

[@robertwill23]

@@OksanaOksana1 yep, like schrinks ever able to tell what is kept in your unconscious. nobody can. i am pretty sure I forgot many things from my childhood. obviously, childhood in general is formative (but so material conditions around you, it's not childhood but just environment in which you were raised). but there is no need to dwell on some vague incidents that might have happened or might not have. otherwise, you won't be able to act in life at all.

[@ThePurpleCow]

A friend of mine was as a three year old on the same train as Polanski, on the way to a concentration camp. They were two of a group of ten Jewish kids whose life was saved by a young Polish Catholic Priest who pulled them off the train. That priest was Karol Józef Wojtyła later Pope John Paul II. My friend and Karel remained friends for the rest of their lives.

[@FrancoisDressler]

Liar

[@ThePurpleCow]

@@FrancoisDressler ...and what exactly would be the point of that? What would I gain?

[@allenschmitz9644]

@@LukeLovesRose yep, and he forgot to tell you he got to drive that train and saw Roman shovling coal for the engineer...oy vey.

[@jakeshaw6827]

Even if you are telling the truth which you could be but you probally aren't you gotta understand why people on youtube wouldn't believe I see comments like yours everyday and so many of them are just ridiculous we live in a time where proof has to be available

[@jakeshaw6827]

And like someone else said how would a 3 year old remember him or any other details on the group's of people lol

[@danilo16410]

How good the conversation unfolds when the interviever and the guest respect each other.

[@scasey1960]

We have forgotten the horrors of WWII. These horrors will reappear in the 21st century.

[@jaymercha3859]

We have not Evolved since Hitler ruled.

[@nightbird5317]

I agree . It’s already unfolding

[@ocramocram1]

@The Lonely Traveller That comment is exactly why history will repeat itself.

[@dixonpinfold2582]

And I think the first largely explains the second.

[@chrismaddock5790]

Yep, driven by the tribalism of both the left and the right and the refusal to do that oh so simple of things: sit down, shut up, listen and accept that there are differences of opinion.

[@MrArthurAxe]

It's refreshing to see a director talk about his childhood like that. I wasn't expecting Polanski to talk so openly about that period in his early years.

[@gotocustudiofilmsthecheapb3802]

Most good directors and artists are sensitive and in tune with their feelings and others'. It helps them move the audience.

[@MrArthurAxe]

@@gotocustudiofilmsthecheapb3802 Possibly true. But most people in entertainment keep their guards up in public.

[@josephvirgillito6484]

He's a great storyteller.

[@cmn199]

''its more frightening when you see something than what it happens to you''

[@raodenraoden9796]

Not true

[@cmn199]

@@raodenraoden9796 ; auto sugestion es muy poderosa;...ya cuando algo malo pasa;....algo terrible; uno se ajusta; ...pero quedan secuelas;..pueden quedar secuelas;....o ...precuelas _____self-suggestion is very powerful;... already when something bad happens;.... something terrible; one adjusts; ... but there are sequels;.. sequels can be left;.... Or... prequels_________

[@rosirosi2062]

I think it's true but of course: depends on the person

[@johnrhodes3350]

I heard that it has recently been shown to be true, according to the scientific literature. I know from severe abuse at boarding school, for which my housemaster was sent to prison.

[@amjan]

@@raodenraoden9796 You say that because you've never had anything happen to you, kid.

[@lonniethehorrorwritertobin1128]

Those of you who say you have NEVER sinned are lying... and therefore should cast NO stone!

[@janantoni3604]

The childhood of Roman's was reality for many. Even their children's are still affected by war expierience.

[@ichbin4122]

What about the victims of thee 141 odd wars that are going on now, what about Myamar today

[@Bogna1]

@@ichbin4122 This is what Polanski just mentioned in this interview. They are so many wars all over the world and many children with horrible experiences, even worse than his own.

[@DerekHundik]

ask yourself when and how he learned to speak english german and hebrew picking berries in some woods by the hills.

[@Antonio84able]

Thank you for these uploads. It's so fascinating to watch the show how it should be done - without interruptions and constant rush. And of course very interesting celebrities. Completely different life...

[@ronanrogers4127]

I visited the Schindler Museum in Krakow in the summer of 2018, and on exhibit was a hand written note by a young Roman Polanski. Despite my discomfort over some of his actions as an adult, it was impossible not to be moved by the horrors that young boy endured, along with so many others. Visiting all those types of places in Poland and the Baltic States is a deeply moving experience.

[@MrStoptheEU]

How do you know that it is his handwriting. Did you compare? To what?

[@JulioRomeo]

A young - it’s a probability... learn how to read a text... And if you would have run a museum, wouldn’t you use an old text to advertise your along with a famous face who actually have been there? I would... the lessons from that part of history, so would never repeat itself, are more important than a piece of paper, but dramatisation might help!

[@nextworld9176]

@@MrStoptheEU I have seen the note, written in Polish, in a perfect schoolboy's script, signed by "Roman Polanski, age 8." You can find it on the net.

[@nextworld9176]

@@FranktheTank70 Are you seriously deriding the Polish people's effort to memorialize the suffering of the Holocaust? You are not awake, you are a nightmare.

[@freeshaable]

@@nextworld9176 the poles loved it bruh

[@XXthekingofyouXX]

Rosemary's Baby is an absolute masterpiece.

[@romans8024]

Saw it for the first time last month. Great movie.

[@goldilox369]

eh...it's interesting. But, not an absolute masterpiece. I'm probably jaded because I was born in 1980.

[@romans8024]

Yeah, I'm since 1984, but into movies ;)

[@nunyabiznez6381]

I saw it for the first time in 1969 at the age of nine after losing my virginity at Woodstock to a 12 year old girl. Children weren't supposed to be able to get into see it but my aunt who took me to Woodstock also took me to the theater. She was my primary baby sitter at that time and she liked to multi task.

[@nunyabiznez6381]

Oh and I thought it was a really good movie. it creeped my hyper religious mother out though. I never saw anyone say so many hail Mary's in one month.

[@yellowjackboots2624]

The Fearless Vampire Killers is still a great movie 🦇

[@geo-george2639]

Actually, I think it's kind of boring.

[@cexilai5942]

Repulsion is brilliant

[@cexilai5942]

@@geo-george2639 ...you are a Philistine .

[@geo-george2639]

@@cexilai5942 Actually, I'm Polish and Irish. (But I think "Repulsion" is o.k.)

[@yaffayafo82]

UNDER-RATED!

[@MaryCateOMalley]

I had no idea he had been through all of that and then Manson.

[@jaydeepgrewal1]

Don’t forget Polanski sodomizing a 13 year old girl

[@MrStoptheEU]

He faked this story and Karma gave him Manson.

[@francescarando7884]

MrStoptheEU karma gave Manson to Sharon, not to him. Please, try to be respectful as regards the Tate murders. A tragedy

[@yaffayafo82]

Fearless Vampire Killers was frightening, his mood and imagery, and wish it was a serious horror film. His comedy was terrible. The Pianist was amazing. Oh yea, his Macbeth was my fave version w/Jon Finch RIP

[@alisonstrieker4181]

@Crazy Canuck right??

[@hellodavey1902]

Great upload.. thanks.

[@dannyvitullo21]

Who else came just for the comment section? 🙋‍♂️

[@aspjagpiper1]

Big facts and to make a few myself

[@levitatingoctahedron922]

wooden doors

[@geniusmchaggis]

you

[@theeditorialsuite1070]

Me.

[@rongermanjr]

Danny Vitullo ...me, and am about to leave a wake-up message

[@MrPoupard]

Powerful. And what an interviewer to draw out the guest.

[@droho7597]

He deserves his own biopic. It would be way much more fascinating than anyone's else!

[@susannoel3672]

If it were honest.

[@Luvie1980]

@@susannoel3672 🙄 like bohemian rhapsody

[@alexrea6338]

I could listen to this guy all day.

[@pattycrabby9749]

hahahahahahahahaha you should be way more discerning about the people you let fill your mind

[@alexrea6338]

@@pattycrabby9749 I know about Polanski. I was just commenting on his storytelling ability.

[@PaNDaSNiP3R]

Nothing he can say would be worth listening to

[@Luvie1980]

@@PaNDaSNiP3R more like nothing you can say can be worth listening to 🙄🙄

[@melgrant7404]

@@PaNDaSNiP3R you definitely

[@erad67]

9:33 Love the mike bouncing up & down in the top of the frame.

[@lrrrruleroftheplanetomicro6881]

CRT TVs used to cut off a bit of the picture on all sides, that mic wasn't visible on any consumer set then, but is visible in a full scan of the original tape's signal.

[@terryfriend16]

Dick Cavett was such a smart interviewer. There's a couple of times he usurped Polanski and he didn't notice (most of you probably missed it also).

[@alaricblair3264]

I remember my parents watching this when I was a little boy. I remember being bored until the commercials came on...LOL...I appreciate these shows now and always check to see if the guests are still alive.

[@mariecarroll2079]

Watching This, I am reminded of that great line from Joseph Heller’s ‘Catch 22’ “Every culprit is a victim “

[@raodenraoden9796]

BS

[@johnnyrocker7495]

In the 21st century, you're nobody unless you've some kind of victimhood to wave around.

[@JoePescisAngryCousin]

@@johnnyrocker7495 I disagree. As you've aptly proved, it's possible to be the victim of stupidity while being a complete nobody.

[@tarp11z]

So, experience means nothing?

[@JuanTorres-ny9ff]

@@tarp11z No, people who had terrible childhoods due to poverty, with a lot of pain, if they get to become kind of wealthy, they behave harshly with dependent people, they don't respect the rights of people they consider inferior to them. In some cases these people with the background I mentioned become predators of weak and defenseless people. They simply think about their needs, privileges and desires and put them above everybody else. Just take a look at the men who made up armies, they come from lower classes, and they behave brutally against weak, powerless people. If we humans are not conscious of our own cruelty, may become really terrible people.

[@angie9430]

An intelligent interview ....how we've dumbed everything down .

[@ichbin4122]

Don’t tell me. In every country you would name madam, it is the same. I feel we ve reached a point of no return as well

[@Claudia-xo9jo]

@@ichbin4122 In my Country most people are still very polite.

[@countdown2xstacy]

The dumbing down of America has been in full swing for sometime now…unfortunately

[@halfrutter2226]

Fascinating man and stories. He went through so much, but his talent led him to so much success. I can understand how the beautiful Sharon Tate fell in love with him and wanted to have a life and family with this man.

[@lisellesloan3191]

True, and he also was a dominant man, which she was known to like. He reminded her of her father, and she said as much, too. Shrinks say is quite common in most, if not all of us. Or, to boil it down, opposites attract. She wanted to be more assertive, self-confident, and she felt like Polanski was helping her become that way. He definitely had male chauvinist, egotistical behavior, but one must recall that this was the Sixties and Feminism was still new on the horizon!

[@KimBTown]

He had just lost his wife, child and friends 2 years earlier. During those two years he produced Macbeth. His version of Macbeth was traditional, violent, and bloody. His portrayal of the witches was outcast, marginalized women living alone on the outskirts of society. Sound familiar? It was thus production of Macbeth that has the sky full of bombers droning overhead. As stated a memory of hope for Roman. I personally (used to) think his dalliance(s) with underage women was a struggle to regain a lost childhood or lost innocence. After this interview, and Roman Polanski’s firm and restated denial of that whole spin... well, let’s just say ‘I stand corrected!’

[@lilchaos4792]

Sky full of bombers? What?

[@Skandalista_fotograf]

I am Polish. Surprising I enjoy listening to Polanski in English on those early interviews much more then in Polish nowadays. Great Storyteller.

[@efilperpenfuhrer]

He's blessed by the gods in that he's a survivor of people in the past trying to kill him a number of times. He always regretted that he was away when the Manson nutballs killed his wife, unborn child, and friends. Maybe if he were there, it could've somehow been different. A fascinating man.

[@13leggys]

You can see he's so young and not jaded by fame or successful! I wish so much his son could have been born and wife still be alive!🤗🇱🇷

[@longbone6416]

And he be in hell

[@tracyfeldstein1555]

Jesus///his whole life is so sad. It explains why he lost his moral compass years later.

[@caillinkelly2952]

Good god, what he lived thru, then grew up to have his wife and baby murdered!

[@MsMadeline02]

Yes, he had some tragedy. If his wife hadn't been murdered so horribly, she may have left. As beautiful as she was, he was a womanizer. She knew it, & was depressed about it

[@clapoutloudclapoutloud]

Roman Polanski lost a child and his wife due to Manson, and felt pretty sorry for him, but later on he was exposed for having sex with a 13 year old girl, and ran rather than give up for what he did. He is now a wanted man for a crime against a child. He is a wonderful Director of movies and that is what is so tragic why do those with true talent do such awful things. Like Michael Jackson true legend in the music business but then he preyed on young boys so sad, again for crimes against children.

[@scaratlas3347]

Michael Jackson the evidence isn't there apparently

[@DerekHundik]

there are more death related coincidents around Polanski

[@Claudia-xo9jo]

There are true talents that are not pedos.

[@hollylynn9322]

Watching him tonite in his 76' movie The Tenant which is very good and checking out these interviews📽🎬📺

[@KleWdSide]

The guy has a lot of baggage.

[@wunderdoggy]

It's called garbage because he is full of it.

[@redpedobear]

A whole generation of people had similar baggage, makes you understand how wide ranging and terrible the events of World War Two were when you realize millions of people had similar experiences to this man.

[@robingagan6288]

Yeah well he's carrying baggage all the way to the bank. We all have baggage We dont all end up millionaires following our dreams. Cesar milan is another example. And people complain about immigrants

[@loge10]

These comments are very disturbing. Are you saying you don't believe what he is saying? Why the hostility?

[@KleWdSide]

@@redpedobear And millions also had their pregnant wives slaughtered by a crazy cult?

[@1rwjwith]

Astounding interview...

[@SamSung-nf6tr]

This is the best interview .

[@ranatangboo1185]

Loved the pianist...made on his own.experiences...

[@bonnie3447]

Let's hope he doesn't make one about his other experiences.

[@tomitstube]

a reminder this is 1971. aside from the accusations of rape, polanski has had an amazing life and is a very unique individual, his ability to tell a story has you hanging on every word. and of course you can only get this interview from dick cavett

[@tomitstube]

@Sam Houston yes, he admitted to having sex with her.

[@SP-ny1fk]

His trauma went on to manifest in a dark way as an adult.

[@junegirl9378]

Can't even imagine living through the sort of horror he did and at such a young age, yet coming out the other side, creative and brilliant and so successful...

[@alexfunk6575]

Is everyone forgetting who this guy is?

[@abrahamlupis9354]

no, but we're forgeting what other things really are

[@TheListenerCanon]

When Polanski was the hero and not the villain.

[@PaulGreen11]

Most of my life I've known the name "Roman Polanski." But, not until today... his story, his voice, him.

[@zenveg]

Watch his movies, they're brilliant, all of them.

[@PaulGreen11]

@@zenveg Sex with a minor is a crime, no passes.

[@StanfordFan-jn1dp]

He's remembered for the film "Chinatown" and I like his first film "Knife in the Water" (1962) that he made in Poland with a jazz soundtrack, great acting, script and direction.

[@marshaboody9069]

You don't pitty youself at all.I have had a remarkable life.A lot of bad things have happened to me.I'm very 😂 happy because I made it through it all.I'm grateful.

[@annlanders978]

He is a genius. You can tell by listening to him.

[@lindalee5871]

She forgave him...I feel she was willing....if not why did she put herself in that situation......??

[@IndiGeaux]

She was a CHILD!

[@sydneyprescott3374]

lee she said she doesn't hold anything against him🤷‍♀️

[@jessyep9287]

@@lindalee5871 I have forgiven the guy who killed my cousin... doesn't mean he didn't deserve his jail sentence 🤦‍♀️ Be rational... come on!

[@MrStoptheEU]

He is a liar

[@jeremywvarietyofviewpoints3104]

He is a truly messed up individual. It's amazing he could be so productive.

[@nextworld9176]

I suspect the messed up parts are what drove his productivity. If he had grown up as a happy child in a peaceful Poland and not had the Manson horror, maybe he'd be just another average guy working a regular job, and unknown.

[@jeremywvarietyofviewpoints3104]

@@nextworld9176 or maybe he would have been more like Spielberg or some other director who isn't messed up.

[@geupelboi]

@@jeremywvarietyofviewpoints3104 except Polanski makes much more interesting movies, imo

[@rjc7289]

From escaping the WW2-era Polish ghettos to escaping punishment for child molestation! A piece of shit is a piece of shit, no matter how traumatic their childhood was.

[@jeromejackson6111]

God, I love his voice! I could listen to him speak all day.

[@henbane2247]

I was thinking that too! He's a great storyteller

[@richardsanders2161]

And he’s doing it in a second language.

[@prnstarinterlude6510]

@@henbane2247 That’s what made him such an amazing film director!

[@prnstarinterlude6510]

Same

[@bonzo713]

No need for my comment...you all have it covered!👍

[@maryshaffer8474]

He's so right.Why is it more godly for those who died in this way than a child beaten to death in any country?

[@freedomfromreligion1701]

I will watch more of Cavett after this .I will watch more of Polanski also.This is so sad and enlightening.

[@martadabrowska6513]

He says at one point that in Poland winters are very cold and summers very hot. Sadly it is no more like that, we haven't had a truly cold, snowy winter for years, whereas summers are indeed hot and extend to spring and autumn months. Fascinating how fast climate changed since the 1940s.

[@omkarpatil9259]

surviving nazis , seeing his wife get murdered while being pregnant ,roman polanski is really strong to not lose his mind from all these experiences .

[@DeE-pt5lz]

And his mother was killed by the Nazis that he does not even mention in this

[@cyruspym8599]

@@DeE-pt5lz Nazis? You mean Germans?

[@DeE-pt5lz]

@@cyruspym8599 yea, I do not know why we refer to them as the Nazis instead of the Germans

[@Claudia-xo9jo]

He expressed his cruel Madness in his stupid movies

[@evanstj5]

1971 was less than 30 years after these terrible events. The memory was fresh in so many people, the blitz and terror bombings, holocaust survivors and so many others all over Europe. They had enormous and understandable inhibitions about talking about their lives in this way. They wanted to get on with their peacetime lives, raising children, etc. I applaud Polanski for speaking about his extraordinary childhood in this way. And Cavett is unsurpassed as a talk show host anywhere, in my opinion.

[@Claudia-xo9jo]

Many were Plains lies...

[@DucksDeLucks]

I think he's right that people like war and wars, especially if they can watch from the sidelines.

[@marionmorrison5420]

And make a profit.

[@Luvie1980]

USA to a T

[@rorigillmore141]

wow i wish he'd go on a mainstream talk show so more people can hear him

[@chanelgodd]

Now he's just escaping US extradition laws.

[@LadyJay114]

No he's not. He's a Swiss citizen & the Switzerland & France wont approve the extradition.

[@Matlockization]

They won't approve extradition because he's a saint ! I wonder what miracle he performed to escape extradition ?

[@LadyJay114]

@@Matlockization Not just him but many Europeans wanted by the US. Our draconian sentencing & prison practices violate international standards. So many countries simply decline US extradition requests.

[@Matlockization]

@Brooklyn Babe. Despite the flaws, your justice system serves more justice on criminals, than does the rest of the world.

[@hans-joachimbierwirth4727]

@@Matlockization What justice system? Under US law 10 year old children get married.

[@randywhite2335]

It's always amazed me peoples attraction to evil.

[@Finians_Mancave]

I'd call a lot of televangelists evil, and the fact they can fleece so many simple-minded people out of their hard earned dollars is a crime -- so yes, I'd agree with you.

[@wunderdoggy]

@N Jesus he did do a photo shoot a week after. Sick

[@munat6662]

@@wunderdoggy Exactly. No one ever mentions the fact that he posed outside of his home for a photo; after his wife and child just got recently killed in said home.

[@ricomajestic]

@@munat6662 The home didn't kill his wife and child. If he had stood next to Charles Manson and hugged him than that would be disturbing!

[@13leggys]

12, 22, 1971! Aired!

[@chocomanger6873]

He looks like the boy from the Partridge Family.

[@jlobiafra]

Choco Manger damn he does!

[@robertward8130]

Hahaha. Funny.

[@odessafile75]

His hairstyle was similar to Danny Bonaduce when he portrayed Danny Partridge.

[@DCFelix67]

Maybe because they were from the same timeframe, so haistyles were similar.

[@Tom-yd1ur]

A Polish Bonaduce

[@claycoleman4105]

He captures scenes well.

[@geniusmchaggis]

he made chinatown...very cool

[@magistrumartium]

and the best version of Macbeth

[@Tom-yd1ur]

He also played the part of the guy who slashes Jack's nose.

[@CatskillsGrrl]

Thank you for posting this. I find Polanski fascinating.

[@Frank00]

Gail Dedrick do you find the fact that he drugged and molested a 13 year old girl fascinating?

[@CatskillsGrrl]

Frank P actually, yes, I do and I take my cue from the victim herself who long, long, long ago forgave Polanski and just wishes everyone else would, too.

[@Frank00]

So you’d be leaving your 12 year old daughter alone with him?

[@emijoz82]

Whoever leaves a young girl around an adult is guilty of what could happen... why was she even there? Don't you think it was a set up? I hardly believe he knew how old she was... he had to run away...otherwise he would have gone to prison.. some people really gated that man in Hollywood and they decided to get rid of him...

[@MrStoptheEU]

You are an idiot

[@maciejc7671]

There is a simple explanation, perhaps, to what they're talking about around minute 11. It is accepted that one misses what he loses more than what one never got. People who are 18+ remembered the time from before the war, so they may miss it. People who never really got to know it, cannot miss it. And, as Romański said, accepted the war as default situation on the start.

[@Pattiepies55]

What a charming, charismatic man. I find him a fascinating story teller

[@chello70]

Pedophiles usually are.

[@marknorris3769]

best interview i've ever seen

[@finalmattasy]

I think the break points of assertion and agreement tell their own story. I think people read people with the object of personal safety as paramount. It makes more sense when things don't matter, and having said that, the things that seem to reveal integrities that irrespective of the idea of fault are their own healthy adaptation. If there was a respectable norm, people would be worthy of respect for trying to maintain it.

[@mscommerce]

It isn't just that the talk shows were more classy, smart and grownup. We were more classy, smart and grown up. It was in the culture, something that people aspired to measure up to. Times have changed.

[@PaddySlattery]

His life is more interesting (albeit controversial) than any film he's every made and that's saying something. That aside; The Pianist is an astounding masterpiece.

[@Zeldarw104]

I agree it could only come from pure pain of those particular moments. (The Pianist) He deserve that Oscar feelings aside. This was a fascinating interview with Roman Polanski.

[@brendanbloomberg3283]

he raped a child.

[@markhooker8520]

@@brendanbloomberg3283 Not a word from you about Roy Moore.

[@kevinmichael9482]

The Pianist was a good movie, but not the masterpiece that was Chinatown.

[@theshamanarchist5441]

The Pianist is pretentious drivel.

[@joanna3168]

The story told in "The painted bird" was made up , Kosiński was not its author. The true story was revealed in the "Czarny ptasior".

[@justynagorka3972]

Exactly, the book is a fluke.

[@aztiff]

Astounding

[@chloekit4861]

The psychological trauma for this guy man

[@bonnie3447]

Yes not to mention the trauma the young girls would have went through when having him thrusting on top of them after pouring champagne and ludes down their throat. Shame on you.

[@chloekit4861]

@UCSDRG5NuO4GEmA-Cr3wBo6A shame on ME? lol get a fckng life lol

[@1SeanBond]

One hell of a awesome interview!! Watch how Dick really gets Roman Pulanski to open up on the harsh childhood conditions for a young boy in WW2 Poland! One of the best Interviews I have ever seen!!👍✌!!

[@VideoGamer945]

I'm 27 and this is a breath of fresh air

[@autumnmeadows4079]

I really liked listening to this.

[@zbigniewrau678]

Świetny wywiad, panie Romanie. I świetna książka "Roman by Polański". Fascynujące i inspirujące. Jestem na roku 1964

[@marlenamarlena1602]

Książka "Roman by Polański" genialna! Właśnie ją przeczytałam. Dosłownie ją połknęłam w jeden dzień. Aż nieprawdopodobne, że tyle mu się w życiu zdarzyło, że tylu sławnych ludzi przypadkowo spotkał.... myślisz, że to wszystko, co Polański napisał to prawda, czy może trochę podkolorował?:)... nie zdziwiłabym się, bo miał genialną wyobraźnię.

[@DerekHundik]

ask yourself when and how he learned to speak english german and hebrew picking berries in some woods by the hills.

[@absoluterefusal]

Doesn't it seem like there are no interviews today by real humans like Cavett? It's not that he's necessarily an "intellectual" or purely for the purpose of comedy and wit, or to entertain, but that he has, or seems to have, a human heart that drives his interests.

[@JoJoJoker]

Joe Rogan

[@Luvie1980]

@@JoJoJoker 🙄

[@shoutatthesky]

This reminds me of conversation.

[@uhhheyuhbill123]

Age has no meaning....wait what are you guys doing with that rope...

[@JamesSmith-vk2ky]

@@dsaasd6300 Rodeo tricks.

[@klauspendolo1393]

Harry Smith haha

[@katherinetutschek4757]

This was enthralling

[@HettiedeKorteDiplomaat]

Are you guys all judges?

[@alejandromolinac]

Yep....0

[@bonnie3447]

No one is apparently. He ran off remember.

[@vxsniffer]

3:03 Polański is honest about Poles who helped him to survive, while Kosiński in his book adviced by Polański ("Painted bird") lies about cruelty which he saw or received. Kosiński built his fame on big lie and this possibly led him ultimately to suicide.

[@DerekHundik]

ask yourself when and how he learned to speak english german and hebrew picking berries in some woods by the hills.

[@Claudia-xo9jo]

Polanski told many,many lies.

[@robertrobski1013]

Made up story

[@Shalanaya]

If anyone deserves to be loved as a human being, and not just an artist, it is Roman Polanski, there was never a more important time to do so than now to heal the world, love is the biggest therapy and rehabilitation for our scarred souls to bring them back to our lost innocence. Our sins are often given to us by the world helping us to create cycles throughout generations, to stop those cycles we have to transcend who we've been, we're not our bodies, our minds, our actions of the past, we're bigger than that, and start from there, inner and outer, how I see myself I see the world, to see the man of the past is to be lost in who I've been, to see the man of an unknown potential, is to be myself a man on a new self created path that changed the course.

[@Mattie_Ice]

Do you realize what he did later in life? No, he does not. He deserves prison or worse.

[@chupacabra1765]

Today's people couldn't comprehend this style of serious conversation. Their all to eager to clap at everything, and anything that gets too serious must be tempered by humor for distraction.