68 Roman Polanski Movies, Ranked Best to Worst

Los Angeles private detective Jake Gittes, who specializes in adultery cases, is hired by a woman to spy on her husband, high-profile engineer Hollis Mulwray. However, after he exposes Mulwray's affair with a young blonde woman, he is sued by the real Mrs. Mulwray, and gets further entangled into a conspiracy following the sudden death of Mr. Mulwray.

Director Roman Polanski’s first American movie is about Guy and Rosemary Woodhouse, who move into an apartment where Rosemary meets their friendly, yet a little weird neighbors. She experiences strange incidences and nightmares, and hears odd sounds. When she gets pregnant, Rosemary is worried that their neighbors and suddenly-distant husband are planning some sinister conspiracy against her baby.

Adapted from the memoir of prominent Polish-Jewish pianist Władysław Szpilman, this film records how his world crumbles following Nazi invasion of Poland. His family is forced into the Warsaw Ghetto and later transported to Treblinka extermination camp, which he escapes with a friend's help, and drifts from one shelter to another for years until World War II ended.

A bureaucrat rents an apartment in a spooky old building. He soon finds that the inhabitants of the building are quite suspicious, and eventually also comes to know that the previous tenant tried to kill herself by jumping out of the window. As he grows more and more paranoid, he reaches the conclusion that his new neighbors want to kill him. 

Carol is a disturbed young woman from Belgium, living and working in London as a manicurist. She suffers from an unusual fear of men and their advances trigger violent hallucinations and nightmares. The British psychological-horror film follows Carol's point of view and her vivid visions.

This comedy film tells the story of a little man in Poland, between the years of 1930 to 1950. He finds himself in a world having no place for him, and things even get worse because he is mistaken for a Jew because of his nose. Eventually, he falls for a woman and decides to join the army to charm her. However, things get complicated as well as hiliarious when he is arrested by German troops while he is dressed in an officer’s uniform.

Based on the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, this film tells the story of Macbeth and his wife, who is mad for power. They plan to murder King Duncan, as he wants to become the new King of Scotland.

Andrej is an ageing man who along with his wife, Krystyna, drives to a lake to go for a sail. They come upon a young man hitchhiking in the middle of the road, and invites him to go sailing with them. The young man accepts the offer, but soon he finds himself attracted towards Krystyna.

Filmmaker Roman Polanski spends a weekend with world champion driver Jackie Stewart as he tries to win the 1971 Monaco Grand Prix. This documentary film offers an extraordinary glimpse into the life of a gifted athlete. 

Vampire researcher Professor Abronsius and his dim-witted assistant Alfred reach a far-off Transylvanian village looking for vampires. Alfred falls for the inn-keeper’s daughter Sarah who gets kidnapped by inscrutable Count von Krolock. When Professor and Alfred reach Count’s castle to rescue Sarah, the Count invites them for the ball at night. They must attend to save Sarah and kill their undead host. 

Tess is a young girl whose alcoholic father sends her to visit her rich relatives, and apply for a job. She is taken in and immediately seduced by Alec, her cousin, who leaves her pregnant. Tess decides not to tell anybody, but her child eventually dies. She soon begins a relationship with a respectable farmer, and they get married as well. But when he learns about her past, he is unsure what to do.

A ghostwriter, The Ghost, is assigned to complete the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang, who is charged with war-crimes and human rights scandals. As he starts working, he realizes that probably his predecessor McAra had unearthed some dark secrets about Lang which had cost him his life. The Ghost goes after the truth knowing the risks to his life.

Bitter Moon tells the story of a couple Nigel and Fiona who are on a cruise ship. During their journey, they encounter another couple, Oscar and Mimi. Nigel soon finds himself drawn towards Mimi, after learning about Oscar’s erotic and sadistic past with her.  

Also known as When Angels Fall, the Roman Polanski directed short film is based on Leszek Szymański’ short story ‘Klozet Babcia’. Narrated in flashbacks, it tells the story of a washroom attendant reminiscing about her former life, while stuck in her boring job. 

After 11-year-old Zachary has a fight with his classmate Ethan, his parents, Alan and Nancy Cowan, decide to meet and sort out the matter with Ethan's parents, Michael and Penelope Longstreet. However, the cordial meeting soon turns into a mudslinging fest as the parents begin to throw hurtful comments about each other's behavior and competency as parents.

Death and the Maiden is a mystery drama film which revolves around a woman named Paulina, a political activist, who suspects that her house guest is the very same man who had kidnapped, raped as well as tortured her.  She decides to hold him captive and make him confess that he was the one who committed the crimes.  

Thomas, a director is auditioning several actresses for the lead character of his play, but is disappointed with all the performances. As he prepares to leave the theater, he comes across an actress named Vanda Jordan, whose name doesn’t appear on the audition list.  But she manages to impress him with her excellent acting skills.

A wealthy book collector, Boris Balkan hires Dean Corso, a book dealer who specialises in finding rare books. His motive – to verify the authenticity of his purchased book The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows that has the capability to summon the Devil himself. Corso sets out on a journey to uncover the truth about the book and finds himself in a series of strange events.

A Day at the Beach is a comedy drama film which tells the story of a self-destructive alcoholic, who is given over the duty of watching over his niece Winnie. However, the little girl constantly keeps finding herself in trouble because of his behavior.

In a hotel room in Paris, a visiting doctor does not pay much attention when his wife complains that she cannot unlock her suitcase. But on coming out of the shower he finds her missing. When neither the police nor the US embassy takes any worthwhile step, he decides to take the matter in his hand, even if it requires him to deal with the underworld. 

In this short silent film, a thin slave does a variety of work for his master – from feeding and entertaining him to washing his feet – as the latter lazily passes his entire day sitting on his rocking chair. However, when the slave decides to go to Paris and explore more in his life, the master thrashes him and tries to prevent him from going.

Based on the popular novel of the same name by Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist tells the story of an orphan who meets a pickpocket on the streets of London. He soon becomes part of a household of boys who are trained to steal for their eccentric master.

A man coming down the stairs of an apartment building suddenly stops near a small washroom window to peek on a young woman drying her hair with only a towel covering her face. He is interrupted by a man who comes out to leave empty bottles and pretends to leave, but returns for a surprise soon after.

Ssaki also known as Mammals tells the absurd story of two men who seem to take turns on pulling each other on a small sleigh in a barren winter landscape. Accidents, arguments and the appearance of a third man willing to steal the sleigh brings up deeper questions about human existence. 

The film comprises of different sketches created by different writers and directors from partially real facts, and set in different cities. The swindlers appear in various forms…. In Tokyo, she is a bar-hostess, while a young prostitute swindles people in Naples. A trickster in Paris cheats an ardent admirer of Eiffel Tower, whereas a journalist in Marrakech gets entangled in counterfeit money.

After a failed attempt on Ambassador Han’s life, Hong Kong Chief Inspector Lee and LAPD detective Carter together fly to Paris to safeguard a French woman who has vital information about Chinese Triads. As the lethal syndicate Triads strike to stop them from reaching the information, Lee continues to fight even after recognizing one of the Triads as his childhood friend.

Rozbijemy zabawe (English Break up the Dance) is an eight-minute short film, written and directed by Roman Polański. It is also his first work to feature a soundtrack. It centers on a dance party, in which entry is highly restricted. As the guests begin to arrive, a group of ruffians is found to be watching the arrangements through the fence. Do they intend to join the party?