10 Directors Who Bounced Back With A Vengeance After Failed Movies

5) Roman Polanski: From The Ninth Gate To The Pianist

The Failure

Roman Polanski has had some highs and lows throughout his career (for this article, we’ll stick exclusively to the high and low points of his working life). After a barnstorming ’60s and ’70s, Polanski lost his cinematic spark somewhat in the ’80s and ’90s. Pirates is one particular disaster, but not much better is 1999’s tepid Johnny Depp-headling horror The Ninth Gate, which drew a shrug from critics and little more from audiences.

The Comeback

There are many great films in the Roman Polanski collection, but two tower above all others: 1974’s Chinatown, and 2002’s The Pianist. The latter came as a shock partly because Polanski hadn’t displayed such passion in years, but more importantly because the director had never made anything so nakedly personal, wrenching and powerful. One of the quintessential movies for understanding the Holocaust, The Pianist wowed critics and garnered three Oscars.