Repulsion (1965)

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Roman Polanski (original screenplay) &
Gérard Brach (original screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

3 October 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

From the Award-Winning "Knife In the Water"

Plot:

Left alone when her sister goes on vacation, a young beauty finds herself besieged on all sides by the demons of her past.

Plot Keywords:

Manicurist | Hallucination | Rotten Food | Depression | Suitor

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Catherine Deneuve	...	Carol
Ian Hendry	...	Michael
John Fraser	...	Colin
Yvonne Furneaux	...	Helen
Patrick Wymark	...	Landlord
Renee Houston	...	Miss Balch
Valerie Taylor	...	Madame Denise
James Villiers	...	John
Helen Fraser	...	Bridget
Hugh Futcher	...	Reggie
Monica Merlin	...	Mrs. Rendlesham
Imogen Graham	...	Manicurist
Mike Pratt	...	Workman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Maxwell Craig	...	Workman (uncredited)
Roman Polanski	...	Spoon Player (uncredited)

Directed by
Roman Polanski

Writing credits
Roman Polanski		(original screenplay) &
Gérard Brach		(original screenplay) (as Gerard Brach)
David Stone		(adaptation)
David Stone		(additional dialogue)

Produced by
Gene Gutowski	....	producer
Robert Sterne	....	associate producer
Sam Waynberg	....	associate producer
Michael Klinger	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Tony Tenser	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Chico Hamilton

Cinematography by
Gilbert Taylor		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Alastair McIntyre

Art Direction by
Seamus Flannery

Makeup Department
Gladys Leakey	....	hairdresser
Tom Smith	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ted Sturgis	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Alf Pegley	....	props
Frank Willson	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Stephen Dalby	....	sound supervisor
Leslie Hammond	....	sound mixer
Gerry Humphreys	....	sound recordist
Tom Priestley	....	sound editor
Lionel Strutt	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Alan Hall	....	camera operator
Laurie Turner	....	stills
Stanley A. Long	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Karen Heward	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Chico Hamilton	....	conductor
Gábor Szabó	....	orchestrator (as Gabor Szabo)
Chico Hamilton	....	musician: drums (uncredited)
John Scott	....	musician: tenor sax/flute (uncredited)

Other crew
Terry Glinwood	....	production controller
Michael Klinger	....	presenter
Tony Tenser	....	presenter
Dee Vaughan	....	continuity
Maurice Binder	....	title designer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Compton Films (as A Compton Production)
• Tekli British Productions (as Tekli-Film Productions Ltd.) (uncredited)

Distributors

• Compton Films (1965) (UK) (theatrical)
• Royal Films International (1965) (USA) (theatrical)
• Lii-Filmi (1965) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI) (1965) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Cinemagia (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Entertainment Programs Inc. (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Atlantic Film (2005) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (SPWA) (2009) (worldwide) (all media)
• Criterion Collection, The (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2009) (USA) (video) (Blu-ray)
• Columbia Pictures Television Distribution (????) (USA) (TV) (a Sony Pictures Entertainment company)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Film Classics Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Global Media Distributors (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Globo Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Studio Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2010) (Australia) (DVD)
• Video Dimensions (198?) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Twickenham Film Studios  sound stages

Also Known As:

"Repulsión" - Mexico (imdb display title), Spain, Venezuela
"Apostrofi" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Avsky" - Finland (Swedish title) (imdb display title)
"Avsporet" - Norway
"Chok" - Denmark
"Ekel" - West Germany
"Inho" - Finland
"Iszonyat" - Hungary (imdb display title)
"Odvratnost" - Serbia (imdb display title)
"Répulsion" - France
"Repulsa" - Portugal
"Repulsa ao Sexo" - Brazil
"Repulsion" - Italy
"Repulsione" - Italy (imdb display title)
"Tiksinti" - Turkey (Turkish title) (DVD title)
"Wstret" - Poland

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Finland:(Banned) (1965) (uncut) | Finland:K-16 (1993) (uncut) | Finland:K-18 (1965) (cut) | Hungary:16 | Iceland:16 | UK:15 (theatrical re-release) (2004) | South Korea:18 | Portugal:M/16 | UK:18 (tv rating) | UK:18 (DVD) | Italy:T (DVD rating) | Italy:VM18 (VHS rating) | France:-16 | Australia:M | Norway:16 (original rating) | Norway:18 (video rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) (1985) (1990) (2003) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Earl's Court, London, England, UK

Company:

Compton Films

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Roman Polanski]spoons player.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: During the scene right before the boyfriend is murdered, the old woman's dog can be seen panting, with its tongue hanging out - yet we hear barking.

Quotes:

Hélène Ledoux:Why did you throw Michael's things away?
Carole Ledoux:I don't like them there.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Commune (2009)

Catherine Deneuve suffers from an industrial-strength case of sexual repression

In "Repulsion" the gorgeous Catherine Deneuve suffers from an industrial-strength case of sexual repression, coupled with a hefty dose of sibling rivalry which foists upon her a succession of rape fantasies and delusional hallucinations. Polanski's direction is unparalleled as he elicits a creepy terror through the use of some fairly unconventional special-effects. The subjective world created for the heroine is a series of dreams and visions of a decaying apartment and psycho-sexual fantasy and this is what the film seems to be about. The cracking walls are perhaps one of the most ingeniously horrifying special-effects in cinematic history. The lack of dialogue that runs throughout complements the restrained narrative design as the neurotic obsessions remain largely unexplained. But for better or for worse, I think better, Polanski's final frame settles on an image which cryptically resolves the entire enigma with a kind of devastating efficiency. All in all, one of the great films of the 1960s.