The Diary of Anne Frank (1980)

"For the past two years, we lived in fear. Now we can live in hope!"
-Otto Frank.


Of all the literature written about the Holocaust (and this is not even mentioning the global conflict that surrounded it), the most famous is probably The Diary of Anne Frank, published in 1947 by the title character's father, Otto. This may be the most famous of all stories related to the Holocaust because many (myself included) first read it in grade school.

The Frank family and four others, because they were Jewish, hid in the attic of an office building in their native Holland to evade Nazi capture from 1942 until they were discovered in 1944. Sadly, seven of the eight died in concentration camps. Otto was the only survivor and, after the war, he came across his daughter's diary, which he published in her honor, as she had dreams of being a writer.

The diary itself, like many diaries, tells of the author's hopes and dreams. Anne even mentions D-Day at one point.

The story was adapted for the stage and the screen numerous times. Perhaps the most famous film version is the 1959 movie directed by George Stevens and for which Shelley Winters won an Oscar for her performance as Mrs. Van Daan.

One of my favorite versions of the story, though, is this one, which aired on NBC and stars Melissa Gilbert (in the midst of her run as Laura Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie) as Anne.

The film begins in 1945 Amsterdam, where Otto (Maximilian Schell) returns to the attic he and his family hid in and tells his friends to get rid of everything. But when he discovers Anne's diary, he sits down to read it.

The flashback then begins with him, Anne, his wife (Joan Plowright), and his other daughter Margot (Melora Marshall) go into the office building with the Van Daans (James Coco and Doris Roberts) and their son Peter (Scott Jacoby). They are later joined by Mr. Dussel (Clive Revill).

Appropriately, the film then never goes outside the attic the eight on in, which adds to the feeling of isolation they occasionally display frustration at.

But the magic of this film lies in its wonderful cast. There isn't a single false note in the characterization here, which makes the ending especially poignant.

The Tenant (1976)

"Beautiful. Adorable. Goddess. Divine. Divine! I think I'm pregnant."
-Mr. Trelkovsky, looking in a mirror.



All great filmmakers achieve that label by putting themselves and their experiences into their works. Roman Polanski is anything but the exception. His childhood was spent surviving the Holocaust and his films such as Knife in the Water (1962) and, more famously, The Pianist (2002) reflect survival amist horrible events. Polanski's film version of Macbeth (1971) was his first movie since the Manson killing spree which claimed his wife Sharon Tate and their unborn child in 1969 and is viewed by some as his response to that tragedy.
Just prior to that, Polanski shot to the A-list with the classic Rosemary's Baby (1968). Following Tate's death, Polanski seemed to refrain from making films in Hollywood, with the exception of the great film noir Chinatown (1974). His followup to that triumph, was The Tenant, based on a novel by Roland Topor.
Polanski plays Mr. Trelkovsky, an unassuming man who rents an apartment in Paris. He quickly learns that its previous occupant, one Simone Choule, was hospitalized after throwing herself from the apartment window.
Trelkovsky becomes smitten with Simone's friend Stella (Isabelle Adjani) and they later visit Simone at the hospital. Her body covered in bandages, Simone cries out upon seeing Trelkovsky and then dies.
Later on, Trelkovsky becomes more irritated with his neighbors, as well as his landord M. Zy (Melvyn Douglas) and the Concierge (Shelley Winters) when they all claim he makes too much noise. Trelkovsky's mental state deteriorates further when his apartment is broken into, which everyone reacts to with indifference. Eventually, he alienates all he comes into contact with, including Stella.
He later comes to the conclusion that they wish him to become like Simone. Almost as if to mock their efforts, Trelkovsky buys women's clothing for himself. After he is hit by a car one evening, he is hospitalized but not seriously injured. After he returns home, Trelkovsky dresses up again and throws himself from the window, just like Simone, a number of times before he finds himself in the hospital, covered head to toe in bandages (like Simone).
In the film's Twilight Zone-esque ending, Trelkovsky sees Stella and himself through his bandages before crying out.
More than any other film on this list, I'm surprised this didn't make a great impression when it hit theaters. It's as intense as Rosemary's Baby and has the same psychological tones as Polanski's earlier movie Repulsion (1965). Perhaps people wanted another elaborate Hollywood production after Chinatown (The Tenant was shot entirely in Paris).
Polanski's friend Stanley Kubrick cited this film as inspiration for how he would film The Shining (1980) and, almost as if he were returning the favor, Polanski cited Kubrick's film Barry Lyndon (1975) as inspiration for his later film Tess (1979).
I must also note that The Tenant was the last film Polanski made before his 1977 rape of teenage model Samantha Geimer in California, which would lead to him going to France to avoid American authorities. Despite being briefly placed under arrest in Switzerland in 2009, the director remains persona non grata in the U.S.
It would be foolish to say that Polanski isn't a great filmmaker but it speaks of a double standard (or Hollywood's sexism?) that he can rape a girl and go on to win an Oscar and retain the list of celebrity fans who want to work with him, while, say, Meg Ryan basically ends her reign as 'America's Sweetheart' (and, thus, her bankability) by having consensual sex with Russell Crowe.