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Repulsion (film)

1965 film directed by Roman Polanski

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 14, 2026
Entity authorityQ954816 ↗
Source-derived summary

Repulsion is a 1965 British psychological horror thriller film directed by Roman Polanski, and starring Catherine Deneuve. Based on a story written by Polanski and Gérard Brach, the plot follows Carol, a withdrawn, disturbed young woman who, when left alone in the apartment she shares with her sister, is subject to a number of nightmarish experiences. The film focuses on the point of view of Carol and her vivid hallucinations and nightmares as she comes into contact with men and their desires for her. Ian Hendry, John Fraser, Patrick Wymark, and Yvonne Furneaux appear in supporting roles.

Shot in London, it is Polanski's first English-language film and second feature-length production, following Knife in the Water (1962).

The film debuted at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival before receiving theatrical releases internationally. Upon its release, Repulsion received considerable critical acclaim and has been called one of Polanski's greatest works. The film was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Gilbert Taylor's cinematography.

Plot

Carol Ledoux, a shy Belgian manicurist, lives in London with her older sister Helen. Carol is remarkably detached and struggles in her daily interactions.

Editorial summary

“Repulsion (film)” enters the record as 1965 film directed by Roman Polanski. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Repulsion, film and directed can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewBest approached as a cultural-object dossier: authorship and date matter, but circulation and reception often explain the wider significance. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1965, 1962—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1965-01-01. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Repulsion, film and directed.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Repulsion (film)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Repulsion, film and directed provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q954816. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1965 and 1962.

Critical limits

Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

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  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Repulsion (film)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Repulsion (film) primary sources, Repulsion (film) archive and Repulsion research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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  2. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
  3. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Repulsion (film)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.