Polanski's inner Hitchcock meets Grace Jones

Polanski during the filming of Frantic

Roman Polanski's films span the gamut of genres: lush epics, engrossing dramas, suspenseful thrillers, clever comedies, and even horror. Despite that, in the decade of the 80s, Polanski directed only two films (or three, if you include his 1979 film Tess, which was released in the United States in 1980 and was nominated for Best Picture at the 1981 Academy Awards). In 1988, Polanski seemed to have channeled his inner Hitchcock by making the suspense movie Frantic.

Set in Paris, the movie deals with a doctor (played by Harrison Ford) who goes on a search for his wife after she mysteriously goes missing from their hotel room. In his quest, the doctor crosses paths with a beautiful young female smuggler (played by Emmanuelle Seigner, Polanski’s wife in real life) whom he was inadvertently led to due to a suitcase mix-up. Eventually, she agrees to help him find his wife. Along the way, he discovers that the reason his wife was kidnapped was that a group of Middle Eastern gangsters were looking for a nuclear detonating device that was hidden in the suitcase that his wife mistook for her own.

Unlike the director of this film, Harrison had a well-rounded filmography during the 80s, what with his turns as Han Solo and Indiana Jones, as well as the other films he was in.

One notable detail about this film is that Grace Jones' hit song “I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)” can be heard playing in the background in a couple of different scenes. Here's a clip of one of those scenes, featuring Ford and Seigner dancing to the song.

Grace Jones - “I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)”

In contemporary times, fashion and music have seemed to go hand in hand rather often. Fashion has been influenced by musical styles, and musicians have drawn inspiration from fashion trends. At times, there have even been individuals who found success in both the fashion industry and the music industry, thereby fusing together the worlds of fashion and music. That’s the case with the iconic Grace Jones.

Grace was originally a model. She modeled throughout the 1970s, as well as part of the 80s, working mainly in Paris with top designers such as Azzedine Alaia (to whom she was a muse). She was also a muse to Andy Warhol.

In the late 70s, she landed a record deal with Island Records, and she proceeded to record three albums between 1977 and 1979. In the early 80s, however, Grace entered into a collaboration with stylist Jean-Paul Goude which led to a transformation in her look to a more androgynous style. Coinciding with the burgeoning New Wave style of music, Grace’s own music morphed as well. She released two albums in the early 80s, one of them being 1981’s Nightclubbing.

The album contains reworked versions of previously-recorded songs, the most notable of which is “I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango).” The song went on to become one of Grace’s biggest hits. Also, the song was featured prominently in the 1988 film Frantic directed by Roman Polanski.

Incidentally, the video to the song was directed Jean-Paul Goude, with whom Grace was romantically involved for a time.

There is also an alternate video to the song.