Rating: 
Summary: Masterpiece Thriller
Review: If only today's mainstream horror/thriller movies could be as twisted as this. This movie is bizzare, I didn't really know what to expect from the description of the movie which said the movie was basically about a guy that rents an apartment where the previous occupant commited suicide.The main thing that drew me to this movie was that it was directed and starred Roman Polanski, who I've always heard good things about, (except for that pedophile incident he had, that's very bad). He plays a man who tries to be good and never means harm to anyone but his world turns upside down as soon as he gets hassled by his annoying neighbors. Later on he'll be lost in his mind, not knowing who to trust, except for his love interest, the friend of the girl that commited suicide which he meets at the hospital. Story, which is based on some novel, is great because it tells you about the tragedy of a man falling victim to an unfair world. You really see and feel how insane he goes with the good story pacing. Not too much freaky stuff was given in the beginning so the movie progressed well, leaving you with more of an impact from the pyschological mess the main character is in. There's a few humorous parts but it's mostly dark and dramatic. I highly suggest this film for anyone that wants a horror film with depth. There isn't any gore or graphic violence, just a good old freaky story that will keep you on your seat wandering how the main character will react to all his thoughts, assuming you're not too impatient with story's pacing.
Rating:
Summary: ANOTHER GREAT CINEMATIC WORK - wanna know why?
Review: In CHINATOWN, Polanski gave us a great story of corruption. In ROSEMARY'S BABY, he studied the occult. In REPULSION, he gave us a portrait of a troubled mind. Here, in THE TENANT, Roman Polanski gives us a stunning new portrayal of absolute paranoia. Polanski stars himself as the main character: a man who rents the apartment of a dead woman - who apparently jumped from her window. Strangely enough, Polanski's character starts to identify with the dead woman little by little as he starts to live in the same environment... the same apartment, the same neighbours, the same window, the same talk... and - guess what! - maybe she did not commit suicide after all... But this is just the beginning. To reveal more, it would be unthinkable. Why is this a great film? A first rate screenplay (beautifully constructed), amazing actors (Shelley Winters and Melvyn Douglas are great!), and... ...The sets! The bulding (a parisian quartier) is absolutely fantastic. Like REAR WINDOW, it was entirely built in a sound stage - incredible!!! - allowing Mr.Polanski enough freedom to put the camera wherever he wanted. But the great thing about this film is that (like in a state of paranoia) you never know what is truth or what is imagined. The main character starts to see, hear and discover things that may actually be true! - only at the end (with a finalle that makes perfect sense) you'll discover the truth behind it all. After those beautiful sets, comes the cinematography by one of the top Directors of Photography: Sven Nykvist (PERSONA, CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS, ANOTHER WOMAN, CRIES AND WHISPERS, AUTUMN SONATA, and many other works)... this film has one of the best studio cinematographies I have ever seen. The music is also beautiful and you will love it from the moment it begins. Also a great achevement is sound design. This is one of those great films where mood and atmosphere set an exemple for what to do in a film - a work where everything is right. Unfortunately, the DVD only comes with the trailer (which is also beautiful). No photos, no commentary (I was hoping this DVD would come with a commentary by Mr.Polanski), not even a small interview with anybody. Too bad if you consider the quality of the craftsmanship of this work. But at this incredible low price... one cannot complaint.
Rating:
Summary: the tenant
Review: It is quiet, sad, lonely. Just like you feel.
Much overlooked, a true masterpiece. Thank you, Roman!
Rating: 
Summary: "Movin' on up..........."
Review: Kafkaesque, little parable about yet "another Room without a Loo, BUT view?" "Our Hero" is determined to move into this odd little cubbyhole of an apartment [?] in this otherwise vast, albeit ancient Gallic version of the "Rosemary's Baby's" apartment building. He is not deterred by anything - the original tenant, an unsuccessful suicide, swathed in gauze lies in a hospital bed - waiting.......you never actually see her without the bandages. Wondering if this is perhaps just another hapless tenant assuming the personality of the little apartment??? [Like "Mama" in "Burnt Offerings" it's the house that occupies the tenants - similar premise here]. He does eventually, overcoming great obstacles, move in, then the mysterious lavatory ocross the way, the people in that loo - staring across the countyard at his window, it starts to get to him, then the discovery of the dress, then the "conversion..." The hieroglyphics on the walls, all quite mysterious. Great supporting cast, Isabelle Adjani, Jo Van Fleet, Melvyn Douglas, Shelley Winters - very shrill and disturbing. Also the wonderful Lila Kedrova as the odd neighbor.... It moves towards an odd conclusion and a restaging of previous events - rather a shattering [literal] experience. This is "the male" version of "Repulsion" - see "Repulsion" for "Her" version. Also "Delicatessen".
Rating: 
Summary: ONE WORD: SCARY!
Review: Made the mistake of watching this at night, alone at home. How's that for the eerie Polanski-of-yore ambience! A Russian man in Paris rents an apartment where the previous tenant committed suicide. This gentleman, like you and I, does not "comprehend suicide" so he wonders why the girl had jumped to death. As he convinces himself that he'll never meet the fate that awaited his predecessor in the apartment, his paranoia very gradually takes over as he finds quaint neighbors. Was it loneliness? Was it an egregious fear of NOT wanting to turn out like the previous tenant? Whatever the reason, the movie soon takes on contours of blurring the Reality with the Imagined, and it is very, very scary. I checked on the cover twice during the movie to make sure it wasn't "horror." Frankly, the first time I was just plain scared and even felt gyped at the end. But I bet if you watch it again, you too will notice some nuance that escaped you first time round. What a brilliant movie. And it makes you think hard and long about your own predicament regardless of how/what/who you presently are. Recommended, so long as you can stomach some murky paranoia that taints the movie from start to end!
Rating:
Summary: Another great Polanski film
Review: My favorite, in fact. The morose, grayish, semi-squalid street scenes and interiors of Paris are beautiful in their own eerie way. Polanski's character rents a quaint, miserable but fascinating little apartment. So depressing, but so funny and real at the same time. Anyone who has spent lonely hours in a city apartment will appreciate the odd social relations and paranoia that ensues. I too have dreaded the unexpected knock upon the door, and have frozen in silly, quiet terror by the peephole! Creepy, and very funny. Many intriguing, oddball urban characters and unexpected scenarios to be enjoyed. Perfect film to plop in at an unholy hour.
Rating:
Summary: Please, be a little bit quieter....
Review: No, no Kafka-esque sense of danger. K did not realize the sense of danger. He merely became the small focus of outside forces. That is not danger. It may be inevitability. Trelkovsky willingly goes into "danger". Accepts his need to become that which will cause him grief. K willingly goes on his way. A Pole and a Czech at odds! How delicious! Not to mention bumptious Frenchmen. The movie is about 23.5 minutes too long, however.
Rating:
Summary: Wildly Surreal
Review: Not everyone's favorite Polanski film, but it's great to have it out there. The "plot" concerns a man taking a flat in a Paris walk-up,(the conceriege is Shelly Winters, one of the neighbors is Melvyn Douglas) and sure enough it was once rented by an extremely strange now-dead tenant. It gets weirder from there (don't miss the make-out scene in the Bruce Lee film). This is one of Polanski's finest and strangest. There's eyes in walls and an incessant tapping by the sink. Polanski is the main character, even more than he was Pardon Me . This is a movie for late at night, when the lights are out and you're willing to be weirded out of your mind. Not to miss for fans of David Lynch or David Cronenberg--it seems to have had a lasting effect on those two gentlemen. You will not have seen much like this one. A definite five star odd movie.
Rating:
Summary: A neglected gem from Polanski
Review: Not much to add to any of this, except two things: One - I would just like to say that this is a COMEDY!! Two - having seen this once on VHS, I thought just for the hell of it I would try watching the French dub on the off chance that it would be the one made for the French first-run release. It is, and let me tell you, folks - the social humor that comes off as rather heavy-handed in the English version becomes subtle, muted and sardonic. The regional Parisian colloquialisms immeasurably enhance the film's atmosphere and authenticity. Sure, there are American actors in the film, we don't get to hear their voices, but that's all right as Polanski gives a fine rendition of his role in French and the actors dubbing the rest of the cast acquit themselves extraordinarily well. I am nominally a purist about foreign language dubs as a rule - meaning I don't watch them as they generally vitiate the unique character of a film. However, "The Tenant" is a French film in all but the particulars of its completion and release for American audiences. It used a French studio, French actors and technicians, and is thusly as sharp an evocation of the damp, mouldy side of Paris as has ever been seen in pictures. For these reasons, the French dub seems to me to improve on the original - superb as that track is, don't get me wrong. But I hope you won't just take my word for it - to see "The Tenant" in French is a unique viewing experience.
Rating:
Summary: Movin' On Up.........
Review: Original. Witty. Ironic. Creepy. Thoughtful. Detailed. VERY KAFKAESQUE.......For anyone who has ever felt like they had to be quiet when coming or going from their apartment......
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