Roman Polanski. This controversial Polish director lost his
mother as a child in Auschwitz during World War II. In his early
years, he was utterly fascinated by the cinema, even when most
of the movies at the theaters were war propaganda films.  With
such horrifying circumstances surrounding him, cinema became his
only form of escape and he ravenously watched hundreds of films
as a youngster.  His difficult and tragic childhood seems to
have personally influenced his films, which are thematically
bleak and psychologically violent, cynical and some, even,
nihilistic. He's the darker, nastier version of Hitchcock, and
almost as technically skilled. His films are extremely well
made, to the point of coming off as effortless. His impressive
body of work has inspired the likes of directors, including
Darren Aronofsky, David Fincher and Wes Anderson. While his
European-made films like, "Knife in the Water" and "Repulsion"
stand well over the years, his most lasting contribution to the
cinema is, in my opinion, his