Luis Buñuel was a Spanish-born director who was an important early Surrealist painter and filmmaker. He had to leave Spain when Francisco Franco took control of the government in 1938. Buñuel eventually moved to Hollywood, and then to Mexico, and afterward, to France. In 1972, he made his most well-known and landmark film, Le Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie. Covering the attempts of upper-middle-class people trying to get dinner together, the surrealist film is one of the classic surrealist and inventive films.

Charlie Chaplin was perhaps the biggest star of the silent film era, writing, directing, and starring in films starring his character of "The Tramp." Featuring Chaplin's trademark bowler hat, cane, and toothbrush mustache, films like The Kid (1921), The Gold Rush (1925), and City Lights (1931) helped pioneer comedic tropes and gags in film. Chaplin adapted poorly to using sound in film and also had a controversial personal life which saw his star diminish in the 1930s.

The film Metropolis was a technical marvel upon its release in 1927, being the first full length science fiction film and featuring camera and set work that was inventive and new. The work was not a commercial success, however, as the film had a controversial take on big business. Later film scholars would celebrate Fritz Lang's masterpiece, but too late to save the costly film from being a commercial flop.

Billy Wilder was born to a Jewish family in Germany in 1906, but had to flee the Nazis' rise in the early 1930s. Arriving in Hollywood in 1933, Wilder first gained note as a screenwriter, but had a hit with his third directorial effort, 1944's Double Indemnity. That film noir set a mark for Wilder in its success, but stylistically he took many chances, from 1950's sweeping drama Sunset Boulevard to the farces The Seven Year Itch (1955) and Some Like It Hot (1959).

Jean-Luc Godard was the leading filmmaker of the French New Wave in the 1960s. His films like Breathless, from 1960, and Masculine, Feminine, from 1966, are simultaneously deeply imbued with politics and philosophy, while also being deep homages to his favorite filmmakers. Godard has been one of the most influential filmmakers from any country and in any genre.

The Sorrow and the Pity is a documentary film, over four hours long, made in 1969 by Marcel Ophüls, a German born French-Jewish filmmaker. Ophüls interviewed a number of Nazi-collaborators in French, made easier by making the film only twenty five years after the fall of the Nazi-supported Vichy regime. The Sorrow and the Pity is widely held as one of the most important documentaries in film history, for both its filmmaking techniques and its ability to find information from important historical figures.

The film Birth of a Nation was a massive success, becoming the first film ever shown at the White House. However, its heroic depiction of the Ku Klux Klan and virulent depiction of African-Americans caused criticism to be launched at its director, D.W. Griffith. In response, Griffith's next film, Intolerance, told the story of five civilizations who were ruined by their various forms of intolerance.

Birth of a Nation (1915) was revolutionary in many of its filmmaking techniques, especially its ability to shoot crowds and portray action scenes. However, its subject matter, which glorified the Ku Klux Klan and celebrated an angry mob hunting a black man, made the film controversially popular in its own time and condemned by many political groups. Its director, D.W. Griffith, attempted to apologize for much of the film's subject matter with his next film, Intolerance, which also upped the use of crowds and action scenes.

Alfred Hitchcock directed Psycho (1960), Howard Hawks directed The Big Sleep (1946), Michael Curtiz directed Mildred Pierce (1945), and John Ford directed The Last Hurrah (1958).

Sydney Pollack (1934-2008) won 2 Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture in 1986 for Out of Africa. He was nominated an additional 3 times for Best Picture for Tootsie (1983), Michael Clayton (2008) and The Reader (2009); and 2 additional times for Best Director for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1970) and Tootsie (1983). He also acted and produced. Although he did not direct Cold Mountain, (Anthony Minghella directed this movie), he was the producer.

Empire of the Sun (1987) was critically acclaimed, earning 6 Academy Award nominations. Stephen Spielberg directed an outstanding cast including John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Ben Stiller and 12-year-old Christian Bale. Bale plays the role of Jamie Graham, a young British boy living in Shanghai when the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. He is separated from his parents and lives on the streets until he is able to surrender to the Japanese and placed in a prisoner of war camp.

The Last Emperor (1987) was directed by Bernarndo Bertolucci and tells the story of Puyi, the last emperor of China.

Cry Freedom (1987), directed by Sir Richard Attenborough, starred Denzel Washington and Kevin Kline. The movie is set in 1970's South Africa during apartheid.

Elaine May directed the comedy Ishtar (1987), starring Dustin Hoffman.

Orphans (1987) was directed by Alan J. Pakula and starred Albert Finney. Set in Philadelphia, the plot revolves around two orphaned brothers trying to survive.