This internationally renowned filmmaker has become as notorious for his tumultuous life as for his sometimes darkly funny but deeply disquieting psychological dramas, jet black comedies, and tough-minded period films. After a childhood stained with Nazi atrocities, Polanski began his film career first as a juvenile actor and later as a neophyte director in Poland. He went on to establish his reputation with several films shot in England before finding his artistic and commercial apotheosis in Hollywood. The European expatriate also found Southern California to be a place of shocking violence and profound personal tragedy. Polanski fled the US to escape the consequences of a sex scandal. He continued to make films in exile albeit with less frequency and smaller budgets. Though still controversial, Polanski continues to be numbered among the world's great directors.