Warner Bros.

Directing a movie places an insurmountable amount of power and influence in the hands of one man (or woman). Enabled by unlimited artistic license, directors are often tempted to inject their films with an endless barrage of in-jokes, references, or "Easter eggs" - many of which most casual viewers will never notice at first glance.

Some of the more famous Easter eggs and references are fairly well known - fake brands such as Red Apple cigarettes in the filmography of Quentin Tarantino and Slusho in the filmography of J.J. Abrams; Alfred Hitchcock's cameos in almost all of his own films; the hidden frames of Tyler Durden spread throughout Fight Club, and so on.

This list features 15 of the more obscure and impressively hidden secrets and Easter eggs directors have hidden in well-known movies that are very easy to miss and overlook if astute viewers are not familiar with the film's source material, the director's canon, or simply if they blinked for a fraction of a second....