Best Debut Film from any Director

[RAPTURExREDS]

I just finished writing my first screenplay a few weeks ago, and it's got me thinking about debut films from great directors.

So what are some of your favorite movies that popped that director's cherry in directing?

For me:
Reservoir Dogs from Quentin Tarantino.
Badlands from Terrence Malick
Don Jon from Joseph Gordon Levitt

[Mandalorian]

District 9
Reservoir Dogs
The Maltese Falcon

[StatenMan18]

Those two brothers who made daybreakers
Joseph Gordon levitt did a great job with don Jon as weird as it was
Troy Duffy from the boondock saints

[Tyger]

Gattaca (Andrew Niccol) and it's his best film to date.

[Visco.]

Badlands
Reservoir Dogs
Margin Call
Shotgun Stories
Eraserhead (for most people, not me)
Hunger
Citizen Kane

[MikeScott]

Jacob Aaron Estes (Mean Creek)
Zach Braff (Garden State)
Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)
Lucky McKee (May)
David Slade (Hard Candy)

[BladeRunner2007]

The Evil Dead - Sam Raimi
Thief - Michael Mann
Night of the Living Dead - George A. Romero
Mad Max - George Miller
Donnie Darko - Richard Kelly
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage - Dario Argento
Following - Christopher Nolan

[Foggy]

Just to chuck more on top of the ones mentioned:

Brick (Rian Johnson)
Moon (Duncan Jones)
Beasts of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin)
Being John Malcovich (Spike Jonez)
Bad Taste (Peter Jackson)
Breathless (Jean Luc-Godard)
The Evil Dead (Sam Raimi)

[chris_sc77]

Synecdoche New York- Charlie Kaufman
Alien 3- David Fincher
Hard eight- p.t. Anderson
Donnie darko- Richard Kelly
40 year old virgin - Judd apatow

[grape_jelly]

I'm assuming we're talking about feature lengths here.

1. Breathless - Jean-Luc Godard

It's ironic that the film is titled 'Breathless', as the movie feels so alive that you could almost swear it was actually breathing. Godard invented an entirely new cinematic language with this masterpiece, which still feels hypnotically chic to this day. Breathless is my Citizen Kane. Its free-form camera movements, inventive editing, and intoxicating lead actress have cemented it in my eyes as the greatest directorial debut of all time.

2. Eraserhead - David Lynch

Eraserhead is a pitch perfect film. It deserves every ounce of praise, and infamy it has received over the years. Despite my efforts, I've still yet to view anything quite like it. If you haven't had the chance to see this surreal dark comedy with horrific overtones in a theater with an audience, you're really missing out on the fun. The cinematography, performances, editing, visual effects, symbolism, and sound design are all masterful. I don't think Lynch has ever topped his debut, try as he might.

3. Clerks - Kevin Smith

Many criticize Clerks' 'ugly' visuals. If you ask me, they gift the film with a grittiness I don't think it would have claimed otherwise. The rough shots, the black and white 16mm film, the early 90's fashion, and the bad-ass soundtrack make Clerks a true product of the grunge-era. The script, as many have noted, is relentlessly witty and quotable. Smith captured his day-in-the-life-of-a-liquor-store-clerk vibe perfectly, and no matter how many times I watch it, I get red with laughter from beginning to end.

[Todd Tomorrow]

Blood Simple
The 400 Blows
Knife in the Water
Sexy Beast
Eraserhead
The Night of the Hunter
Being John Malkovich
You Can Count on Me
Citizen Kane

[Kryptonic]

George Lucas - THX 1138
Steven Spielberg - Duel
Zack Snyder - Dawn of the Dead
Quentin Tarantino - Reservoir Dogs
James Cameron - Terminator (If you read his biography, he didn't really direct Piranha II.)
James McTiegue - V for Vendetta

[Ben_UK]

Originally Posted by Kryptonic

Steven Spielberg - Duel

Yep.

[levcore]

The Raid.

[Vinyl]

darren Aronofsky - pi: faith in chaos

[NYorker]

Citizen Kane

[StevenHarvey1990]

Originally Posted by StatenMan18

Those two brothers who made daybreakers

WOW! That movie was abysmal but each to their own I guess.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by levcore

The Raid.

It wasn't Gareth Evans first film.

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by Kryptonic

Steven Spielberg - Duel

The Sugarland Express was Spielberg's debut feature. Duel was one of several TV movies he made before he broke into feature films, though an extended version was released theatrically in some European countries.

I nearly added The Sugarland Express to my list. It's a great film that always gets overlooked when it comes to Spielberg's films. I suppose nobody talks about it, because as a true crime comedy/drama without horror or sci-fi trappings it's not that fanboy friendly.

[Doctor Jack]

The Virgin Suicides - Sofia Coppola