Blu Ray.com Community's TOP 20 DIRECTORIAL FEATURE DEBUTS

[Grethiwha]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

Duly noted. The only reason why I did that rule so I wouldn't see people put up "The Room" unironically but I can't leave off a hell of a film like "The Night of the Hunter".

One time directors such as Jerome Robbins (West Side Story) and Tommy Wiseau (You know who you are) will not be considered. Films such as Lady Bird will be considered as Gerwig has intentions continuing directing. Charles Laughton (The Night of The Hunter) will be considered as he did have intentions to continue.

Wait, so now 1-film directors are included, if they intend(ed) to make more films? Now I have to reconsider my list again... This takes a while...

Also that rule is pretty vague. I'm sure Tommy Wiseau would like to make more films too. Anyway, if people are listing The Room unironically, I don't see what the problem is...

[Armchair NZ]

... feel like I've voted for waaay too many of these on other favourites lists in the past lol

unapologetically voting for movies I really like, rather than how important they might be as a debut. Also unapologetically voting for a bunch of directors who have only made one or two movies

1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Frank Darabont
2. Girl Asleep (2015) Rosemary Myers
3. Noise (2007) Matthew Saville
4. Vigil (1984) Vincent Ward
5. The House of Yes (1997) Mark Waters
6. Bone Tomahawk (2015) S. Craig Zahler
7. Beautiful Kate (2009) Rachel Ward
8. Animal Kingdom (2010) David Michôd
9. Nightcrawler (2014) Dan Gilroy
10. Blood Simple (1984) Coen Bros.
11. The Survivalist (2015) Stephen Fingleton
12. Gone Baby Gone (2007) Ben Affleck
13. Once Were Warriors (1994) Lee Tamahori
14. Sexy Beast (2000) Jonathan Glazer
15. Thief (1981) Michael Mann
16. In My Father's Den (2004) Brad McGann
17. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) Amy Heckerling
18. Reservoir Dogs (1992) Quentin Tarantino
19. Eagle vs Shark (2007) Taika Waititi
20. Moon (2009) Duncan Jones

let me know if any are ineligible and I'll swap 'em out for something else

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by Grethiwha

Wait, so now 1-film directors are included, if they intend(ed) to make more films? Now I have to reconsider my list again... This takes a while...

Also that rule is pretty vague. I'm sure Tommy Wiseau would like to make more films too. Anyway, if people are listing The Room unironically, I don't see what the problem is...

I got rid of that rule, it was an awful rule, the rule is dead.

[Talleyrand]

Cool idea. I'll try and get a list up this weekend.

[dommie]

1. The Maltese Falcon - John Huston
2. Destination Tokyo - Delmer Daves
3. Dances With Wolves - Kevin Costner
4. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Elia Kazan
5. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf - Mike Nichols
6. American Beauty - Sam Mendes
7. They Live by Night - Nicholas Ray
8. Citizen Kane - Orson Welles
9. Body Heat - Lawrence Kasdan
10. Marty - Delbert Mann
11. Michael Clayton - Tony Gilroy
12. Gone Baby Gone - Ben Affleck
13. Thief - Michael Mann
14. Twelve Angry Men - Sidney Lumet
15. The Killing Fields - Roland Joffe
16. The Shawshank Redemption - Frank Darabont
17. The Lion in Winter - Anthony Harvey
18. Blood Simple - Joel Coen
19. On the Town - Stanley Donen
20. In Bruges - Martin McDonagh


Honorable mention (because these first films were not only good ones, but also showed definite signs of the talent that was to follow):

The Duellists - Ridley Scott
Play Misty For Me - Clint Eastwood
The Slender Thread - Sydney Pollack
Fear Strikes Out - Robert Mulligan
The Sterile Cuckoo - Alan J. Pakula

[KID_Q]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

"Dark Star" is Carpenter's first theatrical feature not "Assault on Precinct 13".

Of course! Don't know how I forgot that. Thank you.
Also just realized I forgot to include 12 Angry Men, gotta add that.

[gwfb5]

Do they have to be the director's first and best film, or just their first?

Anyway, I'll give this a shot.
Here is a list of good/great films that were the director's feature-film debut.

Original list. (in no particular order)

[Show spoiler]Orson Welles - Citizen Kane
Hayao Miyazaki - Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro
James Cameron - The Terminator
John Lasseter - Toy Story
Brad Bird - The Iron Giant
Pete Docter - Monsters, Inc.
Andrew Stanton - Finding Nemo
Chris Sanders & Dean DeBlois - Lilo & Stitch
Alex Garland - Ex Machina
Neill Blomkamp - District 9
Jennifer Yuh Nelson - Kung Fu Panda 2
Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff - The Lion King
John Musker & Ron Clements - The Great Mouse Detective
Rich Moore - Wreck-It Ralph
Hiromasa Yonebayashi - The Secret World of Arrietty
Quentin Tarantino - Reservoir Dogs
Don Bluth - The Secret of NIMH
Yoshifumi Kondō - Whisper of the Heart
Michaël Dudok de Wit - The Red Turtle
Peter Lord & Nick Park - Chicken Run
Henry Selick - The Nightmare Before Christmas
Phil Lord & Christopher Miller - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Tomm Moore & Nora Twomey - The Secret of Kells
Peter Ramsey - Rise of the Guardians
Tim Miller - Deadpool
George Miller - Mad Max
Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud - Persepolis
Satoshi Kon - Perfect Blue
Hiroyuki Okiura - Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
Tim Burton - Pee-wee's Big Adventure

Updated list. (in order of their Rotton Tomato scores. Also, films I haven't seen yet, but have heard are good, are highlighted in red)
If my list is too long, needs to be in a certain order, or seeing all the films on it is required I will edit it accordingly.
Either way, I had a lot of fun finding out how many classic films were feature debuts.

Citizen Kane - Orson Welles
The Terminator - James Cameron
Toy Story - John Lasseter
Finding Nemo - Andrew Stanton
Chicken Run - Peter Lord & Nick Park
The Secret of NIMH - Don Bluth
The Iron Giant - Brad Bird
Monsters, Inc. - Pete Docter
Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud
The Nightmare Before Christmas - Henry Selick
The Secret World of Arrietty - Hiromasa Yonebayashi
The Red Turtle - Michaël Dudok de Wit
Speed - Jan de Bont
The Lion King - Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff
Whisper of the Heart - Yoshifumi Kondō
The Cabin in the Woods - Drew Goddard
Ex Machina - Alex Garland
Eraserhead - David Lynch
Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro - Hayao Miyazaki
Reservoir Dogs - Quentin Tarantino
The Shawshank Redemption - Frank Darabont
The Secret of Kells - Tomm Moore & Nora Twomey
Mad Max - George Miller
District 9 - Neill Blomkamp
Pee-wee's Big Adventure - Tim Burton
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
Wreck-It Ralph - Rich Moore
Lilo & Stitch - Chris Sanders & Dean DeBlois
Deadpool - Tim Miller
The Great Mouse Detective - John Musker & Ron Clements
Kung Fu Panda 2 - Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Grease - Randal Kleiser
Rise of the Guardians - Peter Ramsey
Perfect Blue - Satoshi Kon
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade - Hiroyuki Okiura

[Kazutaka]

1. Once Were Warriors (1994) Lee Tamahori
2. Violent Cop (1989) Takeshi Kitano
3. Perfect Blue (1997) Satoshi Kon
4. Night of the Living Dead (1968) George A. Romero
5. Mad Max (1979) George Miller

6. Reservoir Dogs (1992) Quentin Tarantino
7. The Third Part of the Night (1971) Andrzej Zulawski
8. Grease (1978) Randal Kleiser
9. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Frank Darabont
10. The Terminator (1984) James Cameron

11. Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) John Patrick Shanley
12. Badlands (1973) Terrence Malick
13. Sling Blade (1996) Billy Bob Thornton
14. The Seventh Continent (1989) Michael Haneke
15. The Hunger (1983) Tony Scott

16. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) Chuck Russell
17. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) Peter R. Hunt
18. The Element of Crime (1984) Lars von Trier
19. Freeway (1996) Matthew Bright
20. The Wicker Man (1973) Robin Hardy

[Grethiwha]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

I got rid of that rule, it was an awful rule, the rule is dead.

Okie dokie. I updated my list again, to include 1-time directors.

[Mobe1969]

In progress. Not ordered.

Frailty - Bill Paxton
Very Bad Things - Peter Berg
Moon - Duncan Jones
Monsters - Gareth Edwards
Bad Boys - Michael Bay
Akira - Katsuhiro Otomo
Alien 3 - David Fincher
On Her Majesty's Secret Service - Peter Hunt (yes this is my favorite Bond movie)
Hellraiser: Inferno - Scott Derrickson (yes this is actually my fav Hellraiser movie. I became a huge fan of his later, and was surprised to learn this was actually his film)
Slither - James Gunn
Bring It On - Peyton Reed
Final Destination - James Wong
Delicatessen - Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Anchorman - Adam McKay
Hellraiser - Clive Barker
Clerk's - Kevin Smith
Layer Cake - Matthew Vaughn
Dances with Wolves - Kevin Costner
Charlie's Angels - McG
Crank - Neveldine/Taylor

[Armchair NZ]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

I got rid of that rule, it was an awful rule, the rule is dead.

what about directors that only made one single movie and then passed away before they could make any more? would they be eligible too?

[Lope de Aguirre]

1. Lebenszeichen (Signs of Life, 1968) - Werner Herzog
2. Gummo (1997) - Harmony Korine
3. The Terminator (1984) - James Cameron
4. Alien³ (1992) - David Fincher
5. Serenity (2005) - Joss Whedon
6. Donnie Darko (2001) - Richard Kelly
7. Akira (1988) - Katsuhiro Otomo
8. Star Trek: First Contact (1996) - Jonathan Frakes
9. Moon (2009) - Duncan Jones
10. Reservoir Dogs (1991) - Quentin Tarantino
11. Eraserhead (1978) - David Lynch
12. Amores Perros (2000) - Alejandro G. Iñárritu
13. Clerks (1994) - Kevin Smith
14. Citizen Cane (1941) - Orson Wells
15. Easy Rider (1969) - Dennis Hopper

[principehomura]

01) Citizen Kane (O. Welles)
02) The Kid (C. Chaplin)
03) The Night of the Hunter (C. Laughton)
04) 12 Angry Men (S. Lumet)
05) Dances with Wolves (K. Costner)
06) Blood Simple (J. & E. Coen)
07) Gone Baby Gone (B. Affleck)
08) Hard Eight (P.T. Anderson)
09) Bottle Rocket W. Anderson)
10) Badlands (T. Malick)

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by gwfb5

Do they have to be the director's first and best film, or just their first?

Anyway, I'll give this a shot.
Here is a list of good/great films that were the director's feature-film debut, in no particular order.

Orson Welles - Citizen Kane
Hayao Miyazaki - Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro
James Cameron - The Terminator
John Lasseter - Toy Story
Brad Bird - The Iron Giant
Pete Docter - Monsters, Inc.
Andrew Stanton - Finding Nemo
Chris Sanders & Dean DeBlois - Lilo & Stitch
Alex Garland - Ex Machina
Neill Blomkamp - District 9
Jennifer Yuh Nelson - Kung Fu Panda 2
Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff - The Lion King
John Musker & Ron Clements - The Great Mouse Detective
Rich Moore - Wreck-It Ralph
Hiromasa Yonebayashi - The Secret World of Arrietty
Quentin Tarantino - Reservoir Dogs
Don Bluth - The Secret of NIMH
Yoshifumi Kondō - Whisper of the Heart
Michaël Dudok de Wit - The Red Turtle
Peter Lord & Nick Park - Chicken Run
Henry Selick - The Nightmare Before Christmas
Phil Lord & Christopher Miller - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Tomm Moore & Nora Twomey - The Secret of Kells
Peter Ramsey - Rise of the Guardians
Tim Miller - Deadpool
George Miller - Mad Max
Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud - Persepolis
Satoshi Kon - Perfect Blue
Hiroyuki Okiura - Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade

It doesn’t necessarily have to be their best, just a solid or great debut that shows promise of things (already for some) to come. Ordering them would be a plus or else I’ll just point them the way they are.

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by Armchair NZ

what about directors that only made one single movie and then passed away before they could make any more? would they be eligible too?

Any feature length debut is now welcomed.

[Tarkovski]

01. Ivanovo detstvo (Andrei Tarkovsky)
02. Badlands (Terrence Malick)
03. Eraserhead (David Lynch)
04. Der siebente Kontinent (Michael Haneke)
05. Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray)
06. Sono otoko, kyôbô ni tsuki (Takeshi Kitano)
07. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Elia Kazan)
08. Sydney (Paul Thomas Anderson)
09. Blood Simple. (Ethan + Joel Coen)
10. Hong gao liang (Zhang Yimou)
11. Amores perros (Alejandro González Iñárritu)
12. Les quatre cents coups (François Truffaut)
13. Red Road (Andrea Arnold)
14. Pi (Darren Aronofsky)
15. Do You Remember Dolly Bell? (Emir Kusturica)
16. Wang Jiao ka men (Kar Wai Wong)
17. Catch Us If You Can (John Boorman)
18. I Call First (Martin Scorsese)
19. El espíritu de la colmena (Víctor Erice)
20. Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (Michael Cimino)

Weak first efforts (of excellent directors) are left out (for example Luchino Visconti's Ossessione or Nicolas Roeg's Performance). Otherwise making this list would have no meaning.
Also left out:

- Abel Ferrara (debut: 9 Lives of a Wet P ussy and not Driller Killer)
- Christopher Nolan (debut: Following and not Memento)
- David Cronenberg (Stereo and/or Crimes ot Future and not Shivers)
- David Fincher (Alien3 and not Se7en)
- Edgar Wright (A Fistful of Fingers <-> Shaun ot Dead)
- Quentin Tarantino (My Best Friend's Birthday <-> Reservoir Dogs)
- Orson Welles (Too Much Johnson <-> Citizen Kane)
- Damien Chazelle (Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench <-> Whiplash)

Sorting the films is done by scoring the movie concerned (75%) and taking in account the rest of the filmography of the director (25%).
List is limited to a top 20.

[Armchair NZ]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

Any feature length debut is now welcomed.

awesome. Good chance that In My Father's Den will make it onto my list then

[gwfb5]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

It doesn’t necessarily have to be their best, just a solid or great debut that shows promise of things (already for some) to come. Ordering them would be a plus or else I’ll just point them the way they are.

Okay, what kind of order would you suggest?

Perhaps I could order the films by their Rotten Tomatoes score because I'm terrible at listing favorites, plus there are a few films on my list that I haven't actually seen yet.

[Mothravka]

Originally Posted by gwfb5

Here is a list of good/great films that were the director's feature-film debut, in no particular order.

Originally Posted by gwfb5

Okay, what kind of order would you suggest?

Perhaps I could order the films by their Rotten Tomatoes scores because I'm terrible at listing favorites, plus there are a few films on my list that I haven't actually seen yet.

I think we have a winner. The emphasis on terrible is at least honest.

[gwfb5]

Originally Posted by Mothravka

I think we have a winner. The emphasis on terrible is at least honest.

I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or not, but I'll take compliments where I can get them.
Seriously though, I am terrible at picking/listing favorite films. I could never pick a favorite film or even do a top 10 list. I love so many!