This weekend The Gift creeps into theaters, with Warrior and Zero Dark Thirty star Joel Edgerton stepping behind the camera to direct. Every Hollywood heavyweight filmmaker, from Steven Spielberg to Martin Scorsese, had to start somewhere, right? So here are our favorite debuts from then-new directors.
THX-1138
1971's THX-1138 served as the debut for acclaimed filmmaker George Lucas, who would go onto direct Star Wars and American Beauty. Though Lucas is known for sci-fi films of a different type, THX-1138 was a revolutionary film that challenged the futuristic science fiction films of the era by presenting a grim totalitarian future. The film put Lucas on the map as a brave and inventive filmmaker with an ability to challenge genre stereotypes.
Rosewater
Jon Stewart proved to be an interesting individual to become a director, but his 2014 debut Rosewater fits within his fields of interest, focusing on journalistic integrity and political corruption involving the Iranian election. Stewart's humor and social criticism translates to the big screen in an insightful and heartfelt story, and the story is established in a very interesting way.
Reservoir Dogs
One of cinema's most popular filmmakers of the last several decades is Quentin Tarantino, having directed such films as Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained. Tarantino put himself on the map with 1992's Reservoir Dogs, which combines comedy and violence, and it benefits from its independent style. The film uses non-linear storytelling to create a completely enthralling indie thriller.
American Beauty
One of the few directorial debuts to win Best Picture, American Beauty is an exploration of the modern American beauty through the story of one man's mid-life crisis. Director Sam Mendes established himself as a very stylized filmmaker with a great grasp of emotional resonance, getting excellent performances out of Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening and Thora Birch. Mendes used the film to create a great tonal mix of comedy and drama and utilized interesting techniques such as the opening narration and familial self-liberation.
Gone Baby Gone
In making the transition from actor to director, Ben Affleck gave a powerful directorial debut in the gritty crime thriller Gone Baby Gone. Affleck told a disturbing crime saga, utilizing the Boston environment to convey both a moral and professional struggle. Additionally, Affleck got some amazing performances from Casey Affleck and Amy Ryan and established himself as a powerful filmmaker.
Nightcrawler
Dan Gilroy made a great debut with 2014's Nightcrawler, an absorbing character study improved vastly by Gilroy's strong direction and a career-high performance by Jake Gyllenhaal. As a gloomy and often frightening feature, Nightcrawler succeeds as an engrossing thriller, a relevant commentary, a hilarious black comedy and a great story. While many up-and-coming directors struggle to construct a debut film, Gilroy delivers real strength as a director who expertly builds tension.
District 9
The genre of science fiction has always been that of visionary directors, and Neil Blomkamp gave an amazing debut with the politically charged alien film District 9. While many sci-fi films use the genre to take on political issues, this film used the separation of aliens and humans as a metaphor for apartheid. Additionally, Blomkamp used incredible imagery and nonlinear storytelling to create a very original and imaginative debut film.
Donnie Darko
Director Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko combined off color humor, high level sci-fi and coming of age sensibilities to build a completely unique take on a time travel story. The film's independent quality made a star out of Jake Gyllenhaal, and it remains a landmark of cerebral and original science fiction filmmaking, as well as a brilliant debut for Richard Kelly.
12 Angry Men
Sidney Lumet has proven to be one of the best directors of all-time, and his debut film 12 Angry Men stands as one of his best. Lumet's film takes the best aspects of the legal thriller and incorporates it with a moral struggle. 12 Angry Men is both a great dissection of the legal system and a brilliant character piece for the ages.
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane tops the list of the greatest film debuts of all-time, with Orson Welles changing the film industry through nonlinear storytelling, an unprecedented look at the media and one of cinema's finest twists. As a first-time filmmaker, Welles did a great job handling the film's multiple storylines as well as using current events and politics to produce a timely thriller.
