First time filmmakers, in my experience, tend to catch some grief. No one knows you (unless you have a lengthy track record for award winning shorts), and you are trying to convince people to believe in you, to invest in you (the answer most of the time is "No"), to work for you for free, to hold your camera. It's tough out there for first timers.
Which is strange because some of the best films of all time have been first time features. Could you imagine if Jean Luc Godard never got a chance to make Breathless? Well, don't try to. I don't even want to imagine living in a world without Breathless.
Here is Time Out London's list of 50 Greatest Directorial Debuts of All Time after the jump:
(HUGE DISCLAIMER: COOL LIST, BUT I SINCERELY HOPE THAT THESE ARE NOT IN ORDER)
50. Easy Rider (1969) Directed by Dennis Hopper
49: Throw Mama From the Train (1987) Directed by Danny DeVito
48: Kids (1995) Directed by Larry Clark
47: Jour de Féte (1949) Directed by Jacques Tati
46: Say Anything (1989) Directed by Cameron Crowe
45: Violent Cop (1989) Directed by Takeshi Kitano
44. Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) Directed by Paul Mazursky
43. Celia (1989) Directed by Ann Turner
42. George Washington (2000) Directed by David Gordon Green
41. The Hired Hand (1971) Directed by Peter Fonda
40. Seul Contre Tous (1998) Directed by Gaspar Noe
39. Repo Man (1984) Directed by Alex Cox
38. Pepi, Luci, Bom... (1980) Directed by Pedro Almodóvar
37. Man Bites Dog (1992) Directed by Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel, Benoît Poelvoorde
36. This is Spinal Tap (1982) Directed by Rob Reiner
35. Diner (1982) Directed by Barry Levinson
34. A Bout De Souffle (Breathless) (1959) Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
33. On The Town (1949) Directed by Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly
32. Bottle Rocket (1996) Directed by Wes Anderson
31. Targets (1968) Directed by Peter Bogdanovich
30. Pather Panchali (1955) Directed by Satyajit Ray
29. Alice (1988) Directed by Jan Svankmajer
28. Killer of Sheep (1977) Directed by Charles Burnett
27. The Evil Dead (1980) Directed by Sam Raimi
26. Mad Max (1979) Directed by George Miller
25. Knife in the Water (1962) Directed by Roman Polanski
24. L'Age D’Or (1930) Directed by Luis Buñuel
23. Shadows (1959) Directed by John Cassavetes
22. The Great McGinty (1940) Directed by Preston Sturges
21. Reservoir Dogs (1992) Directed by Quentin Tarantino
20. Primer (2004) Directed by Shane Carruth
19. Gates of Heaven (1978) Directed by Errol Morris
18. Eraserhead (1976) Directed by David Lynch
17. Buffalo ’66 (1997) Directed by Vincent Gallo
16. Bleak Moments (1971) Directed by Mike Leigh
15. Blue Collar (1978) Directed by Paul Schrader
14. Airplane! (1980) Directed by Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams and David Zucker
13. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) Directed by Tobe Hooper
12. Play Misty For Me (1971) Directed by Clint Eastwood
11. Accattone (1961) Directed by Pier Paolo Passolini
10. Performance (1970) Directed by Nicolas Roeg & Donald Cammel
9. The Maltese Falcon (1941) Directed by John Huston
8. Night of the Living Dead (1968) Directed by George A Romero
7. The 400 Blows (1960) Directed by François Truffaut
6. They Live By Night (1948) Directed by Nicholas Ray
5. Blood Simple (1984) Directed by Ethan & Joel Coen
4. L’Atalante (1934) Directed by Jean Vigo
3. Badlands (1973) Directed by Terrence Malick
2. Citizen Kane (1941) Directed by Orson Welles
1. The Night of the Hunter (1955) Directed by Charles Laughton
To read the full explanations for these choices, drop by and check it out HERE.
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