Great Films Made By First-Time Filmmakers
Someone told me DEAD CIRCUS needs a prestige filmmaker to get made. That it’s too ambitious and its scope too big for a first-timer to pull off. But my response is that some of the best films ever made were directed by first-timers! Here’s a preliminary list and maybe one day DEAD CIRCUS will be considered a worthy addition. This list is a work in progress that I just did off the top of my head… any suggestions? Let me know, and if I agree, I’ll include it on the list.
In alphabetical order:
12 ANGRY MEN, dir. Sidney Lumet
THE 400 BLOWS, dir. Francois Truffaut
AMERICAN BEAUTY, dir. Sam Mendes
THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON, dir. Niels Mueller
BADLANDS, dir. Terrence Malick
BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, dir. Spike Jonze
BODY HEAT, dir. Lawrence Kasdan
BOILER ROOM, dir. Ben Younger
BOTTLE ROCKET, dir. Wes Anderson
BLOOD SIMPLE, dir. Joel and Ethan Coen
THE BOONDOCK SAINTS, dir. Troy Duffy
BOYS DON’T CRY, dir. Kimberly Peirce
BOYZ N THE HOOD, dir. John Singleton
CAPOTE, dir. Bennett Miller
CITIZEN KANE, dir. Orson Welles
CITIZEN RUTH, dir. Alexander Payne
DISTRICT 9, dir. Neill Blomkamp
DONNIE DARKO, dir. Richard Kelly
DUEL, dir. Steven Spielberg
EASY RIDER, dir. Dennis Hopper
EL MARIACHI, dir. Robert Rodriguez
FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, dir. Amy Heckerling
FOLLOWING, dir. Christopher Nolan
FROZEN RIVER, dir. Courtney Hunt
HARD EIGHT, dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
HUSTLE AND FLOW, dir. Craig Brewer
IN THE COMPANY OF MEN, dir. Neil Labute
INTERVIEW WITH THE ASSASSIN, dir. Neil Burger
KNIFE IN THE WATER, dir. Roman Polanski
THE MESSENGER, dir. Oren Moverman
THE ORPHANAGE, dir. Juan Antonio Bayona
PLAY MISTY FOR ME, dir. Clint Eastwood
PRIMER, dir. Shane Carruth
RESERVOIR DOGS, dir. Quentin Tarantino
RUNNING WITH SCISSORS, dir. Ryan Murphy
SHADOWS, dir. John Cassavetes
SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT, dir. Spike Lee
A SINGLE MAN, dir. Tom Ford
THE STERILE CUCKOO, dir. Alan Pakula
SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK, dir. Charlie Kaufman
THX-1138, dir. George Lucas
WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?, dir. Mike Nichols
How about “Gone Baby Gone”?
I haven’t seen GONE BABY GONE yet… I’ll check it out and perhaps I’ll put it up here too.
I suppose MEMENTO cannot truly be called a FIRST film for Chris Nolan, but it’s close.
Chris Nolan’s first feature was FOLLOWING, which I think is nearly as brilliant as his sophomore effort MEMENTO. He made it for less than $10,000 on 16mm short ends and shot it on weekends over the span of a year.
Shakes the Clown by Bobcat Goldthwait…
Don’t forget “Night of the Living Dead”, by George Romero. Hell of a film. And Herk Harvey’s “Carnival of Souls” (his first, and only, film, though). Cult classics. Yours can be one too. I have not read the book, but for what I’ve read so far, the story is meant to be a dark one. I wish you the best.
Luigi, from Buenos Aires.