Top Ten Tuesday: Best Films From First-Time Directors

A lot of times, a filmmaker’s first feature film is a passion project, something they’ve been working on for years.  Many times, it is this time spent and devotion to this one project that will make this first film the best film of a director’s career.  Today, in honor of Neill Blomkamp’s first feature film, DISTRICT 9, we present our top 10 films by first-time directors.

10. HENRY V (Kenneth Branagh, 1989)

“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more,” and so it was to be when, after it appeared that no one could ever improve on Sir Lawrence Olivier’s 1944 Shakespearean spectacle, HENRY V, along came an unknown Irishman, actor, Kenneth Branagh in 1989 with his dark take on the English King. Branagh, like Olivier, both in their directorial debuts, starred as Henry the Fifth, the young king who leads his army to wage war on France and claim his rightful place. Branagh chose first time Patrick Doyle as composer for the historical, energetic score and the cast included Derek Jacobi, Paul Scofield, Judi Dench, Ian Holm, Emma Thompson, and Robbie Coltrane. Nothing is greater in all of English literature than when Henry delivers his famous call-to-arms, “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers…” and Branagh’s helms this regal scene and the film with an emotional, yet bloody hand. The film received praise from critics across the board for its easiness on audiences with the Shakespearean dialogue and I’ll never forget seeing it for the first time in the theatres in 1989, wondering what would come next from this first-time director. HENRY V would go on to receive 3 Oscar nominations that year, including Best Actor and Best Director nods for Branagh, and eventually won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design. Branagh was a staple throughout the 1990’s and continued to direct and act in films like the popular and Hitchcockian DEAD AGAIN (1991), PETER’S FRIENDS (1992), MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (1993), FRANKENSTEIN (1994), and HAMLET (1996). After HENRY V, Branagh was being hailed as the “Next Olivier,” and while he continued to direct other, smaller films in the 2000’s, he never quite fulfilled that title heaped upon him. I was extremely happy to see him acting once again in Bryan Singer’s 2008 VALKYRIE as Major-General Henning von Tresckow and during the press junket promoting that film, Branagh announced his plans to direct and bring to the big screen Marvel’s superhero, THOR, in 2011.

9. THE EVIL DEAD (Sam Raimi, 1981)

All hail, Sam Raimi! Actually, I have to give credit to the Raimi clan as a whole here. While Sam Raimi is the most widely known of the three brothers, I have to also name drop his brothers Ted and Ivan as well since they were both involved in the making of THE EVIL DEAD. Ted and Ivan were both Fake Shemps in the film and Ivan would go on to write with brother Sam. Ted went on to become a cult favorite character actor. All that aside, THE EVIL DEAD marked new territory in horror, blending gore with comedy in a way never before seen on film. The film was visually kinetic and over-the-top, but in an exciting and explosively creative way. The movie would spark an unstoppably loyal fan base and spawn two sequels, and yes… even a stage musical! In addition, THE EVIL DEAD helped kick start the Coen Brothers’ career, as Joel Coen assisted with the editing of THE EVIL DEAD.

8. THIS IS SPINAL TAP (Rob Reiner, 1984)

While Rob Reiner’s first feature film, THIS IS SPINAL TAP is by no means the first mockumentary, it certainly has become known to be the grandaddy of them all.  In fact, the term “mockumentary” is believed to have been coined by Reiner while doing interviews for the film.  Reiner was 37 when THIS IS SPINAL TAP got its release in 1984.  This is quite older than a lot of first-time filmmakers, but Reiner had spent several years of his early life as an actor on TV shows like ALL IN THE FAMILY.  And, while he has never gone back to the genre that launched his filmmaking career, Reiner has impressed audience for years with films like THE PRINCESS BRIDE, MISERY, and A FEW GOOD MEN.  Only a film that amps it up to 11 like THIS IS SPINAL TAP could have the staying power that this movie has achieved.  Now, a quarter of a century after its release, the band, Spinal Tap, is still just as relevant today as it was then, possibly even more so due to the cult status the film has garnered.  While Reiner never went back to the mockumentary, THIS IS SPINAL TAP star Christopher Guest has made it his calling card, directing mockumentary after mockumentary.  Films like WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, BEST IN SHOW, and A MIGHTY WIND have carried on the legacy started by THIS IS SPINAL TAP, and it is hard to believe that it was Reiner’s first feature length endeavor into the world of directing.

7. THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (Tobe Hooper, 1974)

Tobe Hooper’s THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE may or may not be the scariest horror movie ever made (I think it is) but it’s certainly one of the most referenced, imitated, ripped off, and influential. Hooper claims the film was his reaction to Vietnam and Watergate and he shot it in grainy 16mm which gives the film its gritty in-your-face realism. For a first-timer, Hooper directed with a solid sense of composition and attention to detail and forced some amazing performances from his cast. Audiences and critics at the time responded to it’s high level of gore, but they were wrong.   It’s actually a masterpiece of restraint that Hooper made and much of its magic lies in the fact that the audience thinks they saw a no-holds-barred gorefest when they didn’t (the scene of the Hitchhiker (Ed Neal) slicing his own hand with a knife is the only actual bloodletting in the entire film).

What happened to Tobe Hooper? His follow-up, EATEN ALIVE, was a decent horror films but one no one would talk about if another director had made it. POLTERGEIST   was a hit but legend has it that it was mostly directed by Steven Spielberg and it certainly plays that way.   The less about SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION,   INVADERS FROM MARS and MORTUARY the better. Though FUNHOUSE, LIFEFORCE and TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE PART 2 have their followings, it’s safe to say that Hooper never again captured the magic that was THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and many rightfully view him as a one-hit wonder. The iconic concluding shot of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE lingers on the wounded and frustrated Leatherface, spinning in the sunlight as his chainsaw roars and his terrified prey eludes him.   It’s one of the most famous final images in cinema and could be seen as a metaphor for Tobe Hooper’s career.

6. BEING JOHN MALKOVICH (Spike Jonze, 1999)

Director Spike Jonze BEING JOHN MALKOVICH (1999), written by Charlie Kaufman, is a film where the title actor’s consciousness is the center of the universe and that seemed so original just ten years ago. A unique vision that took turns into the inspired and unexpected, it just kept getting weirder and more fascinating and ended up on most critics top ten lists that year. It was the feature directorial debut of Jonze, then known for his cutting-edge music videos for Bjork’s “It’s Oh So Quiet” and “The Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage”, but most of the film’s praise upon it’s release focused on Kaufman’s mind-bending script. Charlie Kaufman’s subsequent screenplays (ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, SYNECDOCHE NEW YORK) have taken these meta self-reflective ideas even further (some might say too far) and it seemed Jonze’s contributions as director were a bit overlooked. But Jonze did a great job, getting excellent performances from his cast, especially Catherine Keener and John Cusack, (and of course Malkovich himself, who’s turn here defines the term “self-deprecating”). He showed a sharp eye for detail and a subtle way of introducing each of Kaufman’s broad, oddball concepts without ever losing sight of the characters and keeping them human. He probably did himself no favor by reteaming with Kaufman for his next feature; ADAPTATION where again writer Kaufman received most of the attention. Since BEING JOHN MALKOVICH , Jonze has kept busy directing more music videos and skateboard documentaries (a passion of his, Jonze owns a skateboard company) and I’ll be looking forward to his next film, an adaption of Maurice Sendak’s children’s story WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, opening October 16, and it should   interesting to see how he fares without a script by Kaufman.

5. 12 ANGRY MEN (Sidney Lumet, 1957)

12 ANGRY MEN is a seminal film, not just for its story and execution, but for its director Sydney Lumet. This would mark the beginning of a very successful career as a filmmaker, including SERPICO, DOG DAY AFTERNOON and NETWORK. I even remember reading Lumet’s book ‘Making Movies’. 12 ANGRY MEN is a simple film on the surface with minimal location requirements, but the achievement is in the acting, which is in part a result of the director’s ability to pull the necessary performance from his players. The film boasts an incredible cast of actors, starring Henry Fonda, Jack Klugman, Jack Warden, Lee J. Cobb and Ed Begley, to name a few. This is a story of 12 jurors deliberating a murder trial, with one dissenting juror who refuses to vote guilty without being sure. Slowly and methodically, he begins to convince the other unwilling jurors to reconsider their votes, creating a wonderfully dramatic and suspenseful film. The film was nominated for more than 22 awards, including three Oscars. While Lumet’s debut did not garner him an Oscar, it did win six other awards and put him on the map as a much sought-after director.

4. BRICK (Rian Johnson, 2005)

I remember going to see BRICK in the movie theater.  Not knowing just a whole lot about it, I was surprised when, upon buying my ticket, I was handed a pamphlet full of strange sayings and phrases with definitions, as if some, strange dictionary.  Little did I know that I was about to see one of the most original and gifted first ventures into filmmaking I had ever seen.  Rian Johnson is a man with a distinct voice, and this being his first film, he does absolutely nothing to make you think otherwise.  As his love letter to the dark and sleazy film noirs of the ’40s and ’50s, Johnson’s world, set amongst a group of high schoolers, is one much like our own, but with a handful of peculiar differences.  The strangeness of this world he has created is not the only element that puts BRICK head and shoulders above most other first films.  Johnson not only commands the dialogue and action in his film, he uses the framing and composition of each shot to its fullest effect, engulfing you in everything he shoots and transporting you into this world even further.  While BRICK might not end up being Johnson’s best film (his sophomore entry, THE BROTHERS BLOOM, is equally as absorbing), it will always be near the top of his list.  If nothing else, it will always get a mention whenever the conversation of the greatest films by first-time directors pops up.

3. BLOOD SIMPLE (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1984)

Joel and Ethan Coen were finally honored with Academy Awards for 2007’s NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, but many believed this was a long time in the making. To look back over the careers of this writing/directing team of brothers is to look at a series of films with very little flaws, and arguably no duds. Hitting it out of the park in nearly every genre, every film they have put together has been a brilliantly crafted cavalcade of eccentric characters, and their first film, BLOOD SIMPLE, is absolutely no exception. A neo-noir crime film, it tells the story of a bartender, his wife, her love, and the private investigator the bartender hires to murder the other two. It sounds simple enough, but if you know anything about the Coens, you know their plots quickly thicken and and complexities pop out of the woodwork like nail heads. The film became a launching pad for many of its stars, as well. Actors like John Gertz, Dan Hedaya, and M. Emmet Walsh had been working before the Coens came along, but with BLOOD SIMPLE, these actors were able to go on to greener pastures. BLOOD SIMPLE was Frances McDormand’s first role, and, among the cast list here, she has gone on to have the most successful career.

The film also marked the first feature narrative for cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, who would go on to direct films like THE ADDAMS FAMILY and MEN IN BLACK.  Carter Burwell also cut his teeth on the score for BLOOD SIMPLE.  The Coen Brothers have been making first-rate movie for a quarter of a century, and it doesn’t appear their immaculate work is going to be slowing any time soon.  With BLOOD SIMPLE, they made not only a great first-time feature film, they made a classic crime drama that has stood the test of time.

2. THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (Frank Darabont, 1994)

Frank Darabont, in 1994, created what is still one of the most powerful films in the history of cinema, and it was his first directing job. Having previously adapted a Stephen King short from ‘The Woman in the Room’ and Shawshank being loosely based on King’s ‘Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption’ this would be the beginning of his adapations for the master writers work. ‘Shawshank Redemption’ boasted one hell of an amazing cast and probably deserved to win at least some of the 7 Academy Awards it was nominated for. Such is a difficult feat going up against the powerhouse ‘Forrest Gump’, but I could definitely see a snub or two in there. This movie is timeless, it can be watched by every generation and still relay the same feeling I got the first time I watched it.

1. CITIZEN KANE (Orson Welles, 1941)

I am certain there will be some nay-sayers who will suggest that this is an over-rated film, but I beg to differ. Few other films throughout history have been so far ahead of their times in both style and technical achievement and still hold up to the test of time. Add the fact that this was Orsen Welle’s first feature film and it’s damn near unbelievable. Few filmmakers have had a single film that has influenced as many future filmmakers the way that CITIZEN KANE has. Sure, Kubrick, Hitchcock, Kurosawa and several others had bodies of work that may rival the influence of CITIZEN KANE, but few have a single film of that stature. I still find myself amazed by the imagery and genius of editing in CITIZEN KANE every time I watch the film, and I’ve since lost track of how many times that has been. It simply doesn’t lose it’s appeal and that says a lot.