More times than not, filmmakers require a few attempts before breaking onto the scene with something special. James Cameron took a step in the opposite direction after his disastrous directorial debut with Piranha II, David Fincher's career almost imploded after directing Alien 3, and Ron Howard's 1977 road-comedy Grand Theft Auto left him without feature film work for five years.
It's not too often that a director's first feature ends up on a list of the greatest films ever made, but it has happened. Sidney Lumet, John Huston, and David Lynch cemented their places in history with 12 Angry Men, The Maltese Falcon, and Eraserhead, respectively. A great first feature possesses the power to jumpstart a director's career and place them upon a pedestal for the world to celebrate. From comedies and coming-of-agers to crime thrillers and horror movies, these films came from filmmakers who had never previously sat in the director's chair.
10 The Daniels Debuted Their Talents With Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
Written, directed, and co-produced by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (collectively known as "The Daniels"), Everything Everywhere All At Once stars Michelle Yeoh as a Chinese-American woman who must channel her newfound powers when an interdimensional rupture unravels reality and threatens the destruction of the multiverse.
Ridiculously entertaining and unapologetically enjoyable, Everything Everywhere All At Once embraces its eschatological themes to produce an artisanal blockbuster, supercharged with martial arts and solid kung-fu action. The Daniels take the surreal subject matter and fashions it into an absurdly witty film that cruises through an unpredictable journey of pop existentialism.
9 Ruben Fleischer Rose To Fame With Zombieland (2009)
Directing his theatrical debut, Ruben Fleischer's Zombieland stars Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, and Woody Harrelson. The film follows four survivors during a zombie apocalypse who abide by a list of rules and survival strategies as they make their way across the Southwestern United States.
With its witty writing and speedy pacing, Zombieland is wickedly funny and wonderfully original. Woody Harrelson has a rip-roaring time as a redneck who is out to kill, alongside Eisenberg who geeks it up as a strict rule-abiding college student. Complete with creative cursing, spectacular gore, and a modest amount of romance, Zombieland proves that the zombie subgenre is far from dead.
8 Robert Eggers Won Audiences Over With The Witch (2015)
Written and directed by Robert Eggers in his feature directorial debut, The Witch stars Anya Taylor-Joy (in her screen acting debut) opposite Ellie Grainger, Lucas Dawson, Kate Dickie, Ralph Ineson, and Harvey Scrimshaw. Set in 1630s New England, the film follows a Puritan family who encounters forces of evil in the woods beyond their farm after their youngest son suddenly vanishes.
As with any great horror movie, The Witch is rife with allegorical interpretation. Director Robert Eggers' meticulousness is the source of the film's strength, heightened by a compelling, transgressive narrative that steeps itself in the religious conviction and paranoia of 17th Century New England life. Masterfully blending the sacred and the blasphemous, The Witch delivers a deeply unsettling slow-burn that suggests great things to come for Eggers.
7 Ryan Coogler Flourished With Fruitvale Station (2013)
Written and directed by Ryan Coogler in his feature directorial debut, Fruitvale Station stars Michael B. Jordan as Oscar Grant. The film is based on the events that lead to Grant’s death in 2009, when he was murdered by Bay Area police officers at the Fruitvale Station district in Oakland, California.
Passionate, poignant, and powerful, Fruitvale Station fashions a suspenseful moral parable about the incongruities that pepper the lives of martyrs in society. Director Ryan Coogler tells Grant's story as a narrative instead of a documentary, crafting a celebration of life and a condemnation of death that raises important questions about the value of black lives in the process.
6 Jordan Peele Primed Audiences With Get Out (2017)
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Written, directed, and produced by Jordan Peele, Get Out stars Daniel Kaluuya in the leading role of Chris, a young Black man dating a White woman in Brooklyn. When she invites him on a weekend getaway to her family's mansion in Upstate New York, Chris uncovers a series of increasingly disturbing secrets.
Striking a perfect balance of terror and comedy, Jordan Peele crafts a smart, ever-so-slightly-satirical examination of societal racism that dives deeper than the viewer expects. Get Out is a metatextual achievement in moviemaking that effectively roadmaps Peele's building of a political message into the horror genre, analyzing what "horror" means to different people.
5 Sam Raimi Reinvented A Genre With The Evil Dead (1981)
Written and directed by Sam Raimi, The Evil Dead stars Bruce Campbell as Ashley "Ash" Williams who, along with his girlfriend and three other friends vacation in an isolated, rural Tennessee cabin. There, the group inadvertently releases a flood of evil after an old book's text reawakens the dead.
The Evil Dead blends suspenseful moviemaking with black humor to hybridize a film that expertly skews the line between horror and camp. Sam Raimi bursts onto the scene with a crude cult classic that is admittedly short on story but long on unbridled gore and innovative cinematography. Thrumming with terrifying kills and quippy one-liners, The Evil Dead remains a benchmark for modern horror moviemaking.
4 Alex Garland Garnered Acclaim With Ex Machina (2014)
Written and directed by Alex Garland, Ex Machina follows a programmer who is invited by his CEO to administer the Turing test to an artificially-intelligent humanoid robot. Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, and Alicia Vikander co-star, with supporting performances from Sonoya Mizuno, Gana Bayarsaikhan, and Corey Johnson.
Alex Garland directs with an unbelievable amount of confidence and panache. Ex Machina takes familiar concepts and presents them in a deep, complex imaginative way to build a beguiling science-fiction thriller. The performances Garland pulls from his lead cast — particularly from Alicia Vikander — make for a film that plays as a profound parable about the state of humanity.
3 Greta Gerwig Gifted Audiences With Lady Bird (2017)
Written and directed by Greta Gerwig in her solo directorial debut, Lady Bird stars Saoirse Ronan as Christine MacPherson. Navigating a loving yet turbulent relationship with her strong-willed mother (played by Laurie Metcalf), Christine nicknames herself "Lady Bird" during her final year of high school.
Greta Gerwig directs one of the finest coming-of-age features of recent times with Lady Bird, establishing herself as a major talent behind the camera. Saoirse Ronan's stunning portrayal of adolescence is brought to life opposite Laurie Metcalf, whose push-pull dynamic encapsulates the turbulence of growing up with great authenticity and grace.
2 Quentin Tarantino Took Off With Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino in his feature directorial debut, Reservoir Dogs features an ensemble cast of actors playing diamond thieves whose planned jewelry heist goes horribly wrong. Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, and Michael Madsen lead the film, with supporting performances from Edward Bunker and Tarantino himself.
Reservoir Dogs opened Tarantino's filmmaking career with powerful panache and style; his first film as both writer and director succeeds with sharp, acrid dialogue and an abrasive narrative structure that veers into an almost absurdist climax. Perhaps it packs in one too many pop-culture references and is a tad too suggestive in places, but Reservoir Dogs is an in-your-face feature film debut, constituting new talent in the form of Quentin Tarantino, who’s practically saying, “Look what I can do.”
1 Orson Welles Changed The Game With Citizen Kane (1941)
Co-written, produced, directed by, and starring Orson Welles in his feature-film acting and directorial debut, Citizen Kane examines the life and legacy of newspaper magnate, Charles Foster Kane (portrayed by Welles). The film is loosely based on the life of William Randolph Hearst, who prohibited the film from being mentioned in his newspapers.
The sheer brilliance of Citizen Kane is undeniably astounding; the first screen effort from Orson Welles is so vastly different from other features of its time in terms of technique, treatment, and subject matter. The film's most resonant quality lies in its investigative process — which forever changed the way movies were made and interpreted. A milestone in motion picture moviemaking, Citizen Kane is still relevant and unique over 80 years after its initial release.