The first films of 10 famous directors

 (As always, Spoiler alert just in case.)

I've had a bit of a strange week this week. I've had a job change dates, get cancelled, and I've had to deal with the tail end of a hurricane, but in amongst the chaos, I've begun work on my very first short film. I'm very excited about this, and so I thought it would be fun to look at the first films of 10 famous directors (in no particular order). I hope these will surprise you, as much as they surprised me. (Please note, these are according to their official filmography pages as movies they directed on IMDB, Rotten tomatoes, and Wikipedia.)

1. Quentin Tarantino

My favorite director of all time, you might know him for such films as...... 

 

......but did you know that his first film was called...

A black and white film, it was written by Quentin Tarantino and Craig Hamann back when the former was working at the now defunct Video Archives in Manhattan Beach in 1984. Originally meant to be 70 minutes long, it was cut down to 36 due to some of the footage being lost in a fire. It has been shown at several film festivals, but has never had a proper DVD release. You can however watch in on Youtube here

2. George Lucas

A legend in the eyes of millions, he is best known for these two franchises...

...and yet his first film is one that a lot of people probably never heard of...

Made in 1971, it was not only his first film, but his first foray into science fiction. Originally not well received at the time, it slowly started to gain more positive reviews over time and is now considered a classic. THX is also the name of George Lucas's audio video company that used to blare at us in movie theatres.

3. Steven Spielberg

Another legendary filmmaker, you might know him for such films as...

...but his first (theatrically released) film was

Released in 1968, it's a short love story set during the hippie era that follows a young couple making their way through the desert to a beach. The film is silent except for an acoustic guitar driven soundtrack. The film was shown at several festivals, and lead to Spielberg signing a seven year contract with universal pictures. Also, later years, Spielberg named his company after this movie - Amblin Entertainment.

4. Stanley Kubrick

Considered to be a master filmmaker, he is known for such films as...

...and his first film is...

Made in 1953, this military action/adventure film was not only his first film, but it's also one of his least seen productions. Why? In the years following it's release, distributor Joseph Burstyn died and his company went out of business, which drove Kubrick to buy all known prints of the film, supposedly to prevent it from being seen again. It did not have another screening until 1993.

5. Clint Eastwood

Although better known for acting, he has directed such films as....

...yet his directing career began earlier than even I expected with his first directing job on

Clint Eastwood, having already been in the business for seventeen years at this point in his career, he and Malpaso Productions co-founder Irving Leonard discussed making a final film before the latter's death that would see Eastwood have the artistic control he desired. The film, being essentially a stalker film, paved the way for other stalker films such as Fatal Attraction.

6. Francis Ford Coppola

Another legend, he is best known for these two films...

... and the first film he directed believe it or not was...

I have to admit, there isn't much info on this one, but all you need to know is that it's a western softcore comedy. I'll let you decide what they mean by softcore. His first feature film came later with Dementia 13 which was produced by Roger Corman.

7. Alfred Hitchcock

The Master of Suspense himself, you might know him for such films as...

...but his first film was called Number 13.

No known poster, this is one of the few production pictures

The first film he was given the job of directing, it was cancelled after only a handful a scenes were shot. His second film The Mountain Eagle, is a lost film, meaning that his first two films will never be seen in this day and age. Luckily we have many other of his films to watch.

8. Martin Scorsese

Considered an influential filmmaker, he is known for such films as...

...but his first film was...

Originally titled I Call First, it was not only the debut film of Harvey Keitel, it won the 1968 Chicago Film Festival, and it was also the first film Roger Ebert ever reviewed.

9. James Cameron

Mostly known nowadays for helping pioneer 3D, he is also known for such films as...

...but his first film was...

In 1977, James Cameron saw Star Wars, and became upset over the film as he thought someone else had created a film that he should have made. This motivated him to study how the effects of Star Wars were made and got him to study special effects at the University of Southern California. The film landed him a job working with Roger Corman, and the rest is history.

10. Ridley Scott

Known mostly for such films as...

...his first film was...

Made in 1977, the film is based on the Joseph Conrad short story The Duel (titled Point of Honor in the United States) which itself originated from the real duels that two French Hussar officers fought in the Napoleonic era.

So there we go. Ten Directors and the first films they directed. This was another long one for me, but I hope you folks enjoyed the effort. I already have my next idea in mind (sort of), and I hope I can post it soon.

Until then, have a good one