Some film directors are able to
maintain success over several decades and get bums on seats or haul awards for
almost every film. A select few are able to do both. Whether successful or not,
every director has to start somewhere. Steven Spielberg started promisingly
with Duel in 1971 and Martin
Scorsese’s debut Who’s That Knocking at My Door has its charms but neither film set the world alight. Some
director’s though burst onto the scene with critically acclaimed works in what
is their debut feature. With often minimal experience, little support and tight
budgets, several directors have created debut films which astound audiences and
critics alike. Here are Six of the Best…
Although he had shot the amateur My Best Friend’s Birthday in the mid to
late 1980s, Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs
was his first real feature. A dialogue driven heist movie, the film was a hit
on its initial release and has since gained cult status. Many of the tropes that
have come to define the director’s career are evident in the movie and a lot of
people, including myself, still consider it amongst his best work. Its bold,
violent approach set it apart from the action heavy thrillers of the time and
an impeccably neat script not only impressed audiences but also the actor
Harvey Keitel who liked it so much that he co-funded, produced and agreed to
star in the movie. The direction is slightly more conventional than in his
later work but is still recognisably ‘Tarantino’ with long, slow dialogue heavy
scenes interspersed with frantic action and innovative camera movement. Reservoir Dogs was released independent
of the major studios and as such it afforded the director the freedom rarely
found in modern cinema to follow his ideas through to completion unmolested.
