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The Greatest Directorial Debuts Of All Time

Updated December 23, 2020 8.9k votes 622 voters 7.6k views126 items

List RulesOnly feature-length films.

Believe it or not, some of the greatest films of all time were also some of the greatest directorial debuts to date. It's not too often a director's first go at overseeing an entire production ends up on a list of the best movies, but it does happen. Considering this, we've probably all seen an awesome movie and thought, "What a great job by the director" without even realizing it was the director's first movie. Regardless of what thoughts you might have had, below you'll find a list of who are now famous directors' first movies. Just consider that next time you watch one of these top flicks of the past.

From hilarious comedies to full-on thrillers, these debut films from top directors would be impressive even if they weren't the directors first. Just take a look at some of the great movies on the list. Does the classic Reservoir Dogs ring a bell? Yep, that was Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut. How about the 2018 hit Get Out? Sure enough, Jordan Peele of Key & Peele nailed it on his first crack at directing. And that's only the start of a long list of incredible debuts.

While you may find many of them surprising, check out the list of directorial debuts below and vote up the films you find most impressive.

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Citizen Kane
Orson Welles
Actors: Orson Welles, Alan Ladd, Agnes Moorehead, Joseph Cotten, Arthur O'Connell
Released: 1941
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film produced by, co-written by, directed by and... more on Wikipedia
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97
The Shawshank Redemption
Frank Darabont
Actors: Morgan Freeman, Rita Hayworth, Tim Robbins, Clancy Brown, James Whitmore
Released: 1994
The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont... more on Wikipedia
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Reservoir Dogs
Quentin Tarantino
Actors: Quentin Tarantino, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen
Released: 1992
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Get Out
Jordan Peele
Actors: Daniel Kaluuya, Catherine Keener, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones
Released: 2017
Get Out is a 2017 American horror film directed by Jordan Peele. A young African-American... more on Wikipedia
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22
Toy Story
John Lasseter
Actors: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Penn Jillette, Annie Potts
Released: 1995
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The Maltese Falcon
John Huston
Actors: Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Mary Astor, Walter Huston, Ward Bond
Released: 1941
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Eraserhead
David Lynch
Actors: Jack Nance, Jeanne Bates, Jack Fisk, Charlotte Stewart, Judith Anna Roberts
Released: 1977
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151
97
American Beauty
Sam Mendes
Actors: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Mena Suvari, Allison Janney, Chris Cooper
Released: 1999
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54
Boyz n the Hood
John Singleton
Actors: Ice Cube, Angela Bassett, Cuba Gooding Jr., Laurence Fishburne, Nia Long
Released: 1991
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Nightcrawler
Dan Gilroy
Actors: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Riz Ahmed, Bird York
Released: 2014
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Night of the Living Dead
George A. Romero
Actors: George A. Romero, Duane Jones, Bill Hinzman, Karl Hardman, Judith O'Dea
Released: 1968
Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent zombie horror film directed by George... more on Wikipedia
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Breathless
Jean-Luc Godard
Actors: Jean Seberg, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean-Pierre Melville, Daniel Boulanger
Released: 1960
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81
Ex Machina
Alex Garland
Actors: Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac
Released: 2015
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123
82
John Wick
Chad Stahelski, David Leitch
Actors: Keanu Reeves, Willem Dafoe, Adrianne Palicki, Bridget Moynahan, Ian McShane
Released: 2014
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Duel
Steven Spielberg
Actors: Dennis Weaver, Jacqueline Scott, Lou Frizzell, Eugene Dynarski, Eddie Firestone
Released: 1971
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Donnie Darko
Richard Kelly
Actors: Drew Barrymore, Ashley Tisdale, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Seth Rogen
Released: 2001
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This Is Spinal Tap
Rob Reiner
Actors: Billy Crystal, Fran Drescher, Anjelica Huston, Dana Carvey, Rob Reiner
Released: 1984
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Being John Malkovich
Spike Jonze
Actors: Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, Charlie Sheen, Sean Penn, Winona Ryder
Released: 1999
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Lady Bird
Greta Gerwig
Actors: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet
Released: 2017
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District 9
Neill Blomkamp
Actors: Sharlto Copley, Jed Brophy, Vanessa Haywood, John Sumner, William Allen Young
Released: 2009
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Badlands
Terrence Malick
Actors: Charlie Sheen, Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Emilio Estevez, Terrence Malick
Released: 1973
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Blood Simple
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Actors: Holly Hunter, Frances McDormand, M. Emmet Walsh, Dan Hedaya, John Getz
Released: 1984
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Seven Servants
Daryush Shokof
Actors: Anthony Quinn, Audra McDonald, David Warner, Alexandra Stewart, Sonja Kirchberger
Released: 1996
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The Evil Dead
Sam Raimi
Actors: Bruce Campbell, Sam Raimi, Ted Raimi, Scott Spiegel, Ellen Sandweiss
Released: 1981
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Hereditary
Ari Aster
Actors: Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, Ann Dowd, Milly Shapiro
Released: 2018
Hereditary is a 2018 American horror film directed by Ari Aster. As an overwhelming terror... more on Wikipedia
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