Entertainment
The Greatest Directorial Debuts Of All Time
List Rules
Only 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.
Ranked by
- 1Frank Darabont
- Actors: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown
- Released: 1994
Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover and is sentenced to a tough prison. However, only Andy knows he didn't ...more - 2Orson Welles
- Actors: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Ruth Warrick, Everett Sloane, Agnes Moorehead
- Released: 1941
When a reporter is assigned to decipher newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane's (Orson Welles) dying words, his investigation gradually reveals the fascinating portrait of a complex man who rose from ...more - 3Quentin Tarantino
- Actors: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi
- Released: 1992
A group of thieves assemble to pull of the perfect diamond heist. It turns into a bloody ambush when one of the men turns out to be a police informer. As the group begins to question each other's ...more - 4James Cameron
- Actors: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Paul Winfield, Lance Henriksen
- Released: 1984
Disguised as a human, a cyborg assassin known as a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) travels from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton). Sent to protect Sarah is Kyle Reese (Michael ...more - 5
John Lasseter- Actors: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn
- Released: 1995
Woody (Tom Hanks), a good-hearted cowboy doll who belongs to a young boy named Andy (John Morris), sees his position as Andy's favorite toy jeopardized when his parents buy him a Buzz Lightyear (Tim ...more - 6Sam Mendes
- Actors: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari
- Released: 1999
Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) is a gainfully employed suburban husband and father. Fed up with his boring, stagnant existence, he quits his job and decides to reinvent himself as a pot-smoking, ...more - 7John Huston
- Actors: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Gladys George, Barton MacLane
- Released: 1941
In this noir classic, detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) gets more than he bargained for when he takes a case brought to him by a beautiful but secretive woman (Mary Astor). As soon as Miss ...more - 8Richard Kelly
- Actors: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, James Duval, Maggie Gyllenhaal
- Released: 2001
In a funny, moving and distinctly mind-bending journey through suburban America, one extraordinary but disenchanted teenager is about to take Time's Arrow for a ride. After surviving a freak ...more - 9George A. Romero
- Actors: Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman, Keith Wayne, Judith Ridley
- Released: 1968
A disparate group of individuals takes refuge in an abandoned house when corpses begin to leave the graveyard in search of fresh human bodies to devour. The pragmatic Ben (Duane Jones) does his best ...more - 10Dan Gilroy
- Actors: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Riz Ahmed, Ann Cusack
- Released: 2014
Los Angeles denizen Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) survives by scavenging and petty theft. He stumbles into a new career as a cameraman and -- armed with a camcorder and police scanner -- begins ...more - 11Joel Coen
- Actors: John Getz, Frances McDormand, M. Emmet Walsh, Dan Hedaya, Samm-Art Williams
- Released: 1984
"Blood Simple" was the first feature film from Joel and Ethan Coen. This is the newly restored and re-edited director's cut of the film, introduced by Mortimer Young. The stylish crime thriller ...more - 12Rob Reiner
- Actors: Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, R.J. Parnell
- Released: 1984
"This Is Spinal Tap" shines a light on the self-contained universe of a metal band struggling to get back on the charts, including everything from its complicated history of ups and downs, gold ...more - 13Alex Garland
- Actors: Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander, Sonoya Mizuno, Claire Selby
- Released: 2014
Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson) a programmer at a huge Internet company, wins a contest that enables him to spend a week at the private estate of Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac), his firm's brilliant ...more - 14Spike Jonze
- Actors: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, Orson Bean, Mary Kay Place
- Released: 1999
In this quirky cult-favorite comedy, unemployed New York City puppeteer Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) reluctantly takes a temp job as a filing clerk for the eccentric Dr. Lester (Orson Bean). While at ...more - 15John Singleton
- Actors: Laurence Fishburne, Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding, Nia Long, Morris Chestnut
- Released: 1991
Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is sent to live with his father, Furious Styles (Larry Fishburne), in tough South Central Los Angeles. Although his hard-nosed father instills proper values and respect in him, ...more - 16Jordan Peele
- Actors: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones
- Released: 2017
Now that Chris and his girlfriend, Rose, have reached the meet-the-parents milestone of dating, she invites him for a weekend getaway with Missy and Dean. At first, Chris reads the family's overly ...more - 17David Lynch
- Actors: Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Allen Joseph, Jeanne Bates, Judith Roberts
- Released: 1977
Henry (John Nance) resides alone in a bleak apartment surrounded by industrial gloom. When he discovers that an earlier fling with Mary X (Charlotte Stewart) left her pregnant, he marries the ...more - 18Sam Raimi
- Actors: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, Richard DeManincor, Theresa Tilly
- Released: 1981
Ashley "Ash" Williams (Bruce Campbell), his girlfriend and three pals hike into the woods to a cabin for a fun night away. There they find an old book, the Necronomicon, whose text reawakens the dead ...more - 19Neill Blomkamp
- Actors: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James, Vanessa Haywood, Mandla Gaduka
- Released: 2009
Thirty years ago, aliens arrive on Earth -- not to conquer or give aid, but -- to find refuge from their dying planet. Separated from humans in a South African area called District 9, the aliens are ...more - 20Chad Stahelski
- Actors: Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Willem Dafoe, Dean Winters
- Released: 2014
Legendary assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) retired from his violent career after marrying the love of his life. Her sudden death leaves John in deep mourning. When sadistic mobster Iosef Tarasov ...more - 21Tim Miller
- Actors: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T.J. Miller, Gina Carano
- Released: 2016
Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is a former Special Forces operative who now works as a mercenary. His world comes crashing down when evil scientist Ajax (Ed Skrein) tortures, disfigures and transforms ...more - 22Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
- Actors: Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Alan Arkin, Abigail Breslin
- Released: 2006
The Hoover family -- a man (Greg Kinnear), his wife (Toni Collette), an uncle (Steve Carell), a brother (Paul Dano) and a grandfather (Alan Arkin) -- puts the fun back in dysfunctional by piling into ...more - 23Greta Gerwig
- Actors: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Timothée Chalamet, Lucas Hedges, Tracy Letts
- Released: 2017
A teenager (Saoirse Ronan) navigates a loving but turbulent relationship with her strong-willed mother (Laurie Metcalf) over the course of an eventful and poignant senior year of high school. - 24Billy Bob Thornton
- Actors: Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, J.T. Walsh, John Ritter, Lucas Black
- Released: 1996
Mentally disabled Karl Childers (Billy Bob Thornton) is released from the mental hospital where he has spent most of his life after murdering his mother and her lover. He soon forms a bond with Frank ...more - 25Pete Docter
- Actors: John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn
- Released: 2001
Monsters Incorporated is the largest scare factory in the monster world, and James P. Sullivan (John Goodman) is one of its top scarers. Sullivan is a huge, intimidating monster with blue fur, large ...more
