# What directors first movie was the best?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [October 21, 2003, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791 "2003-10-21T23:30:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2003, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791/1 "2003-10-21T23:30:21Z")
Coppala? Tarentino? Speilberg?
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### Author:  [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2003, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791/2 "2003-10-21T23:54:46Z")
Wasn’t _Citizen Kane_ Orson Wells’ first movie? I’d have to go with that one.
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### Author:  [@CyberPundit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyberPundit)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2003, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791/3 "2003-10-21T23:55:34Z")
What were the first films of these three? I don’t think I have seen them. David Lean’s debut: In Which we Serve is pretty good.
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### Author:  [@Jabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jabba)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791/4 "2003-10-22T01:16:25Z")
Is the question “For which directors is it true that their first film is their best?”, or is it “Considering all films which are their director’s first, which is the best?”?
_Citizen Kane_ is clearly a strong contender on both counts, as is _the Maltese Falcon_ ( 1941 version, of course). Also, I don’t think that Quentin Tarantino has ever bettered _Reservoir Dogs_ or that Baz Luhrmann has improved on _Strictly Ballroom_.
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### Author:  [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791/5 "2003-10-22T01:26:34Z")
Spike Jonze has a lot of work left in him, but I think he’ll find it hard to top _Being John Malkovich_.
Darren Aronofsky’s _Pi_ was also an amazing first work.
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### Author:  [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791/6 "2003-10-22T01:47:57Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Jabba \*
> **Is the question "For which directors is it true that their first film is their best?"**
If it is, as much as I love _Much Ado About Nothing_ and _Hamlet,_ I don’t think Kenneth Branagh has topped _Henry V_ yet…
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### Author:  [@gyt\_fx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gyt_fx)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791/7 "2003-10-22T05:00:43Z")
Tarantino’s Reservoir dogs… was great
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### Author:  [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791/8 "2003-10-22T05:20:56Z")
Not only is Charles Laughton’s first film, **Night of the Hunter** , his _best_ film, it’s his _only_ film. And it’s one of my ten favorite movies, so good job, Chuck.
Of the three directors listed, I think Tarantino made the strongest debut, but both Spielberg and Coppola have made better films than Tarantino’s best. (Not by a wide margin, though.)
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### Author:  [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791/9 "2003-10-22T05:46:39Z")
Terrence Malick, **Badlands**
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### Author:  [@Kipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kipper)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791/10 "2003-10-22T06:36:45Z")
Ridley Scott’s The Duelists
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### Author:  [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791/11 "2003-10-22T08:11:57Z")
In general, I’d say Tarantino and _Reservoir Dogs_, but I must give a bonus prive to Spielberg and _Duel_, simply for the creativity of the latter.
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### Author:  [@sirtonyh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sirtonyh)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791/12 "2003-10-22T08:18:44Z")
I’ll have to go with Orson Welles for _Citizen Kane_ whilst giving kudos to Quentin Tarantino for Reservoir Dogs and Kevin Costner for Dances With Wolves
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### Author:  [@Rainbowthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rainbowthief)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791/13 "2003-10-22T08:25:01Z")
David Lynch, _Eraserhead_
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### Author:  [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791/14 "2003-10-22T14:36:32Z")
I’d have to go with Charles Laughton, among those mentioned (though it’s a pretty limited pool so far: where’s _The 400 Blows_? or _Breathless_? or _My Name Is Ivan_?). _Night of the Hunter_ outshines _Kane_, _Pi_, _Eraserhead_, _Reservoir Dogs_, and even my second favorite mentioned so far, _Badlands_, but a long shot.
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### Author:  [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791/15 "2003-10-22T14:39:31Z")
“but” ??? _by_
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791/16 "2003-10-22T14:49:01Z")
> [@](#):
>
> In general, I’d say Tarantino and Reservoir Dogs, but I must give a bonus prive to Spielberg and Duel, simply for the creativity of the latter.
**Duel** was a made-for-TV movie. Does it count? Then how about the episode of **Night Gallery** he did (It was from the opening extra-long entry, and is arguably a TV-movie), or the sf-episode of **The Name of the Game**? Both of these preceded Duel. (As did a lot of other TV episodes I never heard of, apparently – see [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000229/](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000229/) )
Arguably, **Amblin’** was his first film, and a favorite of his, since he named his company after it. The first “commercial” film listed for him is **The Sugarland Express**.
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### Author:  [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791/17 "2003-10-22T14:55:04Z")
Preston Sturges’ _The Great McGinty_ (1940) was nothing to be sneezed at.
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### Author:  [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791/18 "2003-10-22T14:55:04Z")
On a more obscure front…how about Michael Lehmann whose first feature was [Heathers](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097493/) in 1989. His resume since includes Hudson Hawk, My Giant, and 40 Days and 40 Nights.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791/19 "2003-10-22T14:57:42Z")
> [@](#):
>
> In general, I’d say Tarantino and Reservoir Dogs, but I must give a bonus prive to Spielberg and Duel, simply for the creativity of the latter.
**Duel** was a made-for-TV movie. Does it count? Then how about the episode of **Night Gallery** he did (It was from the opening extra-long entry, and is arguably a TV-movie), or the sf-episode of **The Name of the Game**? Both of these preceded Duel. (As did a lot of other TV episodes I never heard of, apparently – see [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000229/](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000229/) )
Arguably, **Amblin’** was his first film, and a favorite of his, since he named his company after it. The first “commercial” film listed for him is **The Sugarland Express**.
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### Author:  [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-directors-first-movie-was-the-best/208791/20 "2003-10-22T15:16:36Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Eve \*
> \*\*Preston Sturges’ _The Great McGinty_ (1940) was nothing to be sneezed at. \*\*
Forgot about that, oddly enough, even though I’ve watched _Miracle of Morgan’s Creek_ three times this week.
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