Beginners luck? Or just raw talent?
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00:00Now, all great artists have to start somewhere. Every great singer has a low-quality CD of
00:05them doing karaoke or something somewhere in their attic. All the best athletes start
00:08out on their pee-wee football teams. Michelangelo probably drew crude pictures of farm animals
00:13before he even heard the word Sistine Chapel. And when it comes to film directors, their
00:17first movies are usually a bit sloppy, a little underwhelming, and largely forgettable. But
00:21not these ten, though, because they basically nailed it the first time around.
00:25So let's take a look at them as I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and these are ten
00:29overlooked first films by great directors.
00:3110. Hunger – Steve McQueen
00:34Rather than the actor from The Great Escape, this Steve McQueen is a British film director
00:38best known for the Best Picture Oscar-winning drama, 12 Years a Slave. Outside of that film,
00:43he also directed the TV anthology Small Axe, the heist movie Windows, and the sex addiction
00:48thriller Shame. However, McQueen's on-screen career started with a dirty, naked Michael
00:53Fassbender. In 2008, the director brought us Hunger, a story about the 1981 Irish hunger
00:58and no-wash strike. Fassbender plays Bobby Sands, a real-life IRA prisoner who died in
01:03jail as the result of the action. I mean, I could have said spoilers here, but come
01:07on, these events happened over 40 years ago.
01:09Hunger was almost unanimously well-received by critics upon its debut at the Cannes Film
01:13Festival in 2008. Fassbender was praised for his nuanced performance, whilst Queen was
01:18labelled as an emerging talent for his use of artistic flair to tell a story. And those
01:23critics were definitely correct, as McQueen is now one of the most treasured British film
01:27directors. He was even knighted in 2020. As for Hunger, it's very different from
01:31McQueen's later work, but still a very enjoyable, if somewhat challenging piece of cinema.
01:379. Sweetie, Jane Campion
01:39The only woman to date to be nominated for two Best Director Oscars, Jane Campion is,
01:44quite simply, a legend. Her 1993 movie The Piano is a heart-wrenching period piece about
01:49a young woman sold into marriage by her father. Then, in 2021, came The Power of the Dog,
01:55a beautiful, sprawling western that challenged audiences to dislike Benedict Cumberbatch.
02:00She got started in her native New Zealand with a short film called Peel, which won the
02:04short film Palme d'Or at Cannes. She then followed this up with her feature-length debut,
02:09Sweetie, in 1989.
02:11Sweetie is about a young woman who struggles with family, romance, and life itself. So,
02:15basically, everyone in their 20s, right? The titular Sweetie is played by an actor named
02:19Genevieve Lamont. An excellent name withstanding, the movie also received praise for its twisted
02:24view of family life and unconventional presentation. Being a New Zealand indie film, the movie
02:28didn't actually create much of a splash when it first arrived. However, if you like
02:31a bit of Jane Campion, then you might have a sweet tooth for Sweetie.
02:358. Play Misty for Me, Clint Eastwood
02:37Though definitely more famous as an actor, Clint Eastwood has stood behind the camera
02:42more than a few times as well. Although, more often than not, he's also been in the films
02:46he's directed. What an ego, right? His first directorial effort was Play Misty for Me,
02:50which sounds like Clint really wanted somebody to pretend to be the redhead from the original
02:54Pokemon anime. Instead, the film actually stars Eastwood as a radio DJ being stalked
02:58by an obsessive fan. Instead of demanding autographs and video messages, though, the
03:02fan instead demands that Eastwood's character fall in love with her. And this goes about
03:06as well as you'd expect.
03:07Play Misty for Me is a far cry from Clint Eastwood's regular roles as an all-action
03:12man. Here, he plays a regular fella, completely at the mercy of his fanatical follower. And
03:16said follower is portrayed brilliantly by Jessica Walter, who was nominated for a Golden
03:20Globe for her performance. The success of this film opened the door for the Dirty Harry
03:24star to helm future projects like The Bridges of Madison County, Million Dollar Baby, and
03:29Gran Torino. All of which ended up starring himself. I told you about his ego.
03:337. The Loveless – Kathryn Bigelow
03:36Before stealing the show with her war drama The Hurt Locker, Kathryn Bigelow was mostly
03:40known for action thrillers. She directed Point Break, the movie that gave us that steamy
03:44Reeves-Swayze bromance, and K-19 The Widowmaker, easily one of the best submarine-based films
03:49ever. And yes, I know that really that category just boils down to The Hunt for Red October
03:54and this, but come on, give me something.
03:55Bigelow's first outing as a director was The Loveless, and the film was basically about
03:59a group of bikers who roll into a small southern town. Vance, played by Willem Dafoe, becomes
04:04entangled with a local girl and her abusive father, who wants to rid his settlement of
04:08the greasers once and for all. Tense, moody, and emotionally dense, The Loveless is a great
04:12entry point into the catalogue of one of modern cinema's most groundbreaking filmmakers.
04:17Although Willem Dafoe in leather is never a bad shout, so yeah, there you go.
04:206. Hard Eight, Paul Thomas Anderson
04:23Not to be confused with Paul W.S. Anderson, who makes some very different films, Paul
04:26Thomas Anderson is considered one of the 21st century's greatest directors. Best known
04:30for his work on There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread, and Licorice Pizza, as well as directing
04:34music videos for Radiohead, Fiona, Apple, and Haim, Anderson's work is often bleak,
04:39spotlighting realistic characters with tons of personal flaws. His first movie, 1996's
04:44Hard Eight, is a bit like that, only way more extreme. It stars Philip Baker Hall as a successful
04:49Las Vegas gambler who takes a homeless man under his wing, a series of events transpired
04:53that lead to the protégé marrying a sex worker and taking a man hostage. The film
04:58is stacked to the gills with star power. Alongside Hall, there's John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow,
05:02Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Samuel L. Jackson. Not bad for a first go-around, right? Exciting,
05:07gripping, and with a strong cast of enjoyable characters, Hard Eight is well worth taking
05:11a gamble on.
05:125. Blood Simple – The Coen Brothers
05:15Joel and Ethan Coen are so synonymous with one another that it's genuinely unsettling
05:19when one of them does something without the other. And the siblings are responsible for
05:23some very famous films, including Barton Fink, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, the 2010 True Grit
05:28remake, and No Country for Old Men. And if you haven't heard of at least one of those,
05:32then seriously, how did you even come across this list? Their success can be traced way
05:36back to a picture from 1984 called Blood Simple. A mixture of noir crime, psychological thriller,
05:41and straight-up horror, Blood Simple is about the horrifying fallout of a bartender having
05:45an affair with his boss' wife. Do not mix business and pleasure seems to be the motto
05:50here. It's very well acted, with future Oscar winner Frances McDormand in the lead
05:54female role. It's also shot beautifully, adding a new spin to the traditional crime
05:58story formula. It's not hard to predict the brothers' trajectory based on Blood
06:02Simple. Their films continue to be dark, broody, and full of shady characters to this very
06:06day. The only difference is that they've got a lot more money to play with.
06:104. Pye – Darren Aronofsky
06:12Pretty much every single one of Darren Aronofsky's movies is regarded as some sort of classic,
06:17except for Noah. We don't talk about Noah. Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler, Black Swan,
06:22The Whale, these movies all have their place in the hearts and minds of cinema fans. But
06:27one of his most overlooked entries is actually his directorial debut, Pye. Filmed in black
06:31and white, because of course it is, Pye stars Max Cohen, a mathematician obsessed with finding
06:36order and balance within the world. Because Max meets a Jewish character attempting to
06:40decode the Torah as if it was a string of code. There's a number that's meant to
06:43represent the true name of God, which comes in the form of some very big ideas for Mr.
06:47Aronofsky and crew, but he absolutely nails them. As well as making your brain hurt in
06:51a good way, Pye will also make your eyes just utterly happy in a good way as well. Beautifully
06:56shot, masterfully acted, and cleverly written, Pye is everything you could want from an Aronofsky
07:01feature.
07:023. Shallow Grave – Danny Boyle
07:04The Doctor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Catherine Damedici all have to work out what to do when
07:09Lily Allen's dad dies in their apartment. Now that sounds like a recipe for success.
07:13And that's what goes down in 1994's Shallow Grave. Christopher Eccleston, Ewan McGregor,
07:17and Kerry Fox not only have to deal with Keith Allen's sudden demise, but also the large
07:21sum of money that he left behind.
07:23What follows is a grimly funny crime caper as the three friends deal with the fallout
07:26of their actions. The screenplay was written by John Hodge, and the movie was directed
07:30by Danny Boyle, who would go on to work together several more times, including on Trainspotting
07:34and The Beach. Boyle's recognition would far surpass that of his writer. He would go
07:38on to win the Best Director Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire, and very nearly directed a Bond
07:43movie. But that's another story for another time.
07:45In terms of British talent before they hit it big, you really couldn't do much better
07:48than Shallow Grave. Both the Scottish director and actor would become megastars, and the
07:52English one would become part of the biggest franchise in sci-fi TV history.
07:562. Following – Christopher Nolan
07:59A few directors can match up to Christopher Nolan in terms of fanatical devotion. Maybe
08:03Quentin Tarantino, but then again his first film was Reservoir Dogs, so there's no way
08:07that we can call that overlooked. As for Nolan's first film, he took the Aronofsky
08:11approach and filmed 1998's Following in black and white. The director went to extreme
08:15lengths to get this picture made. He made his actors heavily rehearse scenes ahead of
08:19time to save on film, he paid for equipment out of his own salary, he pitched him with
08:23editing, and he even cast his own uncle in one of the roles. Safe to say that he was
08:27keen to get The Following off the ground.
08:29Once it did get off the ground, though, it went down a storm. A neo-noir crime thriller
08:33about a young man drawn into a seedy underworld, Following was praised for its snappy action,
08:38atypical narrative structure, and nail-biting mystery. It also got Nolan's name out there,
08:42which allowed him to get the resources together to make his next feature film, a little picture
08:46called Memento. You might have heard of it.
08:491. Bad Taste – Peter Jackson
08:51The man behind the epic Middle Earth series of movies started his directorial career making
08:55schlocky horror movies in New Zealand. Before making one of the greatest film trilogies
08:59ever, and I guess some Hobbit movies, Peter Jackson was best known as the mind behind
09:03Braindead and The Frighteners. But before any of these, though, Jackson was making another
09:07movie about a group of murderous aliens harvesting human meat for use in their fast food chain,
09:12which was 1987's Bad Taste. The director also wrote this film, edited it, and played
09:17two parts, and it was backed up by future collaborators Pete O'Hearn and Peter Ver
09:21Jones.
09:22In the end, Bad Taste is a funny, silly, over-the-top, low-budget comedy horror movie with plenty
09:27of laughs and gore stuffed into its 92-minute runtime. More importantly, though, it gave
09:31Jackson an entry point into the world of cinema, and for that, we are all eternally grateful.
09:36Jackson came from very humble beginnings and went on to achieve greatness, much like a
09:40certain resident of the Shire.
09:42And there we go, my friends, those were 10 Overlooked First Films by Great Directors.
09:45I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in
09:48the comments section below. As always, I've been Jules, you can go follow me over on Instagram
09:52at RetroJ, but the O is a zero, and you can come check out all of my Warhammer miniatures
09:56that I've been painting. I know, I am a nerd.
09:58But before I go, I just want to say one thing. I hope you're treating yourself well, my
10:01friend, and not overlooking how much of a big ledge you are. You deserve love, happiness,
10:05and success, and do not let anything or anyone else tell you otherwise, alright? I want you
10:09to go out there and smash your life goals today, because I believe in you, and you need
10:12to believe in yourself as well.
10:13As always, I've been Jules, you have been awesome, never forget that, and I'll speak
10:17to you soon. Bye.