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 them
00:05doing karaoke or something somewhere in their attic. All the best athletes start out on their
00:09peewee football teams. Michelangelo probably drew crude pictures of farm animals before he even
00:13heard the word Sistine Chapel. And when it comes to film directors, their first movies are usually
00:18a bit sloppy, a little underwhelming, and largely forgettable. But not these 10, though, because
00:23they basically nailed it the first time around. So let's take a look at them. I'm Jules,
00:26this is WhatCulture.com, and these are 10 overlooked 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 best known
00:38for the best picture Oscar-winning drama, 12 Years a Slave. Outside of that film, he also directed the
00:43TV anthology Small Axe, the heist movie Windows, and the sex addiction thriller Shame. However,
00:49McQueen's on-screen career started with a dirty, naked Michael Fassbender. In 2008, the director
00:55brought us Hunger, a story about the 1981 Irish Hunger and No Wash Strike. Fassbender plays Bobby
01:00Sands, a real-life IRA prisoner who died in jail as the result of the action. I mean, I could have
01:06said spoilers here, but come on, these events happened over 40 years ago. Hunger was almost
01:10unanimously well-received by critics upon its debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008. Fassbender
01:15was praised for his nuanced performance, whilst Queen was labelled as an emerging talent for his use of
01:20artistic flair to tell a story. And those critics were definitely correct, as McQueen is now one of
01:26the most treasured British film directors. He was even knighted in 2020. As for Hunger, it's very
01:31different from McQueen's later work, but still a very enjoyable, if somewhat challenging, piece of
01:36cinema. 9. Sweetie, Jane Campion
01:39The only woman to date to be nominated for two Best Director Oscars, Jane Campion is, quite simply,
01:44a legend. Her 1993 movie The Piano is a heart-wrenching period piece about a young woman sold into marriage
01:51by her father. Then, in 2021, came The Power of the Dog, the beautiful, sprawling western that
01:57challenged audiences to dislike Benedict Cumberbatch. She got started in her native New Zealand with a
02:02short film called Peel, which won the short film Palme d'Or at Cannes. She then followed this up with
02:08feature-length debut Sweetie in 1989. Now, Sweetie is about a young woman who struggles with family,
02:13romance, and life itself. So, basically everyone in their 20s, right? The titular Sweetie is played
02:18by an actor named Genevieve Lamont. And excellent name withstanding, the movie also received praise
02:23for its twisted view of family life and unconventional presentation. Being a New Zealand indie film,
02:28the movie didn't actually create much of a splash when it first arrived. However, if you like a bit
02:32of 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 more than a few
02:42times as well. Although, more often than not, he's also been in the films he's directed. What an ego,
02:47right? His first directorial effort was Play Misty for Me, which sounds like Clint really wanted
02:52somebody to pretend to be the redhead from the original Pokemon anime. Instead, the film actually
02:56stars Eastwood as a radio DJ being stalked by an obsessive fan. Instead of demanding autographs
03:01and video messages, though, the fan instead demands that Eastwood's character fall in love with
03:05her. And this goes about as well as you'd expect. Play Misty for Me is a far cry from Clintie
03:10Boy's regular roles as an all-action man. Here he plays a regular fella, completely at the mercy
03:15of his fanatical follower. And said follower is portrayed brilliantly by Jessica Walter,
03:19who was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance. The success of this film opened
03:23the door for the Dirty Harry star to helm future projects like The Bridges of Madison County,
03:28Million Dollar Baby, and Gran Torino. All of which ended up starring himself. I told you about his ego.
03:337. The Loveless, Catherine Bigelow
03:35Before stealing the show with her war drama The Hurt Locker, Catherine Bigelow was mostly known
03:40for action thrillers. She directed Point Break, the movie that gave us that steamy Reeves-Swayze
03:45bromance, and K-19 The Widowmaker, easily one of the best submarine-based films ever. And yes,
03:50I know that really that category just boils down to The Hunt for Red October and this,
03:54but come on, give me something. Bigelow's first outing as a director was The Loveless,
03:58and the film was basically about a group of bikers who roll into a small southern town.
04:02Vance, played by Willem Dafoe, becomes entangled with a local girl and her abusive father who
04:06wants to rid his settlement of the greasers once and for all. Tense, moody, and emotionally dense,
04:11The Loveless is a great entry point into the catalogue of one of modern cinema's most
04:15groundbreaking filmmakers. Also, Willem Dafoe in leather is never a bad shout, so yeah,
04:19there you go.
04:196. Hard 8
04:21Paul Thomas Anderson
04:22Not to be confused with Paul W.S. Anderson, who makes some very different films,
04:26Paul Thomas Anderson is considered one of the 21st century's greatest directors.
04:30Best known for his work on There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread, and Licorice Pizza,
04:34as well as directing music videos for Radiohead, Fiona Apple, and Haim,
04:37Anderson's work is often bleak, spotlighting realistic characters with tons of personal
04:42flaws. His first movie, 1996's Hard 8, is a bit like that, only way more extreme.
04:47It stars Philip Baker Hall as a successful Las Vegas gambler who takes a homeless man under his
04:52wing. A series of events transpired that lead to the protégé marrying a sex worker and taking a
04:56man hostage. The film is stacked to the gills with star power. Alongside Hall, there's John C. Reilly,
05:02Gwyneth Paltrow, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Samuel L. Jackson. Not bad for a first go-around,
05:07right? Exciting, gripping, and with a strong cast of enjoyable characters, Hard 8 is well worth taking
05:11a gamble on.
05:125. Blood Simple
05:14Joel and Ethan Coen are so synonymous with one another that it's genuinely unsettling when one
05:20of them does something without the other. And the siblings are responsible for some very famous films,
05:24including Barton Fink, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, the 2010 True Grit remake, and No Country for Old Men.
05:30And if you haven't heard of at least one of those, then seriously, how did you even come across this
05:34list? Their success can be traced way back to a picture from 1984 called Blood Simple. A mixture of
05:39noir crime, psychological thriller, and straight-up horror, Blood Simple is about the horrifying
05:44fallout of a bartender having an affair with his boss's wife. Do not mix business and pleasure
05:49seems to be the motto here. It's very well acted, with future Oscar winner Frances McDormand in the
05:54lead female role. It's also shot beautifully, adding a new spin to the traditional crime story
05:58formula. It's not hard to predict the brothers' trajectory based on Blood Simple. Their films
06:02continue to be dark, broody, and full of shady characters to this very day. The only difference is
06:07is that they've got a lot more money to play with. 4. Pie – 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.
06:27But one of his most overlooked entries is actually his directorial debut, Pie. Filmed in black and white,
06:31because of course it is, Pie stars Max Cohen, a mathematician obsessed with finding order and balance
06:36within the world. Because Max meets a Jewish character attempting to decode the Torah as
06:41if it was a string of code. There's a number that's meant to represent the true name of God,
06:44which comes in the form of some very big ideas for Mr. Aronofsky and crew, but he absolutely nails
06:49them. As well as making your brain hurt in a good way, Pie will also make your eyes just utterly happy
06:54in a good way as well. Beautifully shot, masterfully acted, and cleverly written, Pie is everything you
06:59would want from an Aronofsky feature. 3. Shallow Grave – Danny Boyle
07:04The Doctor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Catherine de' Medici all have to work out what to do when Lily
07:09Allen's dad dies in their apartment. Now that sounds like a recipe for success. And that's
07:13what goes down in 1994's Shallow Grave. Christopher Eccleston, Ewan McGregor, and Kerry Fox not only have
07:19to deal with Keith Allen's sudden demise, but also the large sum of money that he left behind.
07:23What follows is a grimly funny crime caper as the three friends deal with the fallout of their
07:27actions. The screenplay was written by John Hodge, and the movie was directed by Danny Boyle,
07:31who would go on to work together several more times, including on Trainspotting and The Beach.
07:35Boyle's recognition would far surpass that of his writer. He would go on to win the Best Director
07:39Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire, and very nearly directed a Bond movie. But that's another story
07:44for another time. In 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 English one
07:52will become part of the biggest franchise in sci-fi TV history.
07:562. Following – Christopher Nolan
07:58A 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 that we can
08:07call that overlooked. As for Nolan's first film, he took the Aronofsky approach and filmed 1998's
08:13following in black and white. The director went to extreme lengths to get this picture made. He made
08:17his actors heavily rehearse scenes ahead of time to save on film, he paid for equipment out of his own
08:22salary, he pitched in with editing, and he even cast his own uncle in one of the roles. Safe to say that
08:27he was keen to get the following off the ground. Once it did get off the ground, though, it went down
08:31a storm. A neo-noir crime thriller about a young man drawn into a seedy underworld, following was
08:36praised for its snappy action, atypical narrative structure, and nail-biting mystery. It also got Nolan's
08:41name out there, which allowed him to get the resources together to make his next feature film,
08:45a little picture called Memento. You might have heard of it.
08:481. 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 ever,
09:00and I guess some Hobbit movies, Peter Jackson was best known as the mind behind Brain Dead and
09:04The Frighteners. But before any of these, though, Jackson was making another movie about a group of
09:08murderous aliens harvesting human meat for use in their fast food chain, which was 1987's Bad Taste.
09:14The director also wrote this film, edited it, and played two parts, and it was backed up by
09:18future collaborators Peter Hearn and Peter Veer-Jones. In the end, Bad Taste is a funny,
09:24silly, over-the-top, low-budget comedy horror movie with plenty of laughs and gore stuffed into
09:28its 92-minute runtime. More importantly, though, it gave Jackson an entry point into the world of
09:33cinema, and for that, we are all eternally grateful. Jackson came from very humble beginnings
09:38and went on to achieve greatness, much like a certain resident of the Shire.
09:41And there we go, my friends. Those were 10 overlooked first films by great directors. I
09:45hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in the
09:48comments section below. As always, I've been Jules. You can go follow me over on Instagram
09:51at RetroJ, but the O is a zero, and you can come check out all of my Warhammer miniatures that I've
09:56been painting. I know, I am a nerd. But before I go, I just want to say one thing. Hope you're
10:00treating yourself well, my friend, and not overlooking how much of a big ledge you are. You deserve love,
10:05happiness, and success, and do not let anything or anyone else tell you otherwise,
10:08alright? I want you to go out there and smash your life goals today, because I believe in
10:12you, and you need to believe in yourself as well. As always, I've been Jules. You have
10:15been awesome. Never forget that, and I'll speak to you soon. Bye.