Added by johanlefourbe on 23 May 2011 02:04

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Best Directorial Debuts from 1921 until 2021

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1920's

1007

8.2

8.3

The Kid (1921)

directed by Charles Chaplin

Note : It is actually rather tricky for Chaplin since he directed so many short movies.

johanlefourbe's rating:

229

7.8

7.6

Strike (1925)

directed by Sergei Eisenstein

johanlefourbe's rating:

1236

7.8

7.7

An Andalusian Dog (1929)

directed by Luis Buñuel

Note : An Andalusian Dog' is actually a short movie and actually doesn't belong on this list but it had such a huge impact on the film world that I made an expection. Furthermore, it is my list so I put whatever I want...

johanlefourbe's rating:

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1930's

398

8.3

7.7

L'Atalante (1934)

directed by Jean Vigo

suggested by propelas

johanlefourbe's rating:

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1940's

2862

8.2

8.3

Citizen Kane (1941)

directed by Orson Welles

johanlefourbe's rating:

1233

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

directed by John Huston

johanlefourbe's rating:

6.8

7.4

The Murderer Lives at Number 21 (1942)

directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot

johanlefourbe's rating:

6.8

One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942)

directed by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger

Note : Actually, it is not Michael Powell's first movie, but it is Emeric Pressburger's first movie and obviously, it was the first time they directed a movie together.

157

6.9

7.1

Henry V (1944)

directed by Laurence Olivier

johanlefourbe's rating:

197

7.5

7.6

Ossessione (1943)

directed by Luchino Visconti

johanlefourbe's rating:

119

7.2

Jour de Fete

directed by Jacques Tati

suggested by propelas

johanlefourbe's rating:

133

7.5

7.4

They Live by Night (1948)

directed by Nicholas Ray

suggested by propelas

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1950's

890

8.2

The Night of the Hunter (1955)

directed by Charles Laughton

johanlefourbe's rating:

354

6.3

6.6

Killer's Kiss (1955)

directed by Stanley Kubrick

johanlefourbe's rating:

2526

8.7

12 Angry Men (1957)

directed by Sidney Lumet

johanlefourbe's rating:

274

7.9

Elevator to the Gallows

directed by Louis Malle

johanlefourbe's rating:

285

7.5

7.3

Shadows (1959)

directed by John Cassavetes

johanlefourbe's rating:

1214

8.4

8.1

The 400 Blows (1959)

directed by Francois Truffaut

johanlefourbe's rating:

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1960's

1166

7.7

Breathless (1960)

directed by Jean-Luc Godard

johanlefourbe's rating:

198

7.6

7.7

Accattone

directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini

johanlefourbe's rating:

508

8.3

8.1

Ivan's Childhood (1962)

directed by Andrey Tarkovskiy

suggested by propelas

johanlefourbe's rating:

370

7.7

7.5

Knife in the Water (1962)

directed by Roman Polanski

johanlefourbe's rating:

6.9

The Grim Reaper (1962)... (1962)

directed by Bernardo Bertolucci

johanlefourbe's rating:

113

7.8

Fists in the Pocket (1965)

directed by Marco Bellocchio

suggested by Alexandro

913

8.1

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

directed by Mike Nichols

196

6.6

6.7

Who's That Knocking at My Door? (1968)

directed by Martin Scorsese

johanlefourbe's rating:

636

7.3

7.5

The Producers (1967)

directed by Mel Brooks

johanlefourbe's rating:

1775

7.9

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

directed by George A. Romero

johanlefourbe's rating:

1379

7.5

7.3

Easy Rider (1969)

directed by Dennis Hopper

johanlefourbe's rating:

427

7.4

7.3

Take the Money and Run (1970)

directed by Woody Allen

johanlefourbe's rating:

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1970's

243

6.9

Performance (1970)

directed by Nicolas Roeg

johanlefourbe's rating:

7.7

7.6

Duel (1971)

directed by Steven Spielberg

johanlefourbe's rating:

701

6.8

6.6

THX 1138 (1971)

directed by George Lucas

johanlefourbe's rating:

373

6.9

Play Misty for Me (1971)

directed by Clint Eastwood

johanlefourbe's rating:

332

7.6

7.8

Johnny Got His Gun (1971)

directed by Dalton Trumbo

johanlefourbe's rating:

5.4

6.5

Gumshoe

directed by Stephen Frears

johanlefourbe's rating:

7.7

7.6

Duel (1971)

directed by Steven Spielberg

johanlefourbe's rating:

688

6.4

5.9

The Last House on the Left (1972)

directed by Wes Craven

johanlefourbe's rating:

317

5.9

6.2

Fritz the Cat (1972)

directed by Ralph Bakshi

johanlefourbe's rating:

892

7.8

Badlands (1973)

directed by Terrence Malick

johanlefourbe's rating:

1936

7.4

7.5

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

directed by Tobe Hooper

suggested by propelas

johanlefourbe's rating:

284

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)

directed by Michael Cimino

johanlefourbe's rating:

216

6.6

6.8

Bugsy Malone (1976)

directed by Alan Parker

johanlefourbe's rating:

1841

7.5

7.4

Eraserhead (1977)

directed by David Lynch

johanlefourbe's rating:

310

7.2

7.4

The Duellists (1977)

directed by Ridley Scott

johanlefourbe's rating:

292

6.2

Jabberwocky (1977)

directed by Terry Gilliam

johanlefourbe's rating:

3765

6.9

7.2

Grease (1978)

directed by Randal Kleiser

johanlefourbe's rating:

213

6.4

6.9

Heaven Can Wait (1978)

directed by Warren Beatty

1962

6.8

Mad Max (1979)

directed by George Miller

johanlefourbe's rating:

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1980's

488

7.6

7.7

Ordinary People (1980)

directed by Robert Redford

johanlefourbe's rating:

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Voters of this movie list - View all

In chronological order.

Some of them are widely known, some of them are more obscure. I think they are all worth a look.

You can also check this list :
- Best 2nd Directorial Effort from 1913 until 2013