One can only imagine how anxious a director is before releasing their first big movie but somehow, there are plenty of them that have gone on to deliver such great stories that they’ve been trusted in the business ever since even if they don’t tend to produce that often. As the director, it feels likely that anxiety and nerves are bound to get the best of a person since there’s so much to be done, a great deal of responsibility to worry over, and there is always the constant need to make certain that everything is going as close to according to plan as possible. But the end result sometimes shows that as hectic as things might be on camera, or not, it’s evident that everything was happening just the way it needed to in order for things to come out the way they should have. The downside of directing is that no matter how many people are pleased with a director’s work there will be plenty that will say something that will be aimed at criticizing parts of the movie that a lot of people might have felt turned out just fine. It feels as though the trick sometimes is to try and please as many people as possible and not worry too much about dissenters.
Here are five great movies that were made by first-time directors.
5. Lady Bird – Greta Gerwig
What’s funny about this movie is that a lot of young women might feel that they do or don’t identify with the main character since she’s attempting to find herself in a number of ways but is forgetting one of the most important things in life, that the respect she wants as a human being isn’t given, it’s earned. Thanks to this she has to learn the hard way that the world doesn’t really care about anyone that’s not going to take responsibility for their own life. And it’s definitely not going to respect anyone that won’t take the time to respect those that have helped them along the way, whether they wanted to or not.
4. Fruitvale Station – Ryan Coogler
This first success sparked a run from Coogler that has yet to really end since he’s been on a roll ever since, and his movies have managed to spark a great deal of interest in many people. This movie, which was based on a true story, is one that carries even more relevance right now since what happened in 2020 has only heightened the feeling that police are targeting people according to race. While that’s an argument for another day and another site, it’s simple to say that this story inspired quite a few people and incited them to keep up the idea that has become an issue but also allowed this movie to become a big hit.
3. Get Out – Jordan Peele
Peele’s words about not casting a Caucasian as a lead in his movies did spark a bit of controversy, but many have already forgotten this simply because his movies have been so impressive at this point. One thing that’s obvious is that when a director is in control they’re going to do what they feel is right and what will get the audience to react in some way. Get Out has been lauded multiple times and spoken of over and over since it was released, and while any talks of race are kind of irritating when it comes to entertainment, there are plenty that will do just this when speaking of Peele’s movies, when in truth it would be nice just to enjoy them.
2. Reservoir Dogs – Quentin Tarantino
I’ll continue to argue about Tarantino’s ‘genius’ status that so many want to foist upon him, but the guy does know how to make a movie that looks as though it came straight from the 70s since this appears to be the period that he envisions so often, even when picturing westerns. But to his credit, he’s made it work for his movies since people have turned out in droves to watch them and make certain that he’s become the icon that he is to so many. It’s still debatable as to whether he’s a genius or not, but the one thing that anyone should be able to say about Tarantino is that he knows how to make people believe in his work.
1. The Shawshank Redemption – Frank Darabont
There have been plenty of criticisms regarding this movie, and while many of them might be fair enough, there are plenty that can be disregarded since, in truth, the movie was a fun story to watch. Andy might have been a little overplayed at times, but throughout the majority of the movie, one could at least feel that his hope was wavering with every passing day and it was only a matter of time until he found a way out, in one manner or another.
Some people might do too much or too little for their first movie, but some folks manage to nail it on the head and run with it.
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