First Films

I watched the very good "Maria Full Of Grace" last night on DVD and found out that it was the directors first feature film. Which got me to thinking that this may very well be the year of the new director. This year more than any in recent memory has been loaded with very good films by new directors. Garden State, Primer, Shaun Of The Dead, and the afore mentioned Maria Full Of Grace are just a few of the onslaught of quality first films. Which got me to thinking about what are some of the best first film by a director ever made. Here are what I have come up with as the best first films of all time...

• The Kid - Charles Chaplin (1921)
• Nanook Of The North - Robert Flaherty (1922)
• Citizen Kane - Orson Welles (1941)
• The Maltese Falcon - John Huston (1941)
• Night Of The Hunter - Charles Laughton (1955)
• Breathless - Jean-Luc Godard (1959)
• The 400 Blows - Francois Truffaut (1959)
• Shadows - John Cassavetes (1959)
• Badlands - Terrence Malick (1973)
• Blood Simple - The Coen Brothers (1984)
• Sex, Lies And Videotape - Steven Soderbergh (1989)
• Roger & Me - Michael Moore (1989)
• Reservoir Dogs - Quentin Tarentino (1992)
• Hoop Dreams - Steve James (1994)
• American Beauty - Sam Mendes (1999)
• Thirteen - Catherine Hardwick (2003)

Let me know what great first features should have also been on here by clicking the comment button. Come on do it, it won't bite you. That's all for now as it is New Years Eve and I'm off to party. Hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year.