25 Most Startling Independent or Foreign Directorial Debut Features
by pklose | created - 29 Dec 2010 | updated - 29 Dec 2010 | PublicThis list is limited to directors whose first full length feature was an independent or foreign language film and who subsequently continued to make other noteworthy and interesting films.
Unfortunately the list criteria caused some great films/directors to be omitted; for example "The Usual Suspects" by Bryan Singer, since he directed one unnoteworthy low budget feature a couple years earlier.
The films selected, however, do demonstrate the early promise of the associated director and feature striking visuals and/or unusual and unique scripts and characters.
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1. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
R | 99 min | Crime, Thriller
When a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn
Votes: 1,087,619 | Gross: $2.83M
by Quentin Tarantino Later notable films: Inglourious Basterds, Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction
2. Lord of the Flies (1963)
Not Rated | 92 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Schoolboys marooned on a Pacific island create their own savage civilization.
Director: Peter Brook | Stars: James Aubrey, Tom Chapin, Hugh Edwards, Roger Elwin
Votes: 20,408
by Peter Brook
3. The Draughtsman's Contract (1982)
R | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, Mystery
A young artist is commissioned by the wife of a wealthy landowner to make a series of drawings of the estate while her husband is away.
Director: Peter Greenaway | Stars: Anthony Higgins, Janet Suzman, Anne-Louise Lambert, Hugh Fraser
Votes: 11,078
by Peter Greenaway
4. Delicatessen (1991)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Crime
Post-apocalyptic surrealist black comedy about the landlord of an apartment building who occasionally prepares a delicacy for his odd tenants.
Directors: Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Marie-Laure Dougnac, Dominique Pinon, Pascal Benezech, Jean-Claude Dreyfus
Votes: 90,011 | Gross: $1.79M
by Jean-Pierre Jeunet Later notable films: Amelie
5. Diva (1981)
R | 117 min | Crime, Music, Thriller
Two tapes, two Parisian mob killers, one corrupt policeman, an opera fan, a teenage thief, and the coolest philosopher ever filmed all twist their way through an intricate and stylish French-language thriller.
Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix | Stars: Wilhelmenia Fernandez, Frédéric Andréi, Roland Bertin, Richard Bohringer
Votes: 14,307 | Gross: $0.11M
by Jean Jacques Beineix
6. Red Sorghum (1988)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama, History, Romance
When a leprous winery owner in 1930s China dies a few days after his arranged marriage, his young widow is forced to run the winery to make a living while contending with bandits, her drunkard lover, and the invading Japanese army.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Gong Li, Wen Jiang, Rujun Teng, Ji Liu
Votes: 9,868
by Yimou Zhang Later notable films: Raise the Red Lantern, Hero
7. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
Not Rated | 95 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
In the 16th century, the ruthless and insane Don Lope de Aguirre leads a Spanish expedition in search of El Dorado.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Klaus Kinski, Ruy Guerra, Helena Rojo, Del Negro
Votes: 62,233
by Werner Herzog Later notable films: Rescue Dawn
8. Eraserhead (1977)
Not Rated | 89 min | Fantasy, Horror
Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Allen Joseph, Jeanne Bates
Votes: 127,370 | Gross: $7.00M
by David Lynch Later notable films: Elephant Man, Mulholland Dr.
9. Blood Simple (1984)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies, and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh
Votes: 105,162 | Gross: $2.15M
by Joel and Ethan Coen Later notable films: True Grit, No Country For Old Men, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Fargo, The Big Lebowski
10. Crash (I) (2004)
R | 112 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Los Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss and redemption.
Director: Paul Haggis | Stars: Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Thandiwe Newton, Karina Arroyave
Votes: 448,921 | Gross: $54.58M
by Paul Haggis Later notable films: The Next Three Days
11. Amores Perros (2000)
R | 154 min | Drama, Thriller
An amateur dog fighter, a supermodel, and a derelict assassin, all separately struggling to find love, find their lives transformed by a devastating car wreck in Mexico City.
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu | Stars: Emilio Echevarría, Gael García Bernal, Goya Toledo, Álvaro Guerrero
Votes: 252,794 | Gross: $5.38M
by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu Later notable films: Babel, 21 Grams
12. Mephisto (1981)
Unrated | 146 min | Drama
In early-1930s Germany, a passionate stage actor faces a dilemma: renounce his apolitical stance and comply with the Reich's doctrine, or face oblivion. But, Faustian bargains never end well. What is the price of success?
Director: István Szabó | Stars: Klaus Maria Brandauer, Ildikó Bánsági, Krystyna Janda, Rolf Hoppe
Votes: 11,586
by Istvan Szabo
13. Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)
R | 100 min | Drama
A sexually repressed woman's husband is having an affair with her sister. The arrival of a visitor with a rather unusual fetish changes everything.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher, Laura San Giacomo
Votes: 59,418 | Gross: $24.74M
by Steven Soderbergh Later notable films: Oceans Eleven, Erin Brockovich, Solaris
14. Repo Man (1984)
R | 92 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A young punk, recruited by a car repo agency, finds himself in pursuit of a Chevrolet Malibu with a huge, $20,000 bounty--and something otherworldly stashed in its trunk.
Director: Alex Cox | Stars: Harry Dean Stanton, Emilio Estevez, Tracey Walter, Olivia Barash
Votes: 41,018 | Gross: $3.57M
by Alex Cox
15. THX 1138 (1971)
R | 86 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
In the 25th century, a time when people have designations instead of names, a man, THX 1138, and a woman, LUH 3417, rebel against their rigidly controlled society.
Director: George Lucas | Stars: Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence, Don Pedro Colley, Maggie McOmie
Votes: 54,598 | Gross: $2.44M
by George Lucas Later notable films: Star Wars, American Graffiti
16. Black and White in Color (1976)
PG | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, War
During World War I, French colonists lost in African desert decide to attack their German neighbors.
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud | Stars: Jean Carmet, Jacques Dufilho, Catherine Rouvel, Jacques Spiesser
Votes: 1,782
by Jean Jacques Annaud Later notable films: Seven Years in Tibet, Quest for Fire, Enemy at the Games
17. Europa Europa (1990)
R | 112 min | Drama, History, War
A boy in Nazi Germany, trying to conceal that he is Jewish, joins the Hitler Youth.
Director: Agnieszka Holland | Stars: Solomon Perel, Marco Hofschneider, René Hofschneider, André Wilms
Votes: 17,470 | Gross: $5.58M
by Agnieszka Holland
18. Shallow Grave (1994)
R | 89 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Three friends discover their new flatmate dead but loaded with cash.
Director: Danny Boyle | Stars: Kerry Fox, Christopher Eccleston, Ewan McGregor, Ken Stott
Votes: 66,202 | Gross: $2.88M
by Danny Boyle Later notable films: Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, Trainspotting
19. Following (1998)
R | 69 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A young writer who follows strangers for material meets a thief who takes him under his wing.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Jeremy Theobald, Alex Haw, Lucy Russell, John Nolan
Votes: 101,665 | Gross: $0.05M
by Christopher Nolan Later notable films: Inception, Memento, Batman Begins, The Prestige
20. Cube (1997)
R | 90 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A group of strangers awaken to find themselves placed in a giant cube. Each one of them is gifted with a special skill and they must work together to escape an endless maze of deadly traps.
Director: Vincenzo Natali | Stars: Nicole de Boer, Maurice Dean Wint, David Hewlett, Andrew Miller
Votes: 247,524 | Gross: $0.50M
by Vincenzo Natali
21. Control (2003)
R | 111 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A tale about a strange young man, Bulcsú, the fellow inspectors on his team, all without exception likable characters, a rival ticket inspection team and racing along the tracks - and a tale about love.
Director: Nimród Antal | Stars: Sándor Csányi, Eszter Balla, Zoltán Mucsi, Csaba Pindroch
Votes: 27,067 | Gross: $0.24M
by Nimrod Antal Later notable films: Vacancy
22. Thesis (1996)
R | 125 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
While doing a thesis about violence, Ángela finds a snuff video where a girl is tortured until death. Soon she discovers that the girl was a former student in her faculty...
Director: Alejandro Amenábar | Stars: Ana Torrent, Fele Martínez, Eduardo Noriega, Xabier Elorriaga
Votes: 42,442
by Alejandro Amenabar Later notable films: The Others, Open Your Eyes, The Sea Inside
23. Pi (1998)
R | 84 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A paranoid mathematician searches for a key number that will unlock the universal patterns found in nature.
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Sean Gullette, Mark Margolis, Ben Shenkman, Pamela Hart
Votes: 186,373 | Gross: $3.22M
by Darren Aronofsky Later notable films: Black Swan, The Wrestler, Requiem for a Dream
24. Being John Malkovich (1999)
R | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A puppeteer discovers a portal that leads literally into the head of movie star John Malkovich.
Director: Spike Jonze | Stars: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich
Votes: 353,244 | Gross: $22.86M
by Spike Jonze Later notable films: Adaptation, Where the Wild Things Are
25. Knife in the Water (1962)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama, Thriller
A couple pick up a hitchhiker on the way to their yacht. The husband invites the young man to come along for their day's sailing. As the voyage progresses, the antagonism between the two men grows. A violent confrontation is inevitable.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Leon Niemczyk, Jolanta Umecka, Zygmunt Malanowicz, Anna Ciepielewska
Votes: 23,578
by Roman Polanski Later notable films: Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby, The Pianist
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