Famous Directors, Small Beginnings Pt. I – Before They Became Reputable Directors

Famous Directors, Small Beginnings (Part I) – Because, You Have to Start Somewhere…

Debut Movies of Famous Directors I

Today, the very mention of names like Tarantino, Nolan, Spielberg, Scorsese, Burton, Cameron, or Coen Brothers has us sit in attention with our ears pricked. Celebrated for their immeasurable skill behind a camera, any producer would be more than happy to finance their movies; these legendary directors would have no problem in acquiring even a half a billion dollars in production costs for their next project. But, it was not so when these geniuses were starting their careers; it was exactly the opposite.

In Hollywood, one must encounter a million rejections before finally getting that fateful break which would create history and make them a bankable director. While some found their lucky break quite quickly, others had to toil for years before they got their well-deserved due; working as video store clerks or adult theatre ushers or apprentice animators for years just to make ends meet.

Like everyone else, these directors started small. No E.T or Interstellar or Inglorious Basterds or Avatar; just films made in shorter lengths and even smaller budgets. These short films would eventually provide the spark needed to fuel their careers to ridiculous heights.

Showcasing here are the earliest pieces of works that these illustrious directors created before they became household names in Tinseltown. Buckle up, fellas, these are movies that few of us even know exist:

Stanley Kubrick (A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, 2001: A Space Odyssey)

• Day of the Fight (1951) – After a short study of boxing’s history, narrated by newscaster Douglas Edwards, we follow a day in the life of a middleweight Irish boxer named Walter Cartier.
• Flying Padre (1951) – Two days in the life of priest Father Fred Stadtmuller whose New Mexico parish is so large he can only spread goodness and light among his flock with the aid of a monoplane. The priestly pilot is seen dashing from one province to the next at the helm of his trusty Piper Cub administering guidance (his plane, the Flying Padre) to unruly children, sermonizing at funerals and flying a sickly child and its mother to a hospital.
• The Seafarer (1953) – Stanley Kubrick’s first film made in colour, lost for over forty years. The documentary extols the benefits of membership to the Seafarers International Union.

Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, Memento, Dunkirk)

• Doodlebug (1997) – In his squalid apartment, a man tries to squash with his shoe an insect of some kind that is moving around the room.
• Following (1998) – Lacking prospects, a writer begins tailing strangers, until he encounters a voyeuristic thief who takes him under his wing.

Roman Polanski (Chinatown, The Pianist, Rosemary’s Baby, Cul-De-Sac)

• Rozbijemy Zabawe (1957) – Youths get ready for a party, decorating the dance floor, cleaning out the fountain of a pond. A group of tough-looking guys watch through the high fence while the band plays jazzy rock and couples dance or kiss. With the party in full swing, over the wall comes the gang. Is there any chance they’ll join in the festivities?
• Teeth Smile (1957) – A man pretends to leave, departing down the stairs, only to return to the window after the flat’s door has closed. He again looks in the window, where a surprise awaits.
• Morderstwo (1957) – A door opens and in steps someone in a dark trench coat. He approaches a bed in the room, where a shirtless man sleeps. The intruder takes out a knife. His movements are without haste, but deliberate and efficient. Will his sleeping victim awake in time to offer resistance?
• Two Men and a Wardrobe (1958) – Two men come up from the beach carrying a large wardrobe between them. They come up into the town but not only find that accommodation is difficult to come by with their wooden travelling companion but also that both women and men shun or mistreat them.
• Lampa The Lamp (1959) – In waning winter light, a doll maker works in his shop, a kerosene lamp beside him, a jumble of dolls and doll parts, whole and broken, surrounding him. The artisan completes a repair and leaves, shuttering the shop from outside. Back inside, whispering begins. What else is in store for the shop’s seemingly lifeless denizens?

Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, E.T, Indiana Jones Trilogy)

• Escape to Nowhere (1961) – A woman indencovers into a man, because she wants to fight in World War I
• Amblin’ (1968) – A young man carrying a closely guarded guitar case befriends a free-spirited young woman while hitchhiking across the desert in southern California.

Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom)

• Bottle Rocket (1996) – A bunch of friends hatch a plan to pull off a simple robbery and go on the run. However, their ensuing escapade turns out to be far from what anyone expected.
• Hotel Chevalier (2007) – A prologue of one heartbreaking history of love and the prologue of the travel told in The Darjeeling Limited

Tim Burton (Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, Alice in Wonderland)

• Stalk of the Celery Monster (1979) – Depicts a dentist named Dr. Maxwell Payne making bloody experiments with his patients.
• Vincent (1982) – Young Vincent Malloy dreams of being just like Vincent Price and loses himself in macabre daydreams which annoys his mother.
• Frankenweenie (1984) – A young boy sets out to revive his dead pet using the monstrous power of science.

Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead, Spider-Man Trilogy, Drag Me To Hell)

• It’s Murder! (1977) – The film tells the story of a family whose uncle is murdered. The son gets everything because he’s in the will. A detective is trying to find out who murdered the uncle while avoiding ending up dead as well.
• Within the Woods (1978) – A group of friends spend a weekend at a remote cabin, and one of them accidentally desecrates an Indian burial ground. This causes him to turn into a zombie, and kill off his friends. They must band together to try and survive being massacred.

David Lynch (Mulholland Drive, Eraserhead, Twin Peaks)

• Six Men Getting Sick (1966) – A short continuously looping animation of six grotesque human figures vomiting. The film contains no plot.
• The Alphabet (1968) – A woman’s dark and absurdist nightmare vision comprising a continuous recitation of the alphabet and bizarre living representations of each letter.
• The Grandmother (1969) – A young boy plants some strange seeds and they grow into a grandmother.
• The Amputee (1974) – A double leg amputated woman sits and writes a long meandering letter while her ineffective nurse attempts to attend to her stumps.

Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Departed, Wolf of Wall Street)

• What’s a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? (1963) – A writer named Algernon buys a picture of a boat on a lake, and his obsession with it renders normal life impossible.
• The Big Shave (1967) – Also known as Viet ’67. In the process of shaving, a young man cuts himself. A lot.
• It’s Not Just You Murray! (1974) – Now middle-aged, mobster Murray looks back at his humble beginnings as a bootlegger and his rise to becoming wealthy and highly influential.

David Cronenberg (Videodrome, The Fly, A History of Violence)

• From the Drain (1967) – Sometime in the near future two veterans from some conflict engage in a conversation while sitting in a bath.
• Crimes of the Future (1970) – A man named Adrian Tripod takes a bizarre journey while searching for a kidnapped 5-year-old girl.

The Duplass Brothers (The Skeleton Twins, Creep, Baghead)

• This is John (2003) – Why is it that it can be the simplest things in life that eliminate your self-worth.
• Scrapple (2004) – Amy and Rick are playing a nice game of scrabble. Rick, however, has an overwhelming feeling of superiority. Losing is out of the question.

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So, which short films of your favourite directors have you watched already? And which ones did you have no idea about?

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Famous Directors, Small Beginnings Pt. II