Directorial Debut

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early works by Orson Welles such as his filming of his stage production of Twelfth Night in 1933 or his experimental short film The Hearts of Age in 1934. Often these early works were not intended for commercial release either by intent, such as film school projects or inability to find distribution.

Consequently, as television gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s, many directors began to learn their craft in this medium. Notable directors who did their first directorial work in this medium include Robert Altman, Norman Jewison, Sidney Lumet, and Alfonso Cuarón. As commercial television advertising became more cinematic in the 1960s and 1970s, many directors' early work was in this medium, including directors such as Alan Parker and Ridley Scott. With the success of MTV and the popularity of music videos from the early 1980s, this gave another avenue for directors to hone their skills. Notable directors whose early work was in music videos include David Fincher, Jonathan Glazer, Michel Gondry, and Spike Jonze.

The following symbols indicate where a director has worked in another medium prior to directing commercially.

♦ Indicates where a director has created other earlier works for television

# Indicates when a director's earlier work is uncredited

† Indicates when a director's earlier work has not been released in cinemas, for example film school productions, short films, or music videos.

Refer to individual entries for further detail.

1880s

1887

1890s

1896

1898

1900s

1901

1907

1908

1909

1910s

1920s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Unknown

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Co-directed with Robert N. Bradbury
  2. ^ Credited as Detlef Sierck
  3. ^ Co-directed with Anthony Hankey
  4. ^ Co-directed with Gunther von Fritsch
  5. ^ Co-directed with Brian Desmond Hurst
  6. ^ Co-directed with Robert Jordan Hill
  7. ^ Co-directed with Yakov Bazelyan
  8. ^ Co-directed with Abe Levitow
  9. ^ Co-directed with Bradley R. Swirnoff
  10. ^ Co-directed with Bill Melendez
  11. ^ Co-directed with Rintaro
  12. ^ Co-directed with Kenneth Tsang
  13. ^ Co-directed with Jesse Wells
  14. ^ Co-directed with Frank Lustig
  15. ^ Co-directed with David Van Taylor
  16. ^ Co-directed with Peter Farrelly
  17. ^ Co-directed with Quentin Lee
  18. ^ Co-directed with Simon Wells
  19. ^ Co-directed with Jim Wynorski
  20. ^ Co-directed with Kevin Lima
  21. ^ Co-directed with Chris Malloy and Emmett Malloy
  22. ^ Co-directed with David Daniel
  23. ^ Co-directed with Corey Yuen
  24. ^ Co-directed with Vicky Jenson and Bibo Bergeron
  25. ^ Co-directed with Andrew Adamson and Kelly Asbury
  26. ^ Co-directed with Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino
  27. ^ Co-directed with Tim Johnson
  28. ^ Co-directed with Chris Buck
  29. ^ Co-directed with Vincent Paronnaud
  30. ^ Co-directed with Ryan Fleck
  31. ^ Co-directed with Byron Howard
  32. ^ Co-directed with Stephen Andreson
  33. ^ Co-directed with Alastair Fothergill
  34. ^ Co-directed with Barry Cook
  35. ^ Co-directed with Brenda Chapman
  36. ^ Co-directed with Sam Fell
  37. ^ Co-directed with Steve Martino
  38. ^ Co-directed with Chris Buck
  39. ^ Co-directed with Guy Jenkin
  40. ^ Co-directed with Jocelyn Towne
  41. ^ Co-directed with Jennifer Yuh Nelson
  42. ^ Credited as Declan Dale
  43. ^ Co-directed with Nicholas Stoller
  44. ^ Co-directed with Conrad Vernon
  45. ^ Co-directed with Peter Ramsey
  46. ^ Co-directed with Byron Howard
  47. ^ Co-directed with Aaron Horvath
  48. ^ Co-directed with Chris Buck

References

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