rustyscout34 said:Topics starting with S. The best. I feel like there should be a law to ban this kind of thing, but honestly, I’ve always been a bit skeptical about bans. In my experience, they rarely work out the way people hope they will. 🙂
You've got a point there. Honestly, it might be better if they were just called "debut films." If that’s something that can be updated, maybe the moderators could make the change if they aren't against it.
rustyscout34 said:The first few names that come to mind—though they probably aren't even worth mentioning in the same breath as legends like Welles, Huston, or Lumet—would be Polanski's. A knife in the water.It’s like watching a Tarantino film—you know exactly what kind of ride you're in for, and that's half the fun. Reservoir DogsIñárrituov Love's Dogs I’m such a huge fan of von Donnersmarck’s movies. The Lives of Others 🙂
There are still plenty more out there.
Of course they deserve it! Everything happens when it’s meant to. And honestly, you really picked some winners with those movie suggestions. It's a great mix—a little bit of that classic 60s vibe, some 90s staples, and then moving into the 2000s. Great selection.👍
I only mentioned that to serve as an introduction.
neonsurfer6 said:If I remember correctly, Godard’s *Breathless* was his first feature film. It definitely deserves a spot on any serious ranking of great cinema. I also think Linklater’s *Slacker* belongs on those lists—not just for the style, but for the sheer guts it took to make. Putting your own money behind a weird, experimental debut like that? That kind of raw enthusiasm is something you really have to respect.🙂
I feel like I could spend days just picking apart a Godard film. There’s so much to dig into—not just what happens on screen, but how his style fundamentally reshaped the way movies are made and how they continue to influence directors today. It's one of those subjects where you always find something new to talk about.
If anyone's looking to drop a quick movie review, just go for it! I'm all ears.
I honestly think the movie hit every single note Godard was aiming for. Everything from that classic black-and-white aesthetic to the existentialist undertones and even the pacing felt spot on. It was perfect. I know some people argue that this kind of style feels dated by today's standards, but I just don't see it that way. Early Godard is timeless—at least in my book. It’s flawless.
I haven't actually sat down to watch Slacker yet—at least, I can't recall seeing it—but now that I’ve seen a bit about it, I definitely feel a pull to check it out. I realized I’ve really let Linklater’s filmography slip through my fingers; I honestly don't even know what he's been up to lately. My main memories of him go all the way back to his 90s era. I remember catching Suburbia on TV a few times growing up and thinking it was pretty solid, or renting Newton Boys on VHS back in the day—it had a great poster, though I wasn't exactly blown away by the movie itself. Most of that feels like a lifetime ago, though.
Out of the ones I listed here:
First off, I have to give my vote to Citizen Kane.
The main reason I hold both Welles and Kane in such high regard is that Orson Welles was only 26 years old when he wrote, directed, and starred in it. People have already written entire books about his technical mastery—the camera angles, the framing, the editing style...
Honestly, I don't care much for the "greatest film ever made" label. In fact, it seems like that flattering title actually caused him more trouble than good. I get the feeling there’s this strange counter-effect where people end up hating the movie just because of the hype surrounding its reputation. Everyone talks about the title, but they forget to actually watch the film.
I know a million people have already mentioned this and paid their respects, but hey—I had to join in!
The Maltese Falcon is one of those films, along with a few others, that played a huge role in making me fall in love with black-and-white cinema in general.
Once again, it gets tied to a specific label—being the first true film noir. You could go on forever about that, but I'll leave that argument to the enthusiasts. I already covered my thoughts on that back in 2010, and I'm not looking to repeat myself.
12 Angry Men belongs to a young Sidney Lumet, who was pretty much an unknown at the time, and Henry Fonda, who stepped up to handle the production himself. When you're filming a movie set entirely in a single room, you need incredibly strong characters and sharp dialogue to make it work, and this film delivers exactly that.
Eraserhead is a totally unique, homegrown masterpiece. It's one of those films that I can't quite fit into a box, whether you're looking at it through genre or historical context. It's simply a film by a director who was, and remains, a one-of-a-kind phenomenon. The great David Lynch!
That atmosphere, the set design, that minimalism, the sheer conceptual madness!