Summer of Film Debuts

Happy (almost) summer, everyone!

Let the months of taking it a little easier begin. For me, summer is the time to catch up on all the things I've put on the backburner during the school year. Things like watching movies, or rather watching *more* movies. Summer is also a grand opportunity for rising filmmakers to make a movie or two, which is even part of the premise of the J.J. Abrams movie "Super 8" (2011).

In view of this, I thought I'd try something new on "The Magic of Film". Every Friday this summer, going from today to the 20th of September, I'm going to be posting a review of an acclaimed director's first theatrically released film. I won't say what movies I'm posting and when, you'll have to find out for yourself. But some of the directors I'll be focusing on are Terrence Malick, Stanley Kubrick, Quentin Tarantino, Jean-Luc Godard, The Coen Brothers, etc.

A director's debut isn't always their most remembered film, but it's one of their most important. It's their trial run in the field of filmmaking, and it takes so much courage to make. It's exciting, terrifying, and wonderful at the same time. It's also fun to watch a director's debut after they've launched a successful career for themselves, and look for elements that might have blossomed into prominent motifs in their later films. For example, would the colorful shots, quirky characters and moral dilemmas featured in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Hard Eight" (1996) reappear in "Boogie Nights" (1997), "Magnolia" (1999), or "There Will Be Blood" (2007)? In some cases, a director's debut may be very different from their other films. After making a high school coming of age film like "American Graffiti" (1973), would've thought George Lucas would become famous for the "Star Wars" trilogy?

I've chosen a wide variety of directors to honor this summer, including Classic Hollywood, modern, foreign, and independent filmmakers. In addition to being directors I really like and admire, they have also left very distinct marks on filmmaking. Some of these marks are so deep you don't even notice them when you see them. Whether you know it or not, every time you see a movie today with highly philosophical themes, you are seeing the impact of the French New Wave of the 1950s and '60s, of which Jean-Luc Godard is one the pioneering filmmakers. Whenever you see a summer action blockbuster, you are seeing the impact of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Many of the films I'll be reviewing are some of the films from which modern cinema draws such a heavy influence, while some are among the director in question's lesser known work. But whether they are well known films are not, they are all the starting points of incredible artists.

While I can't possibly honor all of the most inspiring and domineering creators in the film industry in a single summer, the directors I'll be honoring are some of my favorites, and ones that I have the most fun discussing. You might not agree with or be enchanted with all of these choices, but hopefully I can at least convince you to look at the work of all of these amazing artists in another light.