The five best debut movies of the 1980s
It’s hard to comprehend that in just a few years’ time, 1980 will have been 50 years ago. The decade doesn’t seem that far away, but things have changed a lot since then, especially the cinematic landscape.
Following the New Hollywood era of the late 1960s and 1970s, which saw many interesting new filmmakers emerge and bring a new kind of artistry to the mainstream, one less concerned with studio systems and happy endings, the industry started to turn back in on itself. With the release of blockbusters like Star Wars, Hollywood started to prioritise big movies, franchises, and special-effects-laden spectacles.
It was therefore a complicated landscape to navigate, but despite this increasingly saturated landscape of blockbusters, as well as lots of cheap, quickly-made movies ready for the emerging home video market, there were some real gems coming from first-time directors.
There was a proper variety of masterpieces nestled among the bigger movies of the era, some considerably more well-known than others, so here are five great first-time features from the 1980s.
The five best first-time features of the 1980s:
‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’<em> </em>(Amy Heckerling, 1982)
Amy Heckerling would go on to find the biggest success of her career in 1995 when she directed Clueless, but before that, she’d make her excellent directorial debut with Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which was also the debut screenplay from Cameron Crowe. Many teen movies emerged in the ‘80s, including Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles, which were debut features for Howard Deutch and John Hughes, respectively, but Fast Times was something different entirely.
While the teen-sploitation genre was gaining traction at the time, Heckerling cast a realistic eye on teenagers and looked unflinchingly at sex in a way that didn’t feel exploitative in the same way as something like Porky’s. Rather, Fast Times set a new tone for the coming-of-age teen comedy genre, tackling real issues with sincerity while also basking in good humour. It was a major turning point for the teen market in the ‘80s, and a cracking debut for Heckerling to make her mark with.
‘Alice’ (Jan Švankmajer, 1988)
After making short films for several decades, Jan Švankmajer created his feature debut in 1988 with Alice, a surreal interpretation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. The classic children’s story was the perfect source material for this unique approach to animation, which mixed live action and stop motion, with many of the design choices falling decisively on the strange side. Alice is turned into a doll, met by a bizarre sock-puppet character with brilliant teeth, and she even encounters some creepy skulls, stuffed rabbits, and marionette dolls.
It’s so incredibly unique, and to this day, remains very underrated considering its genius. Švankmajer takes such an idiosyncratic approach to crafting this dark and haunting world, yet it’s not totally scary; there’s enough childlike whimsy to make the movie feel like some distant memory of a dream from childhood that you can never fully shake.
‘Ordinary People’<em> </em>(Robert Redford, 1980)
Legendary actor Robert Redford decided to swap appearing in front of the camera for sitting in the director’s chair when he made his filmmaking debut in 1980 with Ordinary People. Considering that he had plenty of experience working with legendary directors, like Sydney Pollack and Richard Attenborough, it wasn’t a surprise that Redford’s debut would be a success, although he surely couldn’t predict just how unanimously acclaimed his first effort as a director would be.
A moving tale of a family torn apart by the death of their son, resulting in their other son trying to kill himself, the film won many prestigious awards, including ‘Best Director’ and ‘Best Picture’ for Redford at the Academy Awards. Ordinary People is easily one of the greatest debut features, not just of the 1980s, but of all time.
‘The Evil Dead’ (Sam Raimi, 1981)
When Sam Raimi was just 20 years old, he managed to secure a small budget to make his debut feature thanks to a series of short films he’d previously made to demonstrate his potential. What emerged was one of the most iconic horror movies ever made, a true staple of the genre that has since spawned many copycats, spin-offs, and sequels. Of course, I’m talking about The Evil Dead, which was a gore-filled indie hit bursting with intricate special effects, quickly garnering the attention of some notable fans, including horror legend Stephen King.
Since then, Raimi has made many successful movies, like the beloved Evil Dead II and the beloved Spider-Man trilogy from the early 2000s. While he might have stooped to questionable levels with the likes of Oz the Great and Powerful more recently, at least he has a true horror staple to show for himself, which was a pretty impressive debut that he managed to master with very little experience.
‘Withnail and I’ (Bruce Robinson, 1987)
As far as British comedies go, Withnail and I is pretty perfect. Released in 1987, it was not only the directorial debut of Bruce Robinson, but it also marked the film debuts of both actors Paul McGann and Richard E Grant. The movie follows the pair of failing young actors, Withnail and Marwood, as they take a trip to the countryside, which proves to be far from restorative.
With its rich use of dark humour, the movie has become iconic, even spawning a drinking game mirroring Withnail’s alcoholic tendencies, which is enough to have the heaviest of drinkers on the floor. The film inspired so many filmmakers and comedians in its wake, from David Fincher to Edgar Wright, but interestingly, Robinson never made another film nearly as notable. Maybe he knew he could never quite top Withnail and I.
