When a director becomes famous, it’s often quite fascinating to go back to their very first project to see if that spark of genius and talent existed there! Here are six debut films from some directors you may know…

George Lucas: THX-1138 (1971)

From our review: “I enjoyed the subtlety in this film. Simple, yet chilling announcements made over the speakers, disorienting sets and background images made this one unsettling future. I didn’t miss today’s blockbuster flashiness of the scenery and dialogue that smacks the audience over the head with ‘We’re trying to be epic! And meaningful! Social commentary!! Syyyymbolismmmm!!!'”

David Lynch: Eraserhead (1976)

From our review: “Lynch is notoriously pompous about this piece of work, and snidely dismisses those who dare critique it. Well I have news for him: If you make your dialogue inaudible, your picture fuzzy and ill-lit, and your scenes incomprehensible, then counter those things by calling it ‘art’ and dismissing your critics by saying they ‘don’t get it’ you just come off as someone who did a bad job and is making excuses for it.”

Tim Burton: Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)

From our review: “Burtonophiles will immediately recognize aspect of production that would become staples of his later works. Creepy backgrounds, odd characters, and a fondness for stop-motion animation are just a few examples, but unlike later Burton outings, Pee Wee’s presence gives the whole production a kind of zany, colorful wackiness. Reubens has a knack for comedy that very few people give him credit for.”

Chris Columbus: Adventures In Babysitting (1987)

From our review: “I don’t know how someone could NOT like this movie. Sure, it’s not a serious, stuffy drama that makes you cry your eyes out with every other scene, but how many of those can you really watch before your tearducts dry up and you want to kill yourself? This is a classic ’80s movie, steeped in clever dialogue and outrageous situations, much in the tradition of Goonies and the Indiana Jones movies.”

Quentin Tarantino: Reservoir Dogs (1992)

From our review: “QT’s fans will tell you that they love his movies for exactly that reason: the dialogue. But when the dialogue threatens to dominate completely, I might as well be listening to it on my car radio. Pop king or not, Reservoir Dogs is pointlessly boring with sporadic bits of action, and QT should have retired after making it.”

Wes Anderson: Bottle Rockets (1996)

From our review: “Watching Bottle Rocket, you get a general sense of the fun things Wes like to do to make his movies distinctly his own — namely, slow-mo sequences of average, non-spectacular characters, like badass action movies set to indie rock. He loves awkward characters, who fall down, who mess up, who fall at their outlandish dreams. You notice a fondness for Spanish, a love of underwater shots, and a strong BFF-ship with the Wilson family.”