Quentin Tarantino’s Surprising Choice for Best Directorial Debut

Few are as well-placed as Quentin Tarantino to weigh in on the finest first outing by a director. Since his own arrival with Reservoir Dogs in 1992, the field has only grown more crowded. The likes of Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane, David Lynch’s Eraserhead, Sidney Lumet’s 12 Angry Men, Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless, the Coen brothers’ Blood Simple, and Dennis Hopper’s Easy Rider all spring to mind. More recently, audiences have been treated to Jordan Peele’s Get Out, Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird, Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Amores perros, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Mysterious Object at Noon. With so many contenders, settling on a single greatest debut is no small feat, even for someone with Tarantino’s credentials.

Yet, when pressed for his favourite, Tarantino made a rather basic misstep. The film he selected as the standout debut from a director was, in fact, not that filmmaker’s first feature. He’s well aware of this, of course, but it’s a detail that might not sit well with some. Tarantino’s choice? Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead.

“My favourite directorial debut, even though he did a cheapie debut movie he doesn’t like to talk about,”

he told Bret Easton Ellis, placing it ninth in his ranking of the century’s best.

“I loved how much he loved the Romero universe he recreated. The script is really terrific; it’s one of the most quotable films on this list. I still quote the line, ‘Dogs don’t look up’. It’s not a spoof of zombie movies, it’s a real zombie movie, and I appreciate the distinction.”

Debate Over Wright’s True Debut

Tarantino’s admiration for Shaun of the Dead is hardly a secret; he’s previously called it the best British film of the 21st century. However, he’s mistaken on more than one front. Not only was Shaun of the Dead Wright’s second feature-length project, but the claim that Wright prefers not to discuss his earlier work, A Fistful of Fingers, is also rather off the mark. In fact, Wright has spoken about his low-budget, spaghetti western-inspired comedy at length, contradicting the notion that he’d rather it be forgotten.

It’s not a matter of nitpicking, but accuracy. Tarantino’s suggestion that A Fistful of Fingers is a blemish best left unmentioned simply doesn’t hold up. Wright has openly discussed the film, even giving detailed interviews about its creation and legacy. The idea that Shaun of the Dead marks his true beginning is, therefore, a bit of a stretch.

Tarantino’s Enduring Enthusiasm

Despite these factual hiccups, Tarantino appears content to overlook Wright’s actual debut. Even if he had simply described Shaun of the Dead as one of his favourite films of the century, without dismissing A Fistful of Fingers, it would have made little difference to his overall point. Still, for someone with a reputation as one of Hollywood’s most passionate cinephiles, the oversight is a touch surprising.

For Tarantino, the greatest first feature he’s ever seen remains, paradoxically, a film that isn’t a debut at all. It’s a curious stance, but one that perhaps says as much about his personal taste as it does about the films themselves.