I enjoy making top five lists. I realize this sort of thing comes off as hacky, but I’ve found that creating and sharing film lists with others opens up avenues of conversation that can deepen our understanding of one another as cinephiles. That said, I welcome readers to share their lists with me, discredit mine to their liking, and generally partake in the discussion. My list, or any list for that matter—including the much-lauded Sight and Sound Poll—is by no means some sort of final word. It’s also not some garish attempt at canonization on my behalf. I’m just having fun here.
For this post, I decided on the theme of “Top Five Debut Films”—my favorite first features, thereby excluding short films. It also excludes first films that are also a director’s only film, so no Night of the Hunter, for instance.