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Here is a list of notable directors who made their film debuts with popular and obscure films from the 1980s. Link: List of directorial debuts on Wikipedia
1980 Taylor Hackford - The Idolmaker Harold Ramis - Caddyshack Robert Redford - Ordinary People (Oscar winner) Roger Spottiswoode - Terror Train
1981 James Cameron - Piranha II: The Spawning Hugh Hudson - Chariots of Fire (Oscar nominee) Lawrence Kasdan - Body Heat Michael Mann - Thief
1982 Richard Benjamin - My Favorite Year Amy Heckerling - Fast Times at Ridgemont High Barry Levinson - Diner Garry Marshall - Young Doctors in Love Sam Raimi - Evil Dead
1983 James L. Brooks - Terms of Endearment (Oscar winner) Martha Coolidge - Valley Girl Curtis Hanson - Losin' It Tony Scott - The Hunger Barbra Streisand - Yentl
1984 Joel & Ethan Coen - Blood Simple James Foley - Reckless John Hughes - Sixteen Candles Roland Joffe - The Killing Fields (Oscar nominee) Leonard Nimoy - Star Trek III: The Search for Spock Rob Reiner - This Is Spinal Tap
1985 Tim Burton - Pee-wee's Big Adventure
1986 David Anspaugh - Hoosiers Howard Deutch - Pretty in Pink Spike Lee - She's Gotta Have It Penny Marshall - Jumpin' Jack Flash John McTiernan - Nomads Edward Zwick - About Last Night
1987 Emile Ardolino - Dirty Dancing Chris Columbus - Adventures in Babysitting Danny DeVito - Throw Momma from the Train
1988 Mike Figgis - Stormy Monday Donald Petrie - Mystic Pizza
1989 Kenneth Branagh - Henry V (Oscar nominee) Jeremiah S. Chechik - National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Cameron Crowe - Say Anything Joe Johnston - Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Michael Lehmann - Heathers Jim Sheridan - My Left Foot (Oscar nominee) Steven Soderbergh - Sex, Lies & Videotape
Posts: 4119 | From: Willimantic, CT | Registered: Oct 2010 | Site Updates: 0
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Good topic! How many of these directors who debuted in the 80's turned out to be great directors with a good body of work? Working from 89 back to 80, I'd go with Soderbergh, Crowe, Lee, Burton, Reiner, Hughes, the Cohen Brothers, Hanson, Brooks, Raimi, Levinson, Mann, Kasdan, and Cameron. (I might give Tony Scott and Figgis honorable mention. Too bad about Lehmann's career. When I saw "Heathers," I really thought he was going to be something. I was wrong.)
Posts: 2008 | From: Dixieland | Registered: Oct 2008 | Site Updates: 0
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Yeah too bad for Michael Lehmann. The only other film of his other than "Heathers" that is actually good was "The Truth About Cats & Dogs" with Janeane Garofalo, Uma Thurman and Ben Chaplin. The rest (ie. "Hudson Hawk", "Airheads", "Because I Said So") were total crap.
Posts: 4119 | From: Willimantic, CT | Registered: Oct 2010 | Site Updates: 0
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Too bad about Lehmann's career. When I saw "Heathers," I really thought he was going to be something. I was wrong.)
