Tarantino's Pick for Best Debut Film Has One Big Problem

Quentin Tarantino certainly knows a thing or two about making a splash with a first film, having unleashed Reservoir Dogs on the world in 1992. So when he weighs in on the single greatest directorial debut in movie history, people listen. It's a crowded field, with legendary first features like Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane, Sidney Lumet’s 12 Angry Men, and the Coen brothers’ Blood Simple all in the running. More recent masterpieces, from Jordan Peele’s Get Out to Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird, only make the decision tougher. Picking just one is a tall order, even for a film historian of Tarantino's caliber.

An Unexpected Pick with a Factual Flaw

But the acclaimed director made a fundamental error when naming his top choice. He overlooked a key detail about the film he selected, a detail that technically disqualifies it from the conversation entirely. Speaking with Bret Easton Ellis, Tarantino championed Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead as his favorite first feature, even ranking it as his ninth-best film of the century.

“My favourite directorial debut, even though he did a cheapie debut movie he doesn’t like to talk about,” he explained. “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.” The problem? It wasn't Wright's debut.

Correcting the Cinematic Record

Tarantino's well-documented love for Shaun of the Dead is clear, as he's also called it the best British movie of the 21st century. However, his claim about it being a debut is incorrect on multiple levels. Not only was it Wright’s second time directing a feature-length film, but the assertion that Wright is ashamed of his actual first movie is also off the mark.

Wright’s true debut was a low-budget spaghetti western parody called A Fistful of Fingers. Far from being a secret he wants to bury, Wright has spoken about the film at length, including in an extensive interview with Far Out. This directly contradicts the idea that the comedy is some forgotten blemish on his filmography.

A Film Buff's Peculiar Oversight

Despite the facts, the Pulp Fiction mastermind seems content to pretend Wright's earlier work simply doesn't exist. He could have easily praised the beloved rom-zom-com as one of his favorite movies of the new millennium without mislabeling it or suggesting A Fistful of Fingers deserves to be locked away in cinematic purgatory.

It's a strange stance for one of Hollywood's most famous and knowledgeable cinephiles. But as far as Tarantino is concerned, the greatest directorial debut he has ever witnessed isn't actually a debut at all.