20 great (and 5 not-so-great) sophomore films from famed directors
Imagine making stone-cold classics like Jaws or Boogie Nights in only your second time at bat
Film Features Andrew Dominik
The only thing more challenging for a director than making a splash with their first feature film is avoiding the “sophomore slump” with their second. If their debut movie is a massive success, both creatively and financially, audiences and critics wrap very high (some would say too high) expectations around whatever may come next. Or they want that film to walk the exact edge of their wish list and deliver an experience just as good or better.
Some directors have done this and emerged both unscathed and more revered (see Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, and Quentin Tarantino). Others, well … not so much. Here, in no particular order, is a look back at 20 Hollywood filmmakers who delivered memorable followups with second time at bat—and five filmmakers who missed the mark on their return engagement.
67 Comments
Did we forget about The Wachowski’s and The Matrix?
I had, so thanks for bringing it and them up.ETA: Scratch that, I thought The Matrix was their first and you were talking about the sequel.
What’s the over/under on comments bitching about Shaun of the Dead’s inclusion?
Why? Is not Edgar Wright’s second feature film, or not great?Because it is great. Jaws might be more arguable as not being a “sophomore film,” since Spielberg directed some TV movies, and according to IMDb, directed something called Firelight ten years before Sugarland Express.
Yeah Duel was a TV movie but it also saw theatrical release in some places and like, you’d be hard pressed to argue it’s not a proper film.
Was firelight not the thing he shot in his family home as a kid? I’m not sure that counts as a first feature proper – it was definitely never released.
I just saw it on his IMDb. But you’re probably right — according to IMDb, Spielberg would have been 18. Also, 2 reels of the film have been lost for decades so it was probably never seen by more than a handful of people. But Duel and his other telefilms should count.
I would seriously consider editing that Memento notice.The first movie was Following, not The Following. For one. Pedantic, maybe, but if you’ve done enough research to even know it exists, how do you mess that up?SPOILERI also wouldn’t start tipping people toward Memento’s unspooling of what might be happening/what might have happened. The discovery of that information is a big part of one’s initial viewing and leads to that gut-punch of an ending.
Even if I hadn’t already seen Following, it would take me less-than 5 seconds to Google it to get the correct title.
Would you add a spoiler warning before pointing out that Rosebud was the name of Kane’s sled? Memento is 24 years old.
For something really significant, I would. “Everyone” knows certain things which some people haven’t encountered yet.Would you have wanted to know what happened to Shelby’s wife before seeing the movie? The man behind the curtain in Wizard of Oz? Norman Bates’ mother in Psycho?Man — I wish I could have gone in unknowing on Psycho.
Oh boy, I hope you don’t miss my reply to this – I saw PSYCHO for the umpteenth time, in a theatre with a newbie behind me, and it really was the closest you can get to seeing it for the first time again.
I’d love to hear any details!
I mainly remember her SCREAM, of genuine shock and fright, at (yes, SPOILER ALERT)Martin Balsam’s murder on the staircase. Everyone else clearly knew it was coming, and she clearly had no idea, which was WONDERFUL. That’s when we realized she was a complete newbie. Also, during the clearly bullshit police psychiatrist monologue at the end, she about halfway through sputtered “WHAT???”. Us older people just chuckled knowingly haha – yes dear, we know it’s complete bullshit. Hitchcock was pressured into putting in an “explanation”, IIRC.
Somehow, some way, I was able to see Psycho unspoiled (it’s amazing!), and I think watching it pre-the internet had a lot to do with that.
I’m jealous!I saw it pre-Internet — maybe 1983?Believe it or not, I knew the ending because Ralph on Happy Days spoiled it for the Cunninghams when they were getting ready to go out and see a movie. :-/
Would you add a spoiler warning before any description or details that might, you know, spoil the film for someone who’d never seen it?Oh, right, because old movies never get watched for the first time.
But why not? The “rosebud” reveal is a revelation of…nothing, really. Nothing other than of the emptiness inside Kane. And it’s not really a spoiler, since it merely confirms everything that has come before.Everyone sees everything for a first time, and there are some examples where it definitely wouldn’t hurt to warn of an old film spoiler alert, like PSYCHO. I had the pleasure of seeing it in the theater about twenty years ago, and seated behind me with her family was a young woman who’d clearly been told nothing about it beforehand. Her genuine reactions were a joy to behold. Especially her truly ear-piercing scream at a Martin Balsam scene.
A spoiler being common knowledge is something we take for granted, but a movie’s age is immaterial. The only fact that matters is that not everyone has seen everything. When I watched Citizen Kane in school, Rosebud was quite the revelation, and I was lucky to not have that spoiled. There should never be an expiration date on a good reveal.
Why don’t we just go ahead and remove Southland Tales which is a Very Good Film(tm), actually. Leave Richard Kelly alone!
Other things that could potentially go in the not great list:- Poetic Justice (John Singleton’s Boyz ‘n’ the Hood followup)- Canadian Bacon (Michael Moore’s followup to Roger and Me)
Other things that could potentially go in the great list:- Cloverfield (Matt Reeves’s second feature)- The Elephant Man (David Lynch’s followup feature to Eraserhead)- The Matrix (second Wachowski movie)- Frida (Julie Taymor’s second feature after Titus, unless you count her stage-film of The Lion King)
Things that might be considered a toss-up:- Birth (Jonathan Glazer’s followup to Sexy Beast). I happen to like this movie a lot, but it’s pretty polarizing.- Cop Land (James Mangold’s second movie). I also love this movie, but I recall it getting kind of a mixed reception.
Canadian Bacon is a comedy classic.
Birth is a wonderful movie. Probably not applicable here, though, since Sexy Beast is also great.
I don’t think the first film being great disqualifies it. Adaptation, Beetlejuice & Pulp Fiction are all in the list and they all followed great films (depending on your feelings about Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure).
I didn’t open the ‘rules’ tab so I’m not entirely sure how these were scored. I was happy to see Raising Arizona on the list, and I don’t think Blood Simple is considered a bad movie by most people.
I don’t think the conceit of the slideshow is that the director is coming of a bad first film (Malick’s first was Badlands, for instance). I think it is more of a “sophomore slump” exploration.
I think all three of us in a row agreed on that!
Yeah it’s just about the fact that they’re second films, not comparing them.
Agreed on Southland Tales. If you get on its wavelength, it’s a hell of a ride. If you wanted something self-serious and pretentious, you probably won’t like it.
Yes! All its little quirks (casting lots of SNL people in non-comedic parts, Bai Ling speaking in Jane’s Addiction lyrics, etc.) add up to something super compelling.
“If you wanted something self-serious and pretentious”
Who the fuck wanted something self-serious and pretentious?
Southland Tales is a hot garbage dumpster fire. I don’t want and poor souls that haven’t been unfortunate enough to see it and believe your comment and seek the movie out. Please save yourselves the 2+ hours and watch something else that movie is secondhand embarrassment visualized.
Saw Cop Land as a rental back in college. Roommate was a huge film nerd, I was just a movie nerd. We both enjoyed that movie *way* more than either of us thought we would.
cop land!!!
Why don’t we just go ahead and remove Southland Tales which is a Very Good Film(tm), actually.
It may have some good elements, but all movies do.
Overall, I just remember it being a big disappointment after Donnie Darko.
Hate to be irritable on the first slide but what’s wrong with THX-1138? No objections to the not so greats except: why even go there? Just to rub people’s noses in it years later?But worst of all: has the policy at AVC become “find any common denominator, no matter how basic – hey, second films! – and make a slideshow”?
Raising Arizona is my favorite movie. The Coens came out swinging with Blood Simple and then made something both perfect and completely different. If there was anyone you knew were going to go on to greatness after two movies, it was those guys. As for poignancy, show me a comedy with a more emotionally impactful ending. I wish I could find the longer clip so we’ll just go with this. “Maybe it was Utah.”And Elysium isn’t a bad movie. Not wonderful, but not worth pointing out as one of the five worst second efforts after a promising debut. It was a creative letdown after District 9 but as straight-up sci-fi it’s fine.
Nah, Elysium is pretty dreadful. Hell, if we’re honest, District 9 isn’t all that beyond the first half hour. Basically everything he’s done since Alive in Joburg has been a bit stinky.
He definitely petered out pretty fast, didn’t he? His IMDB is pretty grim (check out the rating trendline. Oof).
It’s like the old joke about M. Night Shyamalan (although M. Night at least somewhat redeemed himself later with Split)
Elysium shocked me by featuring a bad Jodie Foster performance. I think she was swinging for something kinda campy, but man! it didn’t work.
OMG Elysium…I was warned but I thought “Eh, it can’t be that bad”. And it really was!
I reread The Milagro Beanfield War recently, and it’s just one of those books that is too populated with characters / story / tonal shifts to fit into a conventional movie, unless it is completely gutted.
“Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray steal the show in this coming-of-age dramedy”How can they “steal the show” when they are the two main characters? Who are they stealing it from?
Very good point, haha.
The AI is particular bad with this slideshow. Many, many errors made throughout. Quite embarrassing.
Edward Appleby
It’s maybe even more fascinating to see how many of these directors continued to improve, how for some it was all downhill after their second movie, and how many just sort of did the same thing again and again and again.
“Crimewave” is not a bad film, but suffers from having a terrible lead actor. If the “heel” (Bruce Campbell) had been given the lead like originally planned, it’d be a pretty good film.
The Deer Hunter is a slog with a couple of extremely memorable scenes. IMO, it’s aged pretty poorly.
Better than you.
20 Best Sophomore Movies:Shame 2011Annihilation 2018Green Room 2015Moonlight 2016The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford 2007Platoon 1986Creed 2015Predator 1987The Loneliest Planet 2011Road House 1989Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2004Little Children 2006The Brown Bunny 2003Let the Right One In 2008Observe and Report 2009The Rover 2014Mi Vida Loca 1993The Terminator 1984Brawl in Cell Block 99 2017Heaven Knows What 2014
I don’t understand why everyone dumps on Kafka so much. To me, it was striving to be like a Kafka novel (weird, uncomfortable, paranoid, slightly claustrophobic), and it succeeded. The Southland Tales take was spot on. That movie suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucked.
pallet?come on
Reminds me of the old (like 20-years ago) rant by games reviewer “Old Man Murray” about how crates in video games rarely have pallets under them. “How the hell did the crate get there? Do the game developers not understand how forklifts work?”
I will die on the hill that Kafka is a good film.
I feel like Braveheart really needs to be on the list. Won a best director Oscar. Really set the standard for what epic war movies would look like for years to come.
Other great second films:The Magnificent Ambersons
The Last Picture ShowChristmas in July
opposite Nicolas Cage as her tyke-napping husband H.I. Future Coens regular John Goodman joins Raising Arizona as a scheming escaped convict who threatens Ed and H.I.’s new nuclear family. opposite Nicolas Cage as her tyke-napping husband H.I. Future Coens regular John Goodman joins Raising Arizona as a scheming escaped convict who threatens Ed and H.I.’s new nuclear family.This right here perfectly encapsulates why two spaces should still used after the period to denote the end of a sentence
I don’t think Michael Bay should qualify for this list. In order to have a “Sophomore Slump” he’d have to make a second movie that was worst than his first movie, and it’s physically impossible to make a movie worse than a Michael Bay movie, so… he’s gaming the system.
Fincher *kinda* disowns Alien 3, which I think is fair. So in my head cannon, The Game is his great 2nd film.
“Fincher *kinda* disowns Alien 3, which I think is fair.”
How is it fair? He directed it. He just didn’t have final cut. Lots of directors don’t have final cut, it doesn’t mean they didn’t direct the movie.
Just because there are some women who made great second films:The Heartbreak Kid (May)
Jeanne Dielman, etc. (Akerman)
Near Dark (Bigelow)
Lost in Translation (Coppola)
The Headless Woman (Martell)
Mudbound (Rees)… to name a few
I must say, I was VERY surprised and happy like that you included so many of the original trailers here, rather than the inferior “By the director of (insert later famous movie)“ versions. That “Alien” clip took me way back to being a scared as shit 11 year old, waiting to see it.
Trainspotting, Danny Boyle.
Really, genuinely baffled that each entry doesn’t also list the director’s FIRST effort, just for, like, context.
If you’re going to jam articles up with links, at least link to the right things. The Elysium review this article links to isn’t so much a review as it is a waste of space just to claim that this site has it, and it’s not even the right Elysium.
Interesting. I hated Sex Lies And Videotape, but the original cut of Kafka made me a Soderbergh fan.