First and Last 2.0 — Happy Place — It Turns Out the Naming Rights! Membership Option Was For Real and Someone Is Now Five Hundred Bucks Poorer Presents Nat

Francois Truffaut Changed Film Forever with his Debut The 400 Blows and Ended an All Too Brief Life and Career with the Nifty Confidentially Yours

400 Blows was a game-changer while Truffaut’s final film, Confidentially Yours, is an absolute delight.

First and Last 2.0Nathan RabinJuly 25, 2023New Wave, French New Wave, Francois Truffaut

The Legendary Gordon Parks Sr's Career Began and Ended Strongly With the Seminal Coming of Age Movie The Learning Tree and Powerful Biopic Leadbelly

Like his son, Gordon Parks Sr. only directed a handful of movies, but that’s all it took to change movies forever with classics like his 1969 debut The Learning Tree, the first studio film directed by a black man, 1972’s Shaft and his powerful final film, the 1976 biopic Leadbelly.

The Great Hal Ashby Debuted with the Lovely Comedy-Drama The Landlord and Ended Grimly with 8 Million Ways to Die

Hal Ashby made the big leap from hotshot editor to director with the lovely and charming 1970 comedy-drama The Landlord and ended with the 1986 cop drama 8 Million Ways to Die.

Cult Auteur Larry Cohen's Directorial Career Began and Ended With Two Very Different Depictions of Black Masculinity in 1971's Bone and the Blaxploitation Team-Up Throwback Original Gangsters

Cult auteur Larry Cohen’s directorial career got off to a bang with the provocative dark comedy Bone and ended on a less auspicious note with the Blaxploitation reunion team-up action movie Original Gangstas.

Frank Tashlin's Career Kicked Off on a High Note with The First Time and Ended Bleakly with the Godawful Bob Hope Vehicle The Private Navy of Sgt. O’Farrell

Frank Tashlin proved a master satirist after making the big leap from cartoons and shorts to live action and features but his career ended on a bleak nadir in the dreadful 1968 Bob Hope vehicle The Private Army of Sgt. O’Farrell

First and Last 2.0Nathan RabinMarch 27, 2023Bob Hope, Frank Tashlin, Phylis Diller, Barbara Hale, Robert Cummings

TV Wiz Arthur Penn's Remarkable Cinematic Career Began and Ended on Two VERY Different Films in Left Handed Gun and Penn & Teller Get Killed

After conquering the world of television, Arthur Penn turned his attention to film, and began and ended his auspicious career with two very different movies, the moody western The Left Handed Gun and the misanthropic dark comedy Penn & Teller Get Killed.

First and Last 2.0Nathan RabinFebruary 6, 2023Paul Newman, Gore Vidal, Arthur Penn, Penn Jillette, Penn & Teller, dark comedy, western

Bob Fosse's Extraordinary Directorial Career Began and Ended Big with Sweet Charity and Star 80

Choreographer turned auteur Bob Fosse only made a handful of movies, but they all mattered, including his spectacular debut Sweet Charity and punishingly intense final film, Star 80.

Like So Many Great Directors of the Seventies, Michael Ritchie’s Career Got Off to a Great Start With a Classic Debut (1969’s Downhill Racer) and Ended With a Muddled Dud (The Fantastiks)

Like so many great directors of the 1970s, satire and sports specialist Michael Ritchie’s career got off to a great start with a classic debut (1969’s Downhill Racer) and a muddled dud of a final film (The Fantastiks)

First and Last 2.0Nathan RabinJanuary 19, 2023Michael Ritchie, Robert Redford, Gene Hackman, skiing

Empire Strikes Back Director Irving Kershner's Career Got Off to a Modest but Impressive Start with Stakeout on Dope Street and Ended on a Messy, Riveting Note with Robocop 2

Empire Strikes Back director Irving Kershner had a fascinatingly eclectic career that began on a modest but overachieving note with Stakeout on Dope Street and concluded with the messy, compelling sequel to Robocop.

First and Last 2.0Nathan RabinJanuary 12, 2023Peter Weller, Empire Strikes Back, Tom Noonan, Nancy Allen, Frank Miller

Jonathan Demme's Career Began and Ended Strongly with Caged Heat and Justin Timberlake + the Tennessee Kids

Oscar winner Jonathan Demme’s auspicious directorial career kicked off with the kick-ass women in prison exploitation movie Caged Heat and ended with a wildly entertaining showcase for Justin Timberlake.

First and Last 2.0Nathan RabinJanuary 5, 2023Jonathan Demme, prison, wo, women in prison, Justin Timberlake, Roger Corman