A little while ago
I wrote an article giving 5 early masterpieces by legendary directors that I had decided to cut down from 10 to 5 for the sake of length. I decided to look back and make some changes on the remaining 5 and give an updated list since people seem to really enjoy list-based articles. The criteria I used to choose which films got picked and which didn't was simple: if the film wasn't one of the director's first three films, then it didn't get included. I didn't want to repeat any directors from the last article so I also removed Mean Streets, Fight Club, Magnolia and Reservoir Dogs, and replaced them with some other masterpiece films to add a little directorial variety. So, without further ado, I present you with 5 more early masterpieces by legendary directors...
5. Evil Dead II (1987)
The first Evil Dead could have easily been on the list, but the second slightly edges it out because I find it to be overall a better film. The fact that Sam Raimi was able to make Evil Dead on his first ever attempt at filmmaking is truly amazing - what's more amazing is that he was able to top himself in such a huge way with the second Evil Dead. Where the first was a very well done horror film the second was able to tread the very thin line between horror and comedy more than any other film in existence to create a truly remarkable achievement for someone who had only made one prior film. Raimi also was able to make a film that can be quoted and enjoyed on multiple viewings which is very rare for the horror genre since it seems the overwhelming majority of horror films tend to lose all of their luster once you know where the scares are coming from. Raimi was able to remedy this by making his film a laugh out loud comedy that warrants endless amounts of viewing.