10 Directors Who Never Topped Their First Film
1. Orson Welles - Citizen Kane
While someone like Frank Darabont may have had the unenviable task of trying to top a silver screen directorial debut that amassed seven Academy Award nominations and cemented itself as an all-time great of cinema, the example of Orson Welles takes that situation and turns it up to 11.
For Welles, his Citizen Kane is often referred to in some circles as the greatest film in the history of cinema, period.
After working on radio and stage productions, Welles' first foray into the world of film saw him co-write, produce, direct and star in 1941's Citizen Kane. Detailing the life of fictional tycoon Charles Foster Kane, the film pulls inspiration from the lives of real life figures such as Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearst and Harold McCormick.
Up until he passed away in 1985 at the age of 70, Orson Welles continued to write, direct and act, although he never quite managed to get close to the sheer perfection that is Citizen Kane. Of course, there is absolutely zero shame in that, for Welles really did hand himself an impossible task when it came to trying to create something even better than a film widely lauded as the very best movie ever.