From John Ford to Francois Truffaut to the Coen Brothers, the astute movie mavens over at Flavorwire.com have delivered an outstanding retrospective collection of clips featuring debut productions from 50 of cinema’s all-time greatest directors.

As with all artists, directors obviously mature and evolve substantially over the course of their careers, so it’s particularly fascinating to look back at how seriously profound many such transitions have been – and equally intriguing to  recognize what have sometimes remained unmistakable “signatures” for half a century or more.

These days, film guides of every imaginable persuasion seem to be popping up everywhere but occasionally one comes along that should be reviewed with your Netflix queue close at hand. Trust me: This is that list.

Whether you end up watching some of these movies for the first time or find yourself rediscovering old friends, this is a cinematic journey absolutely worth taking.

Complete List below – with extensive video previews:

[“The Fifty Best Directorial Debuts In Movie History,” Flavorwire.com, 9/26/2013]