Tyra Banks or Stanley Kubrick: Who Has the Better Directing Debut?

Having now watched Tyra Banks's directing debut from the set of America's Next Top Model, I'm fairly convinced that she has a better grasp of photography, editing, sound and narrative than many well-known filmmakers did in their own first efforts. Not everyone can be Orson Welles, right? But can she be, say, Stanley Kubrick? Maybe!

Kubrick famously disowned his 1953 feature debut Fear and Desire, dismissing it in the mid-'90s as "a bumbling amateur film exercise" and imploring exhibitors not to move forward with revival screenings planned at the time. Only recently did the film curator of the George Eastman House -- which retains the only known commercially available print of the military action-drama -- disclose an imminent official home video release, ending a decades-long rotation of bootlegs on VHS, DVD, YouTube and elsewhere.

I know, I know: "How bad can a Kubrick film really be?" Pretty bad, actually! Try this on for size:

Kubrick shot Fear and Desire without sound, choosing instead to dub the whole thing later. Then he ran out of money. (His original budget: Between $9,000 and $10,000, depending on whom you ask.) Then, according to one account, he learned the hard way about the 180-degree rule: "Kubrick's blocking of [a] crucial scene was faulty, and his actors accidentally crossed the so-called 'director's line,' which required the negative to be flipped in the printing process to preserve continuity; this was another expense."

Not Banks! Like Kubrick, the model-turned-talk diva-turned-reality fairy godmother has some background in photo shoots, having directed plenty for ANTM. But now we know she's just as fierce behind a video camera. Suck it, Stanley!

Honestly, I'd say Banks and Kubrick are just about evenly matched in terms of directing performers. Banks has the edge in visuals and script, Kubrick wins for composition. But in the end it all comes down to owning the work -- no excuses, no apologies. "When we wrapped, I fell to ground because I was exhausted, but excited at the same time!" she said. "I wanted to give the Top Model fans something different and visually appealing for the new high fashion cycle, so I hope they like it." Victory! Next up: Banks vs. Bergman. Crisis doesn't hold up the way you might have thought.

· The Next Fellini? Check Out Tyra's Directorial Debut! [E!]