Eclipse Series 5: The First Films of Samuel Fuller Blu-ray collects three early independent films from one of American cinema’s most distinctive directors. Raw, direct and genre-savvy, Samuel Fuller’s first features show the beginnings of a career defined by tough storytelling, political edge and a restless interest in American mythmaking.
 
Before becoming one of the most idiosyncratic voices in postwar cinema, Fuller moved through crime reporting, pulp writing and screenwriting, bringing that hardboiled sensibility to his directorial work. From the psychological guilt of I Shot Jesse James to the historical con artistry of The Baron of Arizona and the wartime urgency of The Steel Helmet, these films reveal the range and force of Fuller’s early filmmaking.
 
Together, these three titles set the stage for Fuller’s controversial and influential career, spanning westerns, historical drama and war cinema with his trademark mix of blunt emotion, subversive commentary and genre punch.
 
directed by: Samuel Fuller
1949–1951 / 3-Disc Blu-ray Set
 
Films In This Set
 
I Shot Jesse James - 1949
After years of crime reporting, screenwriting and writing pulp novels, Samuel Fuller made his directorial debut with this spare western drama about Robert Ford, the man who betrayed and killed Jesse James. Modest, intense and psychologically charged, I Shot Jesse James is an early glimpse of Fuller’s direct, unsentimental style.
 
The Baron of Arizona - 1950
Vincent Price stars as James Addison Reavis, a legendary swindler who attempts an elaborate hoax to claim himself as the “Baron” of Arizona and inherit the land of an entire state. Fuller brings the strange true story to life with sharp pacing, dry humour and elegant B-picture craftsmanship.
 
The Steel Helmet - 1951
Fuller’s breakthrough war film follows American soldiers during the Korean War while confronting questions of identity, prejudice and moral responsibility. Made on a modest budget, The Steel Helmet became one of Fuller’s most powerful early works and helped establish his reputation as a bold, socially aware filmmaker.