Empire's The 50 Greatest American Independent Movies
Created by BaalMan.
Favorited 22 times, disliked 1 time, added to 16 watchlists.
"As much as blockbusters can thrill us, beyond the well-tended flowerbeds and spacious corner offices of Hollywood there's a world bubbling with creativity, free spirits and up-and-coming talent. Some of the heroes of American indie cinema have gone on to try their hand at multiplex fodder; some have stayed resolutely outside the mainstream. This roll of honour celebrates both, as well as some of the names that didn't achieve the acclaim they deserve. But how you define 'indie'? Do big studios' independent arms count? Should Miramax's output qualify? Our criteria is aesthetic rather than financial: if it feels like an indie, it's in; if it's The Phantom Menace, it's not. Ultimately though, whether they're made for millions or 50p and bits of pocket fluff, it's about great movies that are worth celebrating again..."
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1 -
Mean Streets
1973, in 22 top lists Check -
2 -
Reservoir Dogs
1992, in 26 top lists Check -
3 -
Donnie Darko
2001, in 21 top lists Check -
4 -
The Terminator
1984, in 24 top lists Check -
5 -
Evil Dead II
1987, in 9 top lists Check -
6 -
Shadows
1958, in 12 top lists Check -
7 -
She's Gotta Have It
1986, in 6 top lists Check -
8 -
Night of the Living Dead
1968, in 20 top lists Check -
9 -
Blood Simple
1984, in 10 top lists Check -
10 -
Lost in Translation
2003, in 19 top lists Check -
11 -
Bad Lieutenant
1992, in 6 top lists Check -
12 -
Sex, Lies, and Videotape
1989, in 11 top lists Check -
13 -
Eraserhead
1977, in 20 top lists Check -
14 -
Memento
2000, in 27 top lists Check -
15 -
The Evil Dead
1981, in 8 top lists Check -
16 -
Stranger Than Paradise
1984, in 14 top lists Check -
17 -
Slacker
1990, in 7 top lists Check -
18 -
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song
1971, in 12 top lists Check -
19 -
Clerks
1994, in 9 top lists Check -
20 -
Drugstore Cowboy
1989, in 7 top lists Check -
21 -
Matewan
1987, in 4 top lists Check -
22 -
Pi
1998, in 6 top lists Check -
23 -
Lone Star
1996, in 6 top lists Check -
24 -
THX 1138
1971, in 5 top lists Check -
25 -
Blue Velvet
1986, in 27 top lists Check -
26 -
Easy Rider
1969, in 17 top lists Check -
27 -
Short Cuts
1993, in 9 top lists Check -
28 -
The Usual Suspects
1995, in 24 top lists Check -
29 -
Killer of Sheep
1978, in 14 top lists Check -
30 -
Runaway Train
1985, in 2 top lists Check -
31 -
Being John Malkovich
1999, in 14 top lists Check -
32 -
Grosse Pointe Blank
1997, in 4 top lists Check -
33 -
Happiness
1998, in 8 top lists Check -
34 -
Two-Lane Blacktop
1971, in 13 top lists Check -
35 -
Dazed and Confused
1993, in 7 top lists Check -
36 -
Dark Star
1974, in 7 top lists Check -
37 -
Poison
1991, in 4 top lists Check -
38 -
Little Miss Sunshine
2006, in 7 top lists Check -
39 -
The Blair Witch Project
1999, in 14 top lists Check -
40 -
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
1974, in 15 top lists Check -
41 -
Pitch Black
2000, in 1 top list Check -
42 -
Black Swan
2010, in 12 top lists Check -
43 -
Winter's Bone
2010, in 6 top lists Check -
44 -
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
1999, in 7 top lists Check -
45 -
In the Company of Men
1997, in 5 top lists Check -
46 -
Juno
2007, in 12 top lists Check -
47 -
Cube
1997, in 5 top lists Check -
48 -
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
2007, in 1 top list Check -
49 -
Swingers
1996, in 1 top list Check -
50 -
The Wrestler
2008, in 3 top lists Check
Last updated on Jan 6, 2012; source