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Top Independent Films (#1-100)

The IMDb lists following films as being an "independent film."

Rank Title Year Director(s) Overall
Rank
1 Citizen Kane 1941 Orson Welles 1
2 Psycho 1960 Alfred Hitchcock 9
3 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb 1964 Stanley Kubrick 14
4 Apocalypse Now 1979 Francis Ford Coppola 17
5 Pulp Fiction 1994 Quentin Tarantino 20
6 One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975 Milos Forman 37
7 The Graduate 1967 Mike Nichols 38
8 Fargo 1996 Joel Coen 50
9 To Kill a Mockingbird 1962 Robert Mulligan 57
10 Blue Velvet 1986 David Lynch 61
11 The Usual Suspects 1995 Bryan Singer 64
12 Breathless 1960 Jean-Luc Godard 77
13 Reservoir Dogs 1992 Quentin Tarantino 90
14 Do the Right Thing 1989 Spike Lee 106
15 The Terminator 1984 James Cameron 110
16 Platoon 1986 Oliver Stone 111
17 American Beauty 1999 Sam Mendes 123
18 This Is Spinal Tap 1984 Rob Reiner 127
19 Trainspotting 1996 Danny Boyle 128
20 Amadeus 1984 Milos Forman 141
21 Seven 1995 David Fincher 143
22 Cabaret 1972 Bob Fosse 148
23 Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1975 Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones 149
24 Halloween 1978 John Carpenter 160
25 Dances with Wolves 1990 Kevin Costner 165
26 Night of the Living Dead 1968 George A. Romero 168
27 Mean Streets 1973 Martin Scorsese 171
28 Memento 2000 Christopher Nolan 196
29 The Piano 1993 Jane Campion 203
30 The English Patient 1996 Anthony Minghella 214
31 The Producers 1968 Mel Brooks 217
32 Field of Dreams 1989 Phil Alden Robinson 219
33 Withnail & I 1987 Bruce Robinson 227
34 Four Weddings and a Funeral 1994 Mike Newell 241
35 Blow-Up 1966 Michelangelo Antonioni 253
36 Magnolia 1999 Paul Thomas Anderson 267
37 Donnie Darko 2001 Richard Kelly 269
38 Dawn of the Dead 1978 George A. Romero 273
39 Carrie 1976 Brian De Palma 275
40 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2004 Michel Gondry 278
41 The Big Lebowski 1998 Joel Coen 283
42 Peeping Tom 1960 Michael Powell 287
43 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1974 Tobe Hooper 298
44 Scream 1996 Wes Craven 305
45 The Professional 1994 Luc Besson 312
46 Repulsion 1965 Roman Polanski 348
47 Lost in Translation 2003 Sofia Coppola 353
48 Being John Malkovich 1999 Spike Jonze 356
49 Hoop Dreams 1994 Steve James 359
50 Clerks. 1994 Kevin Smith 361
51 The Road Warrior 1981 George Miller 370
52 Hannah and Her Sisters 1986 Woody Allen 372
53 The Breakfast Club 1985 John Hughes 381
54 Dirty Dancing 1987 Emile Ardolino 395
55 Eraserhead 1977 David Lynch 397
56 Tom Jones 1963 Tony Richardson 399
57 Zulu 1964 Cy Endfield 407
58 The Blair Witch Project 1999 Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez 417
59 Bull Durham 1988 Ron Shelton 419
60 Mulholland Dr. 2001 David Lynch 422
61 A Man for All Seasons 1966 Fred Zinnemann 428
62 Boogie Nights 1997 Paul Thomas Anderson 430
63 Secrets & Lies 1996 Mike Leigh 436
64 Local Hero 1983 Bill Forsyth 439
65 A Room with a View 1985 James Ivory 443
66 A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984 Wes Craven 451
67 The Evil Dead 1981 Sam Raimi 466
68 Breaking the Waves 1996 Lars von Trier 472
69 Good Will Hunting 1997 Gus Van Sant 474
70 Requiem for a Dream 2000 Darren Aronofsky 484
71 Crimes and Misdemeanors 1989 Woody Allen 488
72 Sex, Lies, and Videotape 1989 Steven Soderbergh 491
73 Kill Bill: Vol. 1 2003 Quentin Tarantino 492
74 Evil Dead II 1987 Sam Raimi 495
75 Blood Simple 1984 Joel Coen 500
76 The Crying Game 1992 Neil Jordan 503
77 The Player 1992 Robert Altman 506
78 Kes 1969 Ken Loach 510
79 Y tu mamá también 2001 Alfonso Cuarón 523
80 The Thin Blue Line 1988 Errol Morris 525
81 If.… 1968 Lindsay Anderson 533
82 All about My Mother 1999 Pedro Almodóvar 534
83 Stranger than Paradise 1984 Jim Jarmusch 537
84 A Woman under the Influence 1974 John Cassavetes 540
85 Mad Max 1979 George Miller 543
86 Picnic at Hanging Rock 1975 Peter Weir 556
87 Raising Arizona 1987 Joel Coen 569
88 The Sweet Hereafter 1997 Atom Egoyan 576
89 RoboCop 1987 Paul Verhoeven 589
90 Gallipoli 1981 Peter Weir 590
91 Short Cuts 1993 Robert Altman 594
92 Crumb 1994 Terry Zwigoff 605
93 Dazed and Confused 1993 Richard Linklater 613
94 Dont Look Back 1967 D.A. Pennebaker 630
95 Pink Flamingos 1972 John Waters 631
96 My Beautiful Laundrette 1985 Stephen Frears 637
97 Gregory's Girl 1981 Bill Forsyth 642
98 Shaun of the Dead 2004 Edgar Wright 643
99 Naked 1993 Mike Leigh 658
100 The Long Good Friday 1980 John Mackenzie 663
Go to the next 100 independent films
This page was last modified on April 10, 2008