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Top Independent Films (#1-200)

The IMDb keywords list following films as being an "independent film."

Rank Title Year Director(s) Overall
Rank
1 2001: A Space Odyssey 1968 Stanley Kubrick 3
2 Apocalypse Now 1979 Francis Ford Coppola 8
3 Pulp Fiction 1994 Quentin Tarantino 9
4 One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975 Milos Forman 38
5 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1966 Sergio Leone 44
6 The Graduate 1967 Mike Nichols 59
7 Breathless 1960 Jean-Luc Godard 65
8 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2004 Michel Gondry 76
9 Reservoir Dogs 1992 Quentin Tarantino 80
10 Do the Right Thing 1989 Spike Lee 89
11 Seven 1995 David Fincher 102
12 Blue Velvet 1986 David Lynch 103
13 The Big Lebowski 1998 Joel Coen 108
14 This Is Spinal Tap 1984 Rob Reiner 109
15 Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1975 Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones 111
16 The Usual Suspects 1995 Bryan Singer 112
17 Night of the Living Dead 1968 George A. Romero 113
18 Brazil 1985 Terry Gilliam 115
19 Mulholland Dr. 2001 David Lynch 124
20 Rocky 1976 John G. Avildsen 125
21 Memento 2000 Christopher Nolan 139
22 Halloween 1978 John Carpenter 150
23 Lost in Translation 2003 Sofia Coppola 161
24 Amadeus 1984 Milos Forman 163
25 Trainspotting 1996 Danny Boyle 167
26 Donnie Darko 2001 Richard Kelly 176
27 The Man with the Movie Camera 1929 Dziga Vertov 180
28 Easy Rider 1969 Dennis Hopper 181
29 Akira 1988 Katsuhiro Ôtomo 204
30 Eraserhead 1977 David Lynch 220
31 Cabaret 1972 Bob Fosse 224
32 Peeping Tom 1960 Michael Powell 232
33 The Professional 1994 Luc Besson 253
34 The Wicker Man 1973 Robin Hardy 255
35 All about My Mother 1999 Pedro Almodóvar 257
36 Requiem for a Dream 2000 Darren Aronofsky 259
37 Shaun of the Dead 2004 Edgar Wright 260
38 Kill Bill: Vol. 1 2003 Quentin Tarantino 274
39 Carrie 1976 Brian De Palma 278
40 The Blair Witch Project 1999 Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez 281
41 Hoop Dreams 1994 Steve James 284
42 The Road Warrior 1981 George Miller 295
43 Suspiria 1977 Dario Argento 302
44 Dawn of the Dead 1978 George A. Romero 307
45 RoboCop 1987 Paul Verhoeven 308
46 The Producers 1967 Mel Brooks 309
47 Withnail & I 1987 Bruce Robinson 313
48 Before Sunset 2004 Richard Linklater 315
49 Dances with Wolves 1990 Kevin Costner 318
50 Boogie Nights 1997 Paul Thomas Anderson 319
51 A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984 Wes Craven 342
52 Being John Malkovich 1999 Spike Jonze 346
53 A Woman under the Influence 1974 John Cassavetes 356
54 Clerks. 1994 Kevin Smith 364
55 Evil Dead II 1987 Sam Raimi 369
56 Killer of Sheep 1978 Charles Burnett 370
57 Ghost in the Shell 1995 Mamoru Oshii 374
58 Thelma & Louise 1991 Ridley Scott 379
59 Field of Dreams 1989 Phil Alden Robinson 385
60 Dazed and Confused 1993 Richard Linklater 389
61 The Hurt Locker 2008 Kathryn Bigelow 399
62 Jeanne Dielman 1975 Chantal Akerman 408
63 The Evil Dead 1981 Sam Raimi 417
64 Breaking the Waves 1996 Lars von Trier 418
65 Y tu mamá también 2001 Alfonso Cuarón 426
66 Pickpocket 1959 Robert Bresson 427
67 The Royal Tenenbaums 2001 Wes Anderson 434
68 The Thin Blue Line 1988 Errol Morris 438
69 Bull Durham 1988 Ron Shelton 441
70 The Breakfast Club 1985 John Hughes 456
71 Amores perros 2000 Alejandro G. Iñárritu 457
72 Hannah and Her Sisters 1986 Woody Allen 459
73 Shadows 1958 John Cassavetes 460
74 Fitzcarraldo 1982 Werner Herzog 465
75 Secrets & Lies 1996 Mike Leigh 470
76 Persepolis 2007 Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi 472
77 Raising Arizona 1987 Joel Coen 476
78 Dirty Dancing 1987 Emile Ardolino 477
79 Kes 1969 Ken Loach 478
80 Total Recall 1990 Paul Verhoeven 487
81 Four Weddings and a Funeral 1994 Mike Newell 504
82 Blood Simple 1984 Joel Coen 506
83 The English Patient 1996 Anthony Minghella 510
84 Audition 1999 Takashi Miike 511
85 Pink Flamingos 1972 John Waters 520
86 Juno 2007 Jason Reitman 522
87 Dancer in the Dark 2000 Lars von Trier 532
88 Koyaanisqatsi 1982 Godfrey Reggio 538
89 Dead Man 1995 Jim Jarmusch 541
90 The Player 1992 Robert Altman 551
91 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels 1998 Guy Ritchie 556
92 If.... 1968 Lindsay Anderson 559
93 The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! 1988 David Zucker 565
94 When We Were Kings 1996 Leon Gast 569
95 Stranger than Paradise 1984 Jim Jarmusch 578
96 Godzilla 1954 Ishirô Honda 580
97 Sex, Lies, and Videotape 1989 Steven Soderbergh 582
98 Harlan County, U.S.A. 1976 Barbara Kopple 598
99 Sideways 2004 Alexander Payne 606
100 Little Miss Sunshine 2006 Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris 607
101 Paris Is Burning 1990 Jennie Livingston 615
102 Crumb 1994 Terry Zwigoff 621
103 Naked 1993 Mike Leigh 639
104 The Long Good Friday 1980 John Mackenzie 642
105 Crimes and Misdemeanors 1989 Woody Allen 647
106 Boyz N the Hood 1991 John Singleton 649
107 Le Cercle rouge 1970 Jean-Pierre Melville 656
108 Repo Man 1984 Alex Cox 657
109 Moon 2009 Duncan Jones 660
110 Heathers 1989 Michael Lehmann 663
111 Grey Gardens 1975 Ellen Hovde, Albert and David Maysles, and Muffie Meyer 670
112 Mad Max 1979 George Miller 671
113 Dead Ringers 1988 David Cronenberg 674
114 Short Cuts 1993 Robert Altman 675
115 Napoleon Dynamite 2004 Jared Hess 690
116 The Mother and the Whore 1973 Jean Eustache 692
117 The King's Speech 2010 Tom Hooper 696
118 Stop Making Sense 1984 Jonathan Demme 700
119 Hoosiers 1986 David Anspaugh 701
120 Down by Law 1986 Jim Jarmusch 703
121 Meshes of the Afternoon 1943 Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid 713
122 Picnic at Hanging Rock 1975 Peter Weir 718
123 Jackie Brown 1997 Quentin Tarantino 722
124 The Muppet Movie 1979 James Frawley 723
125 Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song 1971 Melvin Van Peebles 730
126 Barton Fink 1991 Joel Coen 733
127 Dont Look Back 1967 D.A. Pennebaker 749
128 Crash 1996 David Cronenberg 756
129 The Man Who Fell to Earth 1976 Nicolas Roeg 765
130 My Own Private Idaho 1991 Gus Van Sant 769
131 First Blood 1982 Ted Kotcheff 775
132 El Topo 1970 Alejandro Jodorowsky 780
133 Hotel Rwanda 2004 Terry George 789
134 Lost Highway 1997 David Lynch 793
135 Ghost World 2001 Terry Zwigoff 797
136 Pi 1998 Darren Aronofsky 800
137 Elevator to the Gallows 1958 Louis Malle 820
138 Lone Star 1996 John Sayles 821
139 Lolita 1962 Stanley Kubrick 823
140 The Servant 1963 Joseph Losey 824
141 Zulu 1964 Cy Endfield 825
142 Heavenly Creatures 1994 Peter Jackson 831
143 A Man for All Seasons 1966 Fred Zinnemann 838
144 Bound 1996 Lana and Lilly Wachowski 839
145 Re-Animator 1985 Stuart Gordon 843
146 The Purple Rose of Cairo 1985 Woody Allen 848
147 Time Bandits 1981 Terry Gilliam 851
148 Walkabout 1971 Nicolas Roeg 853
149 American Psycho 2000 Mary Harron 855
150 Chimes at Midnight 1965 Orson Welles 858
151 Boys Don't Cry 1999 Kimberly Peirce 859
152 Roger & Me 1989 Michael Moore 861
153 A Room with a View 1985 James Ivory 863
154 My Beautiful Laundrette 1985 Stephen Frears 869
155 Into the Wild 2007 Sean Penn 870
156 Carnival of Souls 1962 Herk Harvey 887
157 Call Me by Your Name 2017 Luca Guadagnino 892
158 Local Hero 1983 Bill Forsyth 894
159 Dark Star 1974 John Carpenter 897
160 Gregory's Girl 1980 Bill Forsyth 904
161 Salesman 1969 Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin 906
162 The Party 1968 Blake Edwards 908
163 The Ipcress File 1965 Sidney J. Furie 912
164 Glengarry Glen Ross 1992 James Foley 914
165 Straw Dogs 1971 Sam Peckinpah 915
166 The Straight Story 1999 David Lynch 916
167 Brick 2005 Rian Johnson 919
168 Titicut Follies 1967 Frederick Wiseman 920
169 The Red Balloon 1956 Albert Lamorisse 921
170 Kids 1995 Larry Clark 922
171 The Gleaners & I 2000 Agnès Varda 926
172 The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner 1962 Tony Richardson 932
173 Faces 1968 John Cassavetes 938
174 Sexy Beast 2000 Jonathan Glazer 941
175 Once 2007 John Carney 942
176 Orlando 1992 Sally Potter 955
177 The Crying Game 1992 Neil Jordan 958
178 Bad Lieutenant 1992 Abel Ferrara 961
179 Happiness 1998 Todd Solondz 969
180 Waking Life 2001 Richard Linklater 970
181 Distant Voices, Still Lives 1988 Terence Davies 973
182 This Sporting Life 1963 Lindsay Anderson 977
183 Saturday Night and Sunday Morning 1960 Karel Reisz 982
184 After Hours 1985 Martin Scorsese 992
185 Waiting for Guffman 1996 Christopher Guest 999
186 Primer 2004 Shane Carruth 1011
187 Safe 1995 Todd Haynes 1021
188 The Sweet Hereafter 1997 Atom Egoyan 1025
189 Eight Men Out 1988 John Sayles 1032
190 Blow Out 1981 Brian De Palma 1035
191 The Last Seduction 1994 John Dahl 1047
192 Topsy-Turvy 1999 Mike Leigh 1048
193 Crash 2004 Paul Haggis 1054
194 Shock Corridor 1963 Samuel Fuller 1060
195 Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse 1991 Fax Bahr, Eleanor Coppola, and George Hickenlooper 1062
196 Kung Fu Hustle 2004 Stephen Chow 1070
197 Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer 1986 John McNaughton 1073
198 Rollerball 1975 Norman Jewison 1079
199 Funny Games 1997 Michael Haneke 1080
200 28 Up 1984 Michael Apted 1081
Go to the next 200 independent films
This page was last modified on April 6, 20120