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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 Psycho 1960 Alfred Hitchcock 1
2 2001: A Space Odyssey 1968 Stanley Kubrick 3
3 Pulp Fiction 1994 Quentin Tarantino 8
4 Apocalypse Now 1979 Francis Ford Coppola 10
5 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb 1964 Stanley Kubrick 16
6 One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975 Milos Forman 39
7 It's a Wonderful Life 1946 Frank Capra 46
8 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1966 Sergio Leone 48
9 Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991 James Cameron 54
10 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2004 Michel Gondry 56
11 Fargo 1996 Joel Coen 67
12 The 400 Blows 1959 François Truffaut 70
13 The Graduate 1967 Mike Nichols 73
14 Do the Right Thing 1989 Spike Lee 75
15 Mulholland Dr. 2001 David Lynch 89
16 Seven 1995 David Fincher 90
17 Reservoir Dogs 1992 Quentin Tarantino 95
18 Breathless 1960 Jean-Luc Godard 97
19 8 1/2 1963 Federico Fellini 100
20 Night of the Living Dead 1968 George A. Romero 102
21 The Big Lebowski 1998 Joel Coen 104
22 Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1975 Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones 105
23 Rocky 1976 John G. Avildsen 108
24 Brazil 1985 Terry Gilliam 114
25 La Dolce Vita 1960 Federico Fellini 124
26 Paths of Glory 1957 Stanley Kubrick 127
27 Halloween 1978 John Carpenter 132
28 Blue Velvet 1986 David Lynch 133
29 The Usual Suspects 1995 Bryan Singer 134
30 Donnie Darko 2001 Richard Kelly 136
31 This Is Spinal Tap 1984 Rob Reiner 143
32 Memento 2000 Christopher Nolan 145
33 Carrie 1976 Brian De Palma 159
34 Don't Look Now 1973 Nicolas Roeg 160
35 Solaris 1972 Andrei Tarkovsky 170
36 Lost in Translation 2003 Sofia Coppola 172
37 Akira 1988 Katsuhiro Ôtomo 175
38 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 1974 Tobe Hooper 179
39 Amadeus 1984 Milos Forman 190
40 Trainspotting 1996 Danny Boyle 197
41 RoboCop 1987 Paul Verhoeven 213
42 Shaun of the Dead 2004 Edgar Wright 214
43 The Hurt Locker 2008 Kathryn Bigelow 221
44 Suspiria 1977 Dario Argento 228
45 The Man with the Movie Camera 1929 Dziga Vertov 240
46 Dawn of the Dead 1978 George A. Romero 242
47 A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984 Wes Craven 248
48 Eraserhead 1977 David Lynch 249
49 Hoop Dreams 1994 Steve James 250
50 Cabaret 1972 Bob Fosse 257
51 Léon: The Professional 1994 Luc Besson 259
52 Kill Bill: Vol. 1 2003 Quentin Tarantino 262
53 The Wicker Man 1973 Robin Hardy 267
54 The Blair Witch Project 1999 Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez 271
55 Peeping Tom 1960 Michael Powell 274
56 Evil Dead II 1987 Sam Raimi 288
57 Requiem for a Dream 2000 Darren Aronofsky 293
58 The Rocky Horror Picture Show 1975 Jim Sharman 297
59 Scream 1996 Wes Craven 310
60 Before Sunset 2004 Richard Linklater 314
61 Boogie Nights 1997 Paul Thomas Anderson 318
62 All about My Mother 1999 Pedro Almodóvar 320
63 Jeanne Dielman 1975 Chantal Akerman 321
64 Easy Rider 1969 Dennis Hopper 323
65 Ghost in the Shell 1995 Mizuho Nishikubo and Mamoru Oshii 324
66 The Road Warrior 1981 George Miller 325
67 District 9 2009 Neill Blomkamp 329
68 Persepolis 2007 Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi 334
69 Good Will Hunting 1997 Gus Van Sant 339
70 Blow-Up 1966 Michelangelo Antonioni 346
71 Dances with Wolves 1990 Kevin Costner 356
72 Call Me by Your Name 2017 Luca Guadagnino 361
73 The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie 1972 Luis Buñuel 368
74 Belle de Jour 1967 Luis Buñuel 378
75 Dazed and Confused 1993 Richard Linklater 379
76 Repulsion 1965 Roman Polanski 396
77 The Evil Dead 1981 Sam Raimi 397
78 Clerks. 1994 Kevin Smith 399
79 Godzilla 1954 Ishirô Honda 400
80 Thelma & Louise 1991 Ridley Scott 402
81 Withnail & I 1987 Bruce Robinson 407
82 Paris Is Burning 1990 Jennie Livingston 412
83 The Producers 1967 Mel Brooks 420
84 Videodrome 1983 David Cronenberg 421
85 Dirty Dancing 1987 Emile Ardolino 423
86 Field of Dreams 1989 Phil Alden Robinson 430
87 Killer of Sheep 1978 Charles Burnett 434
88 Four Weddings and a Funeral 1994 Mike Newell 441
89 A Woman under the Influence 1974 John Cassavetes 449
90 Being John Malkovich 1999 Spike Jonze 451
91 Y tu mamá también 2001 Alfonso Cuarón 462
92 Audition 1999 Takashi Miike 463
93 Juno 2007 Jason Reitman 468
94 For a Few Dollars More 1965 Sergio Leone 476
95 Heathers 1988 Michael Lehmann 488
96 American Psycho 2000 Mary Harron 493
97 Moon 2009 Duncan Jones 495
98 Boyz N the Hood 1991 John Singleton 497
99 Pink Flamingos 1972 John Waters 506
100 Total Recall 1990 Paul Verhoeven 511
101 Bull Durham 1988 Ron Shelton 518
102 When We Were Kings 1996 Leon Gast 523
103 Escape from New York 1981 John Carpenter 528
104 What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? 1962 Robert Aldrich 530
105 Napoleon Dynamite 2004 Jared Hess 535
106 Boyhood 2014 Richard Linklater 536
107 The Royal Tenenbaums 2001 Wes Anderson 546
108 Harlan County, U.S.A. 1976 Barbara Kopple 550
109 Hannah and Her Sisters 1986 Woody Allen 567
110 The Killer 1989 John Woo 569
111 Kes 1969 Ken Loach 576
112 Le Cercle rouge 1970 Jean-Pierre Melville 577
113 Little Miss Sunshine 2006 Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris 579
114 Breaking the Waves 1996 Lars von Trier 580
115 The English Patient 1996 Anthony Minghella 584
116 Raising Arizona 1987 Joel Coen 591
117 Love & Basketball 2000 Gina Prince-Bythewood 602
118 The Thin Blue Line 1988 Errol Morris 604
119 Under the Skin 2013 Jonathan Glazer 608
120 Blood Simple 1984 Joel Coen 609
121 Amores perros 2000 Alejandro G. Iñárritu 612
122 Mad Max 1979 George Miller 614
123 Stop Making Sense 1984 Jonathan Demme 622
124 The King's Speech 2010 Tom Hooper 625
125 Secrets & Lies 1996 Mike Leigh 629
126 Dancer in the Dark 2000 Lars von Trier 632
127 The Muppet Movie 1979 James Frawley 633
128 Hard Boiled 1992 John Woo 649
129 Grey Gardens 1975 Ellen Hovde, Albert and David Maysles, and Muffie Meyer 654
130 Repo Man 1984 Alex Cox 658
131 Boys Don't Cry 1999 Kimberly Peirce 663
132 Shadows 1958 John Cassavetes 669
133 The Virgin Suicides 1999 Sofia Coppola 677
134 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels 1998 Guy Ritchie 678
135 Dead Man 1995 Jim Jarmusch 679
136 The Man Who Fell to Earth 1976 Nicolas Roeg 684
137 Ex Machina 2014 Alex Garland 686
138 Jackie Brown 1997 Quentin Tarantino 688
139 Bound 1996 Lana and Lilly Wachowski 698
140 Koyaanisqatsi 1982 Godfrey Reggio 704
141 Elevator to the Gallows 1958 Louis Malle 706
142 Fitzcarraldo 1982 Werner Herzog 712
143 Carnival of Souls 1962 Herk Harvey 716
144 Basic Instinct 1992 Paul Verhoeven 717
145 The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! 1988 David Zucker 721
146 Dead Ringers 1988 David Cronenberg 725
147 My Own Private Idaho 1991 Gus Van Sant 728
148 Sin City 2005 Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez 737
149 Friday the 13th 1980 Sean S. Cunningham 738
150 Chimes at Midnight 1965 Orson Welles 739
151 Sideways 2004 Alexander Payne 742
152 The Descent 2005 Neil Marshall 746
153 The Host 2006 Bong Joon Ho 747
154 Into the Wild 2007 Sean Penn 749
155 Run Lola Run 1998 Tom Tykwer 750
156 The Witch 2015 Robert Eggers 751
157 Pickpocket 1959 Robert Bresson 752
158 Hoosiers 1986 David Anspaugh 754
159 Re-Animator 1985 Stuart Gordon 761
160 The Player 1992 Robert Altman 770
161 The Tree of Life 2011 Terrence Malick 773
162 Hotel Rwanda 2004 Terry George 794
163 Naked 1993 Mike Leigh 802
164 Stranger than Paradise 1984 Jim Jarmusch 809
165 The Straight Story 1999 David Lynch 812
166 Daughters of the Dust 1991 Julie Dash 814
167 Time Bandits 1981 Terry Gilliam 821
168 Saw 2004 James Wan 828
169 Snowpiercer 2013 Bong Joon Ho 831
170 The Long Good Friday 1980 John Mackenzie 834
171 The Thing from Another World 1951 Christian Nyby 843
172 If.... 1968 Lindsay Anderson 850
173 Picnic at Hanging Rock 1975 Peter Weir 851
174 Shaft 1971 Gordon Parks 866
175 Blow Out 1981 Brian De Palma 872
176 Once 2006 John Carney 886
177 The Exterminating Angel 1962 Luis Buñuel 896
178 Kung Fu Hustle 2004 Stephen Chow 897
179 Crimes and Misdemeanors 1989 Woody Allen 904
180 Barton Fink 1991 Joel Coen 905
181 Hellraiser 1987 Clive Barker 906
182 Sex, Lies, and Videotape 1989 Steven Soderbergh 909
183 Dont Look Back 1967 D.A. Pennebaker 910
184 The Mother and the Whore 1973 Jean Eustache 922
185 The Crying Game 1992 Neil Jordan 924
186 Orlando 1992 Sally Potter 926
187 The Gleaners & I 2000 Agnès Varda 927
188 The Killing Fields 1984 Roland Joffé 930
189 Crumb 1994 Terry Zwigoff 932
190 Lost Highway 1997 David Lynch 940
191 El Topo 1970 Alejandro Jodorowsky 946
192 Crash 1996 David Cronenberg 948
193 Down by Law 1986 Jim Jarmusch 961
194 Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me 1992 David Lynch 963
195 Ghost World 2001 Terry Zwigoff 970
196 The Irishman 2019 Martin Scorsese 976
197 Walkabout 1971 Nicolas Roeg 981
198 Pretty in Pink 1986 Howard Deutch 986
199 The Purple Rose of Cairo 1985 Woody Allen 990
200 My Beautiful Laundrette 1985 Stephen Frears 997
Go to the next 200 independent films
This page was last modified on March 6, 2025