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 |