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Empire Magazine's "50 Greatest (Worldwide) Independent Movies" (2005)

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1. Reservoir Dogs (1992)  (d. Quentin Tarantino)
2. Donnie Darko (2001)  (d. Richard Kelly)
3. The Terminator (1984)  (d. James Cameron)
4. Clerks (1994)  (d. Kevin Smith)
5. Life of Brian (1979)  (d. Terry Jones)
6. Night of the Living Dead (1968)  (d. George Romero)
7. Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)  (d. Steven Soderbergh)
8. The Usual Suspects (1995)  (d. Bryan Singer)
9. Sideways (2004)  (d. Alexander Payne)
10. Mean Streets (1973)  (d. Martin Scorsese)
11. Bad Taste (1987)  (d. Peter Jackson)
12. Eraserhead (1977)  (d. David Lynch)
13. Memento (2000)  (d. Christopher Nolan)
14. Stranger Than Paradise (1984)  (d. Jim Jarmusch)
15. Blood Simple (1984)  (d. Joel Coen)
16. She's Gotta Have It (1986)  (d. Spike Lee)
17. City of God (2002)  (d. Katia Lund & Fernando Meirelles)
18. Withnail & I (1987)  (d. Bruce Robinson)
19. Lone Star (1996)  (d. John Sayles)
20. Slacker (1991)  (d. Richard Linklater)
21. Roger and Me (1989)  (d. Michael Moore) (DOCUMENTARY)
22. Nosferatu (1922)  (d. F.W. Murnau)
23. The Evil Dead (1981)  (d. Sam Raimi)
24. Happiness (1998)  (d. Todd Solondz)
25. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)  (d. Gus Van Sant)
26. Lost In Translation (2003)  (d. Sofia Coppola)
27. Dark Star (1974)  (d. John Carpenter)
28. In the Company of Men (1997)  (d. Neil LaBute)
29. Bad Lieutenant (1992)  (d. Abel Ferrara)
30. Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971)  (d. Melvin Van Peebles)
31. Pink Flamingos (1972)  (d. John Waters)
32. Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)  (d. Monte Hellman)
33. Shallow Grave (1994)  (d. Danny Boyle)
34. The Blair Witch Project (1999)  (d. Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sanchez)
35. THX 1138 (1971)  (d. George Lucas)
36. Buffalo 66 (1998)  (d. Vincent Gallo)
37. Being John Malkovich (1999)  (d. Spike Jonze)
38. Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)  (d. George Armitage)
39. The Passion of the Christ (2004)  (d. Mel Gibson)
40. The Descent (2005)  (d. Neil Marshall)
41. Dead Man's Shoes (2004)  (d. Shane Meadows)
42. Swingers (1996)  (d. Doug Liman)
43. Shadows (1959)  (d. John Cassavetes)
44. Amores Perros (2000)  (d. Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu)
45. Mad Max (1979)  (d. George Miller)
46. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)  (d. Tobe Hooper)
47. Blood Feast (1963)  (d. Herschell Gordon Lewis)
48. Cube (1997)  (d. Vincenzo Natali)
49. Run Lola Run (1998)  (d. Tom Tykwer)
50. El Mariachi (1992)  (d. Robert Rodriguez)

FilmSite.org Additions

 
51. Salt of the Earth (1954)  (d. Herbert Biberman)
52. Badlands (1973)  (d. Terrence Malick)
53. Exotica (1994)  (d. Atom Egoyan)
54. The Sweet Hereafter (1997)  (d. Atom Egoyan)
55. Pi (1998)  (d. Darren Aronofsky)
56. Requiem For a Dream (2000)  (d. Darren Aronofsky)
57. Crumb (1995)  (d. Terry Zwigoff) (DOCUMENTARY)
58. Ghost World (2001)  (d. Terry Zwigoff)
59. Waiting For Guffman (1996)  (d. Christopher Guest)
60. Boogie Nights (1997)  (d. Paul Thomas Anderson)
61. Magnolia (1999)  (d. Paul Thomas Anderson)

 

NOTE 1: Empire Magazine presented this list in 2005 of their picks of the bravest, most innovative, and most creative films - the "ultimate indie lineup" of 50 Greatest Independent Films - the best non-studio works ever made. Empire's ranking of these distinctive experimental films without big budgets and stars in cinematic history "takes into account the quality of the film, the circumstances behind its production, the achievement of the filmmakers despite monetary and logistical constraints and its influence on subsequent projects."

 

NOTE 2: (from FilmSite.org) The definition of what constitutes an independent film still needs to be clarified, although it usually means a film made outside of the established studio system, by a little-known director who is working on a shoestring budget. Independent films, often with unconventional plots and characters, usually attract only small audiences (although can sometimes be breakthrough films for a director), and have little access to prime distribution markets. They often contain groundbreaking subject matter designed for sophisticated audiences, and are not necessarily produced with commercial success as the goal.

 

FilmSite.org website with list: https://www.filmsite.org/independentfilms.html