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EMPIRE MAGAZINE'S TOP 50 INDEPENDENT MOVIES (50 through 41)
50 - El Mariachi (1992) - Directed by Robert Rodriguez
Robert Rodriguez may be a household name, but back in 1992 he was an impoverished would-be filmmaker who raised $3,000 of the film's $7,000 shooting budget as a volunteer for experimental drug testing. Shot on the streets of Coahuila, Mexico without storyboards (Rodriguez had no crew to show them to), equipment (sound was record with a tape recorder while most of the 'guns' were water pistols) and quite often actors (many of the smaller roles were simply passers by), El Mariachi is guerilla filmmaking at its most inventive. An action movie filmed for the price of a second hand Ford Fiesta - Michael Bay, you have much to learn.
49 - Run Lola Run (1998) - Directed by Tom Tykwer
Brilliantly high concept, effortlessly executed by director Tom Tykwer and kept at breakneck speed by leading lady Franka Potente, this is one of the very best reasons to bury England's traditional enmity with the Germans. The story follows three attempts, largely in real time, by Lola (Potente) to get the 100,000 deutschmarks needed to save her boyfriend's life. Tykwer basically riffs on the same concept three times, ratcheting up the tension and building up the pace with each attempt as the flame-haired Lola uses increasingly inventive means of getting ahead. An object lesson in how to shoot at speed, this smashes the stereotype of the talky, heavy European indie.
48 - Cube (1997) - Directed by Vincenzo Natali
Cube is proof - if proof were needed - that you only need simple concept to make an arresting, interesting film. Taking a small group of people, a confined space and a heavy dose of sinister mystery, Vincenzo Natali probes the darker reaches of human nature, placing his unwitting characters in the ultimate prison: a network of revolving chambers interspersed with intricate (and oft-fatal) traps. Cube was shot in one-and-a-half 14' by 14' chambers and the director blagged free visual effects from a Toronto-based company keen to show their support for domestic movie making. The result is a tense and often terrifying tale, that outshines and outscares any number of budget-heavy, studio horrors.
47 - Blood Feast (1963) - Directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis
Without Herschell Gordon Lewis' low budget gore-fest, there would be no Halloween, no Evil Dead et al, and basically half of the '80s video industry would be missing. This no-budget effort was the birth of splatter. In fact, it's fair to say that with his entrail packed (however loosely) exploitationer, marketing guru Lewis opened the abattoir doors for 'meat content' in films generally - and that includes the likes of ear severing, and faces melting before the wrath of God. Even if you leave the gore aside, the film raked in $4 million from a budget of $24,500. Impressive by any studio outsider's standards.
46 - The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) - Directed by Tobe Hooper
With its air of eerie verisimilitude, Tobe Hooper's chilling horror stands light years apart from the other film based on the gory exploits of the real-life serial killer, Ed Gein. Shot for around $140,000, with money allegedly re-routed from the success of runaway porn hit, Deep Throat, it's Chainsaw's dead-eyed, almost cinema verite approach that truly unnerves. The dinner scene, where Marilyn Burns comes dangerously close to having her head smashed in with a hammer, is the most memorable example of Hooper's edgy approach - something he would never capture again in a career that has since gone spectacularly off the rails.
45 - Mad Max (1979) - Directed by George Miller
Australians love their cars - something Dr. George Miller was well aware of when he changed careers from physician to filmmaker. Not letting a paltry budget of $400,000 phase him, he fused the cult American sci-fi flick A Boy And His Dog with his own penchant for seeing muscle cars and road bikes moving fast and coming to a scattered end. Acknowledging a massive thirst for automotive action and raking in more than $100 million, it spawned one superior sequel (still one of the greatest 'real' action films), which in turn led to dozens of cheap 'post apocalyptic warzone' straight-to-video jobs.
44 - Amores Perros (2000) - Directed by Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu
21 Grams may have grabbed the Oscar headlines, but Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu perfected his techniques in overlapping storylines, stunning cinematography and the creative use of car crashes in this Mexican smash about three separate lives linked together by one common event. Remarkable for its stellar performances from a cast previously unknown outside their home country, for taking the fractured narrative to a whole new level, and for tackling subjects that studios avoid like the plague - dog fighting, anyone? - this burst like a firework on the indie world, and acted as a wake-up call to the US indie scene. You're not the only ones setting the pace now, guys.
43 - Shadows (1959) - Directed by John Cassavetes
Inventing American indie cinema before QT was even born, writer-director John Cassavetes' debut feature is a rough hewn landmark. Taking a subject matter that '50s Hollywood wouldn't touch with a barge-pole - the tensions within a black family arising when a young woman (Leila Goldoni) starts dating white men - Cassavetes ignores all the tricks of the mainstream to jazz up his simple story, instead opting for an almost home movie approach where you are allowed to get under the skin of the central character. It may seem somewhat dated now but as both a document of 60s Bohemian New York and the birth of American indie, this is essential.
42 - Swingers (1996) - Directed by Doug Liman
A true indie, this one, given that large sections of this film - in the casino, and on the highway - were shot without the proper permits, while director and stars pretended that the camera was turned off as the cops stood by. But the results of this largely plotless story of friends rallying round their suddenly single pal are undeniable. One of the very best buddy comedies out there, embraced by men the world over as somehow descriptive of their twenties, it's a perfect example of what happens when that strange alchemy between cast, crew, script and tone all work perfectly.
41 - Dead Man's Shoes (2004) - Directed by Shane Meadows
Most films on this list are here because of the man behind the camera. In this case, and with no disrespect to Shane Meadows' assured direction, it's the stunning turn by its star and co-writer, Paddy Considine that's won it a place. He's the central character, an ex-soldier who returns to his hometown and brings down a world of pain on the men who bullied his younger brother. A showcase for a deserving actor, and a perfect example of the indie sector's ability to tackle storylines that studios would shy away from, this is one of the finest British films in years.
Indie Films 50-41 |
Indie Films 40-31 |
Indie Films 30-21 |
Indie Films 20-11 |
Indie Films 10-1
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