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50 greatest independent movies ever


method77

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A lot of great movies on that list, but one of my favorites is Two-Lane Blacktop, #32 on the list,

starring singer James Taylor and the late Beach Boy drummer Dennis Wilson as two loners addicted to racing cars.

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The Terminator owns all ass...

The Terminator (1984)

Its studio-friendly sequels and slick '80s action sequences may make this appear part of the Hollywood establishment, but look a little more closely. Behind the impressive effects you'll see an untried director, an obscure leading man and a (relatively) shoestring budget - in fact, all the hallmarks of an indie movie. If you want an example of independent spirit, there's no finer example than the man behind The Terminator's apocalyptic vision. A nobody on the verge of being fired from his job on a silly horror flick about piranhas, James Cameron was fired up by a vivid nightmare he had one night about an unstoppable metal assassin. Hastily scribbling a screenplay and assembling a crew, he threw himself body and soul into the shoot, creating a whole new genre of techno-noir along the way. That the Terminator spawned one of the biggest sequels ever is testament to what a high concept and assured execution can do. Of course, it helps to have a healthy dose of iconic lines and, in Arnold Schwarzenegger, an unstoppable machine from the future - sorry, Austria - poised on the very brink of superstardom.

On one of the DVD releases (with a bonus disc) all the original sketches that Cameron did are included, even the one from his fever-driven "nightmare"; a picture of an endoskeleton Terminator emerging from a flaming pile of ruin. There's also a bunch of story board type sketches with the flying HK units and the futuristic soldiers (complete with ruined city imagery like wrecked buildings and skulls, and even written comments about the scenes). I'd post them if not for copyright issues.

It's just a very neat reason to make a movie: vivid inspiration from a dream.

Also, the bonus disc I got also has a "making of" which lends a lot of credence to just how indie this film really was and some of the very basic guerilla film making tactics that Cameron used to get some of the shots.

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I've seen most of these - and contrary to what you think, Method, I prefer the indies to Hollywood fare--thought certain epics by David Lean surpass the indies. In fact, I programmed stuff at the UCLA Film Archives with the guy who now programs Sundance

This is a good list and lots of those titles would have made my list. I would have put Y Tu Mama Tambien instead of Amos Perros. MI is correct about City of Gold. I would add Bucket of Blood and Little Shop of Horrors from Roger Corman. March of the Penguins could be added. I would probably put Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot on the list--all the studios rejected it and it was made cheaply. Rocky and on the Water Front were indie movies--they were also done cheaply. I love this film called Lucia, which was made in the late 60s in Cuba. I'd also add Easy Rider.

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I'd also add many movies on that list but it's too small and the list is mainly focused on american movies which is cool

99% of the movies I like are indie. Most of the american ones are there. My favorite british is there too. Brian.

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