Independent American Cinema
by philipvanaalst | created - 31 Dec 2014 | updated - 31 Dec 2014 | PublicCriterion Themes
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1. Alambrista! (1977)
Not Rated | 110 min | Adventure, Drama
After the birth of his first child, Roberto, a young Mexican man slips across the border into the United States. Seeking work to support his family back home, he finds that working hard is not enough.
Director: Robert M. Young | Stars: Domingo Ambriz, Trinidad Silva, Linda Gillen, Ned Beatty
Votes: 774
2. The Baron of Arizona (1950)
Approved | 97 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Master swindler James Reavis painstakingly spends years forging documents and land grants that will make his wife and him undisputed owners of the entire territory of Arizona.
Director: Samuel Fuller | Stars: Vincent Price, Ellen Drew, Vladimir Sokoloff, Beulah Bondi
Votes: 2,541
3. Beyond the Law (1968)
110 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A night in a Manhattan police station.
Director: Norman Mailer | Stars: Rip Torn, George Plimpton, Norman Mailer, Mickey Knox
Votes: 192
4. Blast of Silence (1961)
Approved | 77 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A hired killer from Cleveland has a job to do on a second-string mob boss in New York, but a special girl from his past and a gun dealer with pet rats get in his way.
Director: Allen Baron | Stars: Allen Baron, Molly McCarthy, Larry Tucker, Peter Clune
Votes: 5,671
5. Body and Soul (1925)
Not Rated | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A malevolent phony preacher plots to take advantage of a woman from his congregation who happens to be in love with his long-estranged identical twin brother.
Director: Oscar Micheaux | Stars: Paul Robeson, Marshall Rogers, Lawrence Chenault, Chester A. Alexander
Votes: 1,191
6. Border Radio (1987)
R | 87 min | Drama
Two musicians and a roadie take money that is owed to them from a job. One flees to Mexico, and everyone has questions.
Directors: Allison Anders, Dean Lent, Kurt Voss | Stars: Chris D., Chris Shearer, Dave Alvin, Devon Anders
Votes: 755
7. Borderline (1930)
Not Rated | 63 min | Drama
A negro woman having an adulterous affair with a white man causes his wife to go mad and re-enforces the towns-folk's prejudice against Negroes.
Director: Kenneth MacPherson | Stars: Paul Robeson, Eslanda Robeson, Hilda Doolittle, Gavin Arthur
Votes: 576
8. Bottle Rocket (1996)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Three friends plan to pull off a simple robbery and go on the run.
Director: Wes Anderson | Stars: Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Ned Dowd, Shea Fowler
Votes: 83,541 | Gross: $0.56M
9. Window Water Baby Moving (1959)
13 min | Documentary, Short
Stan Brakhage films the birth of his first child, Myrrena.
Director: Stan Brakhage | Stars: Stan Brakhage, Myrrena Schwegmann, Jane Wodening
Votes: 2,459
10. Burden of Dreams (1982)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary
A documentary following German auteur Werner Herzog as he deals with difficult actors, bad weather and getting a boat over a mountain, all in an effort to make his film Fitzcarraldo (1982).
Director: Les Blank | Stars: Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards
Votes: 8,141
11. Carnival of Souls (1962)
Approved | 78 min | Horror, Mystery
After a traumatic accident, a woman becomes drawn to a mysterious abandoned carnival.
Director: Herk Harvey | Stars: Candace Hilligoss, Frances Feist, Sidney Berger, Art Ellison
Votes: 27,833
12. Clean, Shaven (1993)
Not Rated | 79 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After a man suffering from schizophrenia is released from a mental institution, he attempts to get his daughter back from her adoptive family.
Director: Lodge Kerrigan | Stars: Peter Greene, Alice Levitt, Megan Owen, Jennifer MacDonald
Votes: 6,025
13. Crumb (1994)
R | 119 min | Documentary, Biography, Comedy
An intimate portrait of controversial cartoonist Robert Crumb and his traumatized family.
Director: Terry Zwigoff | Stars: Robert Crumb, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Charles Crumb, Maxon Crumb
Votes: 21,599 | Gross: $3.17M
14. Down by Law (1986)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Two men are framed and sent to jail, where they meet a murderer who helps them escape and leave the state.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Tom Waits, John Lurie, Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi
Votes: 55,313 | Gross: $1.44M
15. Eating Raoul (1982)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Crime
A relatively boring Los Angeles couple discovers a bizarre, if not murderous, way to get funding for opening a restaurant.
Director: Paul Bartel | Stars: Mary Woronov, Paul Bartel, Robert Beltran, Susan Saiger
Votes: 9,181
16. The Emperor Jones (1933)
Not Rated | 72 min | Drama, Music
Unscrupulously ambitious Brutus Jones escapes from jail after killing a guard and through bluff and bravado finds himself the emperor of a Caribbean island.
Directors: Dudley Murphy, William C. de Mille | Stars: Paul Robeson, Dudley Digges, Frank H. Wilson, Fredi Washington
Votes: 1,262
17. Equinox (1970)
GP | 82 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Four friends are attacked by a demon while on a picnic, due to possession of a tome of mystic information. Told in flashbacks by the sole survivor.
Directors: Jack Woods, Dennis Muren, Mark Thomas McGee | Stars: Edward Connell, Barbara Hewitt, Frank Bonner, Robin Christopher
Votes: 3,472 | Gross: $0.25M
18. Eraserhead (1977)
Not Rated | 89 min | Fantasy, Horror
Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Allen Joseph, Jeanne Bates
Votes: 127,553 | Gross: $7.00M
19. Faces (I) (1968)
R | 130 min | Drama
A middle-aged man leaves his wife for another woman. Shortly after, his ex-wife also begins a relationship with a younger partner. The film follows their struggles to find love amongst each other.
Director: John Cassavetes | Stars: John Marley, Gena Rowlands, Lynn Carlin, Seymour Cassel
Votes: 11,654
20. For All Mankind (1989)
Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary, History
An in-depth look at various NASA moon landing missions, starting with Apollo 8.
Director: Al Reinert | Stars: Jim Lovell, Ken Mattingly, Russell Schweickart, Eugene Cernan
Votes: 6,538 | Gross: $0.77M
21. Frances Ha (2012)
R | 86 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A New York woman apprentices for a dance company and throws herself headlong into her dreams, even as the possibility of realizing them dwindles.
Director: Noah Baumbach | Stars: Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner, Adam Driver, Michael Zegen
Votes: 94,347 | Gross: $4.06M
22. George Washington (2000)
Not Rated | 89 min | Drama
A group of children, in a depressed small town, band together to cover up a tragic mistake one summer.
Director: David Gordon Green | Stars: Candace Evanofski, Donald Holden, Damian Jewan Lee, Curtis Cotton III
Votes: 8,671 | Gross: $0.24M
23. Grey Gardens (1975)
PG | 95 min | Documentary, Comedy, Drama
Meet a mother and daughter, high-society dropouts, reclusive cousins of Jackie O., managing to thrive together amid the decay and disorder of their East Hampton, NY, mansion, making for an eerily ramshackle echo of the American Camelot.
Directors: Ellen Hovde, Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Muffie Meyer | Stars: Edith Bouvier Beale, Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale, Brooks Hyers
Votes: 15,295 | Gross: $0.03M
24. Harlan County U.S.A. (1976)
PG | 103 min | Documentary
A heartbreaking record of the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line.
Director: Barbara Kopple | Stars: John L. Lewis, Carl Horn, Norman Yarborough, Logan Patterson
Votes: 6,635
25. The Honeymoon Killers (1970)
R | 107 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
An obese, embittered nurse doesn't mind if her toupee-wearing boyfriend romances and fleeces other women, as long as he takes her along on his con jobs.
Directors: Leonard Kastle, Donald Volkman | Stars: Shirley Stoler, Tony Lo Bianco, Mary Jane Higby, Doris Roberts
Votes: 5,833 | Gross: $0.46M
26. Hoop Dreams (1994)
PG-13 | 170 min | Documentary, Drama, Sport
A film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.
Director: Steve James | Stars: William Gates, Arthur Agee, Emma Gates, Curtis Gates
Votes: 28,023 | Gross: $7.83M
27. I Shot Jesse James (1949)
Passed | 81 min | Western
Bob Ford murders his best friend Jesse James in order to obtain a pardon that will free him to marry his girlfriend but is plagued by guilt and self-disgust.
Director: Samuel Fuller | Stars: Preston Foster, Barbara Britton, John Ireland, Reed Hadley
Votes: 2,505
28. Kicking and Screaming (1995)
R | 96 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A bunch of guys hang around their college for months after graduation, continuing a life much like the one before graduation.
Director: Noah Baumbach | Stars: Josh Hamilton, Eric Stoltz, Samuel Gould, Catherine Kellner
Votes: 15,189 | Gross: $0.70M
29. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
R | 135 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A proud strip club owner is forced to come to terms with himself as a man when his gambling addiction gets him in hot water with the mob, who offer him only one alternative.
Director: John Cassavetes | Stars: Ben Gazzara, Timothy Carey, Seymour Cassel, Robert Phillips
Votes: 14,764
30. Always for Pleasure (1978)
Not Rated | 58 min | Documentary, Music
A look at the spirit of New Orleans. First a funeral: Allen Toussaint explains that you arrive slow and cut up afterwards. Then it's food, with a lesson in eating crayfish at Frankie and ... See full summary »
Director: Les Blank | Stars: Kid Thomas, Allen Toussaint, Blue Lu Barker, Irma Thomas
Votes: 574
31. Louie Bluie (1985)
Not Rated | 75 min | Documentary, Music
About the obscure country-blues musician and idiosyncratic visual artist Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong, member of the last known black string band in America.
Director: Terry Zwigoff | Stars: Howard Armstrong, Ted Bogan, Yank Rachell, Ikey Robinson
Votes: 900
32. Maidstone (1970)
110 min | Drama
Norman T. Kingsley, famous movie director, runs for President.
Director: Norman Mailer | Stars: Norman Mailer, Rip Torn, Paul Austin, Joy Bang
Votes: 281
33. Mala Noche (1986)
Not Rated | 78 min | Drama
A story of amour fou. Walt is madly in love/lust with a young illegal Mexican immigrant. However, the object of his unrequited affection doesn't even speak any English and finds Walt really... See full summary »
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Tim Streeter, Doug Cooeyate, Ray Monge, Nyla McCarthy
Votes: 4,329
34. Metropolitan (1989)
PG-13 | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A group of young upper-class Manhattanites are blithely passing through the gala debutante season, when an unusual outsider joins them and stirs them up.
Director: Whit Stillman | Stars: Carolyn Farina, Edward Clements, Chris Eigeman, Taylor Nichols
Votes: 12,411 | Gross: $2.94M
35. Mystery Train (1989)
R | 110 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Three stories are connected by a Memphis hotel and the spirit of Elvis Presley.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Masatoshi Nagase, Yûki Kudô, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Cinqué Lee
Votes: 30,840 | Gross: $0.37M
36. The Naked Kiss (1964)
Approved | 90 min | Crime, Drama
A former prostitute relocates to a buttoned-down suburb, determined to fit in with mainstream society. But perverse secrets simmer beneath the wholesome surface.
Director: Samuel Fuller | Stars: Constance Towers, Anthony Eisley, Michael Dante, Virginia Grey
Votes: 8,756
37. Nanook of the North (1922)
Passed | 78 min | Documentary
In this silent predecessor to the modern documentary, film-maker Robert J. Flaherty spends one year following the lives of Nanook and his family, Inuits living in the Arctic Circle.
Director: Robert J. Flaherty | Stars: Allakariallak, Alice Nevalinga, Cunayou, Allegoo
Votes: 13,458
38. Native Land (1942)
Not Rated | 80 min | Drama, History
Paul Robeson narrates a mix of dramatizations and archival footage about the bill of rights being under attack during the 1930s by union busting corporations, their spies and contractors. ... See full summary »
Directors: Leo Hurwitz, Paul Strand | Stars: Paul Robeson, Fred Johnson, Mary George, John Rennick
Votes: 380
39. El Norte (1983)
R | 141 min | Adventure, Drama
After their family is killed in a government massacre, siblings Enrique and Rosa flee Guatemala and embark on a perilous journey to "El Norte": the United States.
Director: Gregory Nava | Stars: Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez, David Villalpando, Ernesto Gómez Cruz, Alicia del Lago
Votes: 5,597
40. Opening Night (1977)
PG-13 | 144 min | Drama
A renowned actress teeters on the edge of a breakdown as she counts down the days toward a big Broadway opening.
Director: John Cassavetes | Stars: Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara, Joan Blondell
Votes: 12,218
41. Safe (1995)
R | 119 min | Drama
An affluent and unexceptional homemaker in the suburbs develops multiple chemical sensitivity.
Director: Todd Haynes | Stars: Julianne Moore, Xander Berkeley, Dean Norris, Julie Burgess
Votes: 17,248 | Gross: $0.51M
42. Salesman (1969)
G | 91 min | Documentary, Drama
Four dogged door-to-door Bible salesmen travel from Boston to Florida on a seemingly futile quest to sell luxury editions of the Good Book to working-class Catholics.
Directors: Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin | Stars: Paul Brennan, Charles McDevitt, James Baker, Raymond Martos
Votes: 5,708
43. Schizopolis (1996)
Not Rated | 96 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Mystery
Fletcher Munson, the lethargic employee of a pseudo-religious self help company, and his doppelganger, the friendly but dull dentist Dr. Jeffrey Korchek.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Steven Soderbergh, Scott Allen, Betsy Brantley, Marcus Lyle Brown
Votes: 6,052 | Gross: $0.01M
44. Shadows (1958)
PG | 87 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Cassavetes' jazz-scored improvisational film explores interracial friendships and relationships in Beat-Era (1950s) New York City.
Director: John Cassavetes | Stars: Ben Carruthers, Lelia Goldoni, Hugh Hurd, Anthony Ray
Votes: 12,562
45. Shock Corridor (1963)
Approved | 101 min | Drama, Mystery
Bent on winning a Pulitzer Prize, a journalist commits himself to a mental institution to solve a strange and unclear murder.
Director: Samuel Fuller | Stars: Peter Breck, Constance Towers, Gene Evans, James Best
Votes: 13,067
46. Slacker (1990)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama
A day in the life of Austin, Texas as the camera roams from place to place and provides a brief look at the overeducated, the social misfits, the outcasts and the oddballs.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Richard Linklater, Rudy Basquez, Jean Caffeine, Jan Hockey
Votes: 23,488 | Gross: $1.23M
47. The Steel Helmet (1951)
Approved | 85 min | Action, Drama, War
A ragtag group of American stragglers battles against superior Communist troops in an abandoned Buddhist temple during the Korean War.
Director: Samuel Fuller | Stars: Gene Evans, Robert Hutton, Steve Brodie, James Edwards
Votes: 4,737
48. Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Drama
A New Yorker's life is thrown into a tailspin when his younger cousin surprise-visits him, starting a strange, unpredictable adventure.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: John Lurie, Eszter Balint, Richard Edson, Cecillia Stark
Votes: 40,676 | Gross: $2.44M
49. Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968)
Not Rated | 75 min | Documentary
Filmmaker William Greaves auditioned acting students for a fictional drama, while simultaneously shooting the behind-the-scenes drama taking place.
Director: William Greaves | Stars: Patricia Ree Gilbert, Don Fellows, Jonathan Gordon, Bob Rosen
Votes: 2,519
50. The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A documentary of the successful career and assassination of San Francisco's first elected gay city supervisor.
Director: Rob Epstein | Stars: Harvey Fierstein, Harvey Milk, Anne Kronenberg, Tory Hartmann
Votes: 6,579 | Gross: $0.01M
51. Tiny Furniture (2010)
Not Rated | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
About a recent college grad who returns home while she tries to figure out what to do with her life.
Director: Lena Dunham | Stars: Lena Dunham, Laurie Simmons, Grace Dunham, Rachel Howe
Votes: 14,852 | Gross: $0.39M
52. Vanya on 42nd Street (1994)
PG | 119 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
New York actors rehearse Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" in a dilapidated theatre.
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Wallace Shawn, Phoebe Brand, George Gaynes, Jerry Mayer
Votes: 5,161 | Gross: $1.75M
53. Wild 90 (1968)
90 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Norman Mailer's first feature filmmaking effort stars the director and his two longtime collaborators Buzz Farbar and Mickey Knox as a trio of gangsters holed up in a ramshackle New York apartment, drinking, braying, and fighting.
Director: Norman Mailer | Stars: Norman Mailer, Buzz Farber, Mickey Knox, Beverly Bentley
Votes: 141
54. A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
R | 155 min | Drama, Romance
Although wife and mother Mabel is loved by her husband Nick, her mental illness places a strain on the marriage.
Director: John Cassavetes | Stars: Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Fred Draper, Lady Rowlands
Votes: 28,731 | Gross: $13.34M
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