Empire's 50 Greatest Independent Films [Archive]

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zentraed

12-02-2005, 12:53 PM

<a href="http://www.empireonline.co.uk/features/50greatestindependent/default.asp">Empire's 50 Greatest Independent Films</a>Ron
went through the top 10 on the air, but that's the entire list. I think
Harvey Keitel has the most performances in the list (Reservoir Dogs,
Mean Streets, Bad Lieutenant). Paul-O's "Stranger than Paradise" also
made the list. Any thoughts?I'm happy to see "Amorres Perros"
and "Derr Lola"/"Run Lola Run" just squeezed in there at the end. There
are a lot of horror flicks that I haven't seen on the list (my most
neglected genre. just never really cared much) 
<a href="http://www.empireonline.co.uk/features/50greatestindependent/default.asp"></a>

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Doogie

12-02-2005, 01:10 PM

Alright, Lost in Translation is too high on the listing while Pink Flamingoes and Swingers is too low. Clerks is just about right. But Evil Dead should also be higher.One mans opinion. 

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curtoid

12-02-2005, 01:32 PM

THX-1138 is a piece of crap; I love early John Waters, but Female Trouble and Desperate Living are much better than Pink Flamingos; Grosse Point Blank and Buffalo 66 are both good but shouldn't be on this listBad Taste is way too high; Sweetback (which brought the avante-guard to mainstream and taught indie filmmakers, both white and black, what could be done) and Blair Witch are too low. If they are going to include foreign, documentaries and silents, they sreally didn't include more than just token ones; Pulp Fiction, Halloween should be on there; and only one Coen Brothers film?? Bullshit.

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Stankfoot

12-02-2005, 02:33 PM

quote: Paul-O's "Stranger than Paradise" also made the list.         Paul-O was in Stranger than Paradise?    

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HBox

12-02-2005, 02:37 PM

[color=navy]Donnie Darko at 2? No fucking way. Better then Clerks, Terminator, Night of The Living Dead, Life of Brian, Roger and Me, Evil Dead, Nosferatu, Being John Malkovich and Texas Chainsaw Massacre? MY ASS. 

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This message was edited by HBox on 12-2-05 @ 6:37 PM

zentraed

12-02-2005, 03:53 PM

quote:quote: Paul-O's "Stranger than Paradise" also made the list. Paul-O was in Stranger than Paradise? I forget exactly how it came up, but he mentioned it during his segment today. 

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shodan

12-02-2005, 04:03 PM

Halloween should be on this list, in the top ten. It is proof that DIY can make a masterpiece. Carpenter did EVERYTHING and it turned out perfectly. And the idea that Texas Chainsaw Massacre is at the bottom of the list is a disgrace. It is a perfect example of guerilla filmmaking at its best, not to mention that Chainsaw and Halloween have to be the two most imitated films in history.

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Mike Teacher

12-02-2005, 10:55 PM

Halloween isnt on the list?Either an egrigious error, or they have absolutely no clue.

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zentraed

12-02-2005, 11:11 PM

Lots of calls for Halloween. Here's Empire's explanation regarding it's omission: #27 Dark Star:

Dark Star (1974)
There are those who will argue that Halloween is the better John Carpenter film, more deserving of recognition here. They're right and they're wrong. Halloween is indeed the better film - it was a terrific (in both senses), genuinely scary template for horror for the next decade, while Dark Star is a wildly uneven, low-budget-to the-point-of-impeding-your-enjoyment sci-fi. But the very fact that Dark Star found screens at all, its more creative story content (life onboard the ship being unsatisfactory, the philosophising bomb as a brilliant extension of 2001's self-aware HAL), and the issue that without it Carpenter's career wouldn't exist, gets this over the line. 

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Bulldogcakes

12-03-2005, 03:02 AM

The Terminator (first one) was an indie film? Shit I never knew that. Mad
Max should be higher. The post nuclear holocost theme was perfect at
that time, and I think it had impact beyond its box office. I'd put Reservior Dogs on top, just cause I love that fuckin film.   

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Yerdaddy

12-03-2005, 04:14 AM

"The Passion of the Christ"???? Jesus H.!"Lone Star" - nice!I would have liked to have seen "Sling Blade" on there, and "Trees Lounge". And probably a dozen others if I gave a shit enough to rant about another top __ list. Not that I won't rant a little. I seriously need to adjust my meds.I really don't understand the qualifications of "indie" on this one. They've got some borderline flicks like "Lost in Translation", (as though the daughter of one of the greatest directors of all time is going to have any trouble finding financing for a movie - despite her contribution to turning "Godfather 3" into a pile of monkey shit), "Terminator" and "The Usual Suspects". If these qualify as indies then the top spot should probably have gone to "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" or "Dr. Strangelove." Almost everything by Kubrick could qualify since he was an absolute bitch about financing his films without giving up any creative control - and subsequently avoided Hollywood companies, and America in general. "Silence of the Lambs" could be on there, for a number of reasons. And, honestly, where the fuck are Jim Jarmoush, Wes Anderson, or Paul Thomas Anderson? 

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Mike Teacher

12-03-2005, 05:00 AM

I really don't understand the qualifications of "indie" on this one. They've got some borderline flicks like "Lost in Translation", (as though the daughter of one of the greatest directors of all time is going to have any trouble finding financing for a movie - despite her contribution to turning "Godfather 3" into a pile of monkey shit), "Terminator" and "The Usual Suspects". If these qualify as indies then the top spot should probably have gone to "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" or "Dr. Strangelove." Almost everything by Kubrick could qualify since he was an absolute bitch about financing his films without giving up any creative control - and subsequently avoided Hollywood companies, and America in general. "Silence of the Lambs" could be on there, for a number of reasons. =Totally agreed. There are peeps like Clint Eastwood who are at a stage where they can simply hire the whole damn crew and the equipment; he finances it, he gets the box office, he becomes one of the richest guys in HollyWeird.

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Stankfoot

12-03-2005, 10:08 AM

I agree; the term "independent" means different things to different people. When I think independent film I think low budget, minimal professional experience, etc. That said I would include Pi and Primer high on the list .......

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Stankfoot

12-03-2005, 10:14 AM

quote: And, honestly, where the fuck are Jim Jarmoush, Wes Anderson, or Paul Thomas Anderson?         Uh.... Jim's at number 14 (Stranger than Paradise).

JustJon

12-03-2005, 12:31 PM

Where is the highest grossing indie film - at least until the 90s/early00s, dunno if it still is - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on that list? 

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XMRonFez

12-03-2005, 07:57 PM

The original Star Wars was 20th Century Fox, but all the others were personally funded by Lucas...Empire Strikes Back Return of The JediPhantom MenaceAttack of The ClonesRevenge of The SithFox only distributed these films for Lucas, but they are probably the biggest indie films in history...

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WhistlePig

12-03-2005, 10:06 PM

I'm glad to see Dark Star in there--I always loved this film. I thought it was one of Carpenter's most original, if not the best.
I'd of liked to see Pi in there. I thought that film and Requim for a Dream were pure genius but that's me. Texas Chainsaw Massacre was too far down on the list. I loved Donnie Darko, but agree it didn't deserve the number 2 spot.
I didn't like Stranger than Paradise at all. I know Jarmoush is supposed to be great, but except for Dead Man and a few scenes in Down by Law I don't get his genius. Stranger in Paradise certainly didn't deserve mention. It just annoyed me except for the soundtrack.

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