What are American independent films?

The 50 Greatest American Independent Movies

• Mean Streets (1973) Director: Martin Scorsese.
• Reservoir Dogs (1992) Director: Quentin Tarantino.
• Donnie Darko (2001) Director: Richard Kelly.
• The Terminator (1984)
• Evil Dead II (1987)
• Shadows (1959)
• She’s Gotta Have It (1986)
• Night of the Living Dead (1968)

What is the most successful independent film?

The 10 Highest-Grossing Independent Films Of All Time

1. 1 The Passion Of The Christ.
2. 2 The King’s Speech.
3. 3 Slumdog Millionaire.
4. 4 My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
5. 5 The Full Monty.
6. 6 Get Out.
7. 7 The Blair Witch Project.
8. 8 Good Will Hunting.

What is American indie cinema?

Most broadly, the term refers to films made outside the Hollywood system, although some scholars date independent cinema from 1908, when enterprising filmmakers defied the near-monopoly of the Motion Picture Patents Company, formed by Thomas A. Edison and others hoping to control the rapidly expanding industry.

What defines an indie movie?

An indie film is any feature-length or short film that is made without a major studio or big production company attached. Indie filmmaking is often low-budget, which in the film industry can mean anywhere from a few thousand dollars (“micro-budget”) to a few million.

What are examples of independent films?

50 Greatest American Independent Movies

• Mean Streets (1973)
• Reservoir Dogs (1992)
• Donnie Darko (2001)
• The Terminator (1984)
• Evil Dead II (1987)
• Shadows (1959)
• She’s Gotta Have It (1986)
• Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Why are independent films important?

Independent films equal creative freedom. Producers of independent films are able to express themselves freely and do not have to follow the same demands that big box office films have to. Also, films are a form of art, and artists have a right to express themselves—this is why we need independent cinema.

How do independent films make money?

Independent filmmakers can actually make money if they have a great foreign sales agent who can sell their movies in key overseas markets. Producers will often make their “wish list” when casting a film, and the list will typically be full of well-known names that “travel” overseas.

What is the highest grossing Indie film of all time?

It ultimately grossed $135 million, making it the highest grossing independent film ever until The Blair Witch Project unseated it nine years later. Followed by two sequels, TMNT became a truly iconic film, propelling the Turtles brand to years of continued success.

Are there any independent movies in the US?

Since its arrival, however, more than one generation has had its eyes opened to the long-snubbed world of moviemaking’s outsiders, be it American mavericks, foreign actioners, or just plain old B pictures. You only have to look through the homages and rip-offs that have abounded.

Who are some of the best independent film makers?

Any list of independent film-makers must include films by those mentioned above, including Roger Corman, Sam Fuller, George Romero, John Sayles, John Cassavetes, Quentin Tarantino, Gus Van Sant, the Coen Brothers, and Michael Moore.

Who is the father of all independent movies?

Father Martin Scorsese. Stated simply like that, those three words just don’t scan correctly, but if Martin Scorsese had gone with his first love, the priesthood, instead of his second, making movies, we’d never had Goodfellas, or Raging Bull, or Taxi Driver, or Kundun.

Which is the best example of an indie movie?

Night Of The Living Dead is the ultimate yin/yang example of indie filmmaking. The movie itself is a brilliant, bleak, monochrome horror classic, the standard-bearer for a wave of realistic frightflicks that flooded the ’70s.