TOP INDEPENDENT FILMS OF THE 90S
MY FAVORITE INDIE FILMS RELEASED IN THE 90'S
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- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsMark WahlbergJulianne MooreBurt ReynoldsBack when sex was safe, pleasure was a business and business was booming, an idealistic porn producer aspires to elevate his craft to an art when he discovers a hot young talent.
- DirectorTodd SolondzStarsHeather MatarazzoChristina BrucatoVictoria DavisAn awkward seventh-grader struggles to cope with inattentive parents, snobbish class-mates, a smart older brother, an attractive younger sister and her own insecurities in suburban New Jersey.
- DirectorMike FiggisStarsNicolas CageElisabeth ShueJulian SandsBen Sanderson, a Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his alcoholism, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.
- DirectorP.J. HoganStarsToni ColletteRachel GriffithsBill HunterA young social outcast in Australia steals money from her parents to finance a vacation where she hopes to find happiness, and perhaps love.
- DirectorStephan ElliottStarsHugo WeavingGuy PearceTerence StampTwo drag performers and a transgender woman travel across the desert to perform their unique style of cabaret.
- DirectorKimberly PeirceStarsHilary SwankChloë SevignyPeter SarsgaardA young man named Brandon Teena navigates love, life, and being transgender in rural Nebraska.
- DirectorDon RoosStarsChristina RicciMartin DonovanLisa KudrowA 16-year-old girl visits her gay half-brother and ends up seducing his boyfriend, thus wreaking havoc on all of their lives.
- DirectorTom TykwerStarsFranka PotenteMoritz BleibtreuHerbert KnaupAfter a botched money delivery, Lola has 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 Deutschmarks.
- DirectorWalter SallesStarsFernanda MontenegroVinícius de OliveiraMarília PêraThe emotive journey of a former schoolteacher who writes letters for illiterate people, and a young boy whose mother has just died, as they search for the father he never knew.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsCecilia RothMarisa ParedesCandela PeñaA comedy-drama about a bereaved mother, and overwrought actress, her jealous lover, and a pregnant nun.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsNeve CampbellCourteney CoxDavid ArquetteA year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a masked killer who targets her and her friends by using scary movies as part of a deadly game.
- DirectorMichael PolishStarsMichael PolishMark PolishMichele HicksConjoined twins have their relationship tested when a woman takes interest in one of them.
- DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsBen StillerPatricia ArquetteTéa LeoniA young man, his wife, and his incompetent case worker travel across country to find his birth parents.
- DirectorLisa CholodenkoStarsRadha MitchellAlly SheedyPatricia ClarksonA young female intern at a small magazine company and a drug-addicted lesbian photographer slowly fall in love while exploiting each other to advance their respective careers.
- DirectorTony KayeStarsEdward NortonEdward FurlongBeverly D'AngeloLiving a life marked by violence, neo-Nazi Derek finally goes to prison after killing two black youths. Upon his release, Derek vows to change; he hopes to prevent his brother, Danny, who idolizes Derek, from following in his footsteps.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsKevin KlineJoan AllenSigourney WeaverIn suburban New Canaan, Connecticut, 1973, middle-class families experimenting with casual sex and substance abuse find their lives beyond their control.
- DirectorMatthew BrightStarsReese WitherspoonKiefer SutherlandBokeem WoodbineA twisted take on "Little Red Riding Hood", with a teenage juvenile delinquent on the run from a social worker travelling to her grandmother's house and being hounded by a charming, but sadistic, serial killer and pedophile.
- DirectorRobert MulliganStarsSam WaterstonTess HarperGail StricklandA coming of age story set in the south of the U.S. when Elvis was King.
- DirectorF. Gary GrayStarsJada Pinkett SmithQueen LatifahVivica A. FoxDesperation drives four inner-city women to bank robbery in Los Angeles, then they start mistrusting each other.
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsPaul MercurioTara MoriceBill HunterA maverick dancer risks his career by performing an unusual routine and sets out to succeed with a new partner.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsTom CruiseJason RobardsJulianne MooreAn epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.
- DirectorChristopher GuestStarsChristopher GuestFred WillardCatherine O'HaraAn aspiring director and the marginally talented amateur cast of a hokey small-town Missouri musical production go overboard when they learn that someone from Broadway will be in attendance.
- DirectorDaniel MyrickEduardo SánchezStarsHeather DonahueMichael C. WilliamsJoshua LeonardThree film students vanish after traveling into a Maryland forest to film a documentary on the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind.
- DirectorDoug LimanStarsSarah PolleyJay MohrScott WolfThe aftermath of a drug deal as told from three different points of view.
- DirectorDaisy von Scherler MayerStarsParker PoseyOmar TownsendThe Lady BunnyA 20-something, irresponsible party girl is bailed out of jail by her librarian godmother. To repay the loan, she starts working at the library and gradually turns her life around.
- DirectorUli EdelStarsJennifer Jason LeighStephen LangBurt YoungSet in Brooklyn during the 1950s against a backdrop of union corruption and violence. A prostitute falls in love with one of her customers. Also a disturbed man discovers that he is homosexual.
- DirectorMark WatersStarsParker PoseyJosh HamiltonTori SpellingA mentally unbalanced young woman - who is convinced she is Jackie Kennedy - flies into a murderous rage when her brother returns home to reveal he is engaged.
- DirectorDominic SenaStarsBrad PittJuliette LewisKathy LarsonA journalist duo goes on a tour of serial-killer murder sites with two companions, unaware that one of them is a serial killer himself.
- DirectorCarl FranklinStarsBill PaxtonBilly Bob ThorntonCynda WilliamsA small town police chief awaits the arrival of a gang of killers.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsStephen ReaJaye DavidsonForest WhitakerA British soldier kidnapped by the IRA soon befriends one of his captors, who then becomes drawn into the soldier's world.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsWinston ChaoMay ChinAh-Lei GuaTo satisfy his nagging parents, a gay landlord and a female tenant agree to a marriage of convenience, but his parents arrive to visit and things get out of hand.
- DirectorAntonia BirdStarsLinus RoacheTom WilkinsonRobert CarlyleA homosexual Catholic priest finds out during confessional that a young girl is being sexually abused by her father, and has to decide how to deal with both that secret and his own.
- DirectorMira NairStarsNaseeruddin ShahLillete DubeyShefali ShahA stressed father, a bride-to-be with a secret, a smitten event planner, and relatives from around the world create much ado about the preparations for an arranged marriage in India.
- DirectorAna KokkinosStarsAlex DimitriadesElle MandalisDamien FotiouA 19 year old Greek Australian youth struggles with his sexual identity and has one clumsy heterosexual and several homosexual encounters.
- DirectorGregg ArakiStarsJames DuvalRose McGowanJohnathon SchaechJordan White and Amy Blue, two troubled teens, pick up an adolescent drifter, Xavier Red. Together, the threesome embark on a sex-and-violence-filled journey through an America of psychos and quickie marts.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsRiver PhoenixKeanu ReevesJames RussoTwo best friends living on the streets of Portland as hustlers embark on a journey of self discovery and find their relationship stumbling along the way.
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsMatthew BroderickReese WitherspoonLoren NelsonA high school teacher meets his match in an over-achieving student politician.
- DirectorNorman RenéStarsStephen CaffreyPatrick CassidyBrian CousinsThe emergence and devastation of the AIDS epidemic is chronicled in the lives of several gay men living during the 1980s.
- DirectorAlfonso ArauStarsMarco LeonardiLumi CavazosRegina TornéWhen tradition prevents her from marrying the man she loves, a young woman discovers she has a unique talent for cooking.
- DirectorLasse HallströmStarsJohnny DeppLeonardo DiCaprioJuliette LewisA young man in a small Midwestern town struggles to care for his mentally-disabled younger brother and morbidly obese mother while attempting to pursue his own happiness.
- DirectorRoberto BenigniStarsRoberto BenigniNicoletta BraschiGiorgio CantariniWhen an open-minded Jewish waiter and his son become victims of the Holocaust, he uses a perfect mixture of will, humor and imagination to protect his son from the dangers around their camp.
- DirectorTodd SolondzStarsJane AdamsJon LovitzPhilip Seymour HoffmanThe lives of several individuals intertwine as they go about their lives in their own unique ways, engaging in acts which society as a whole might find disturbing in a desperate search for human connection.
- DirectorNick CassavetesStarsGena RowlandsMarisa TomeiGérard DepardieuAfter her abusive husband leaves, Monica asks her neighbor to look after her son while she's at work. Mildred's angry daughter's just moved out, so she's happy to have JJ.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsNicole KidmanMatt DillonJoaquin PhoenixA beautiful but naïve aspiring television personality films a documentary on teenagers with a darker ulterior motive.
- DirectorBeeban KidronStarsShirley MacLaineKathy BatesJessica TandyAt her husband's funeral, Pearl (Shirley MacLaine), Jewish mother of two divorced and antagonistic daughters, meets an old Italian friend (Marcello Mastroianni) of her husband, whose advice years previously had stopped the husband leaving home. For 23 years he, now a widower, has secretly loved Pearl...
- DirectorLarry ClarkStarsLeo FitzpatrickJustin PierceChloë SevignyA day in the life of a group of teens as they travel around New York City skating, drinking, smoking and deflowering virgins.
- DirectorRick CastroBruce La BruceStarsTony WardBruce La BruceKevin P. ScottReminiscent of Sunset Boulevard, Hustler White transposes the action from the silver screen's old movie backlots to contemporary male prostitution and the porn industry. Said to be an homage to classic Hollywood cinema.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsEwan McGregorEwen BremnerJonny Lee MillerRenton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out despite the allure of drugs and the influence of friends.
- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsEwan McGregorJonathan Rhys MeyersChristian BaleIn 1984, British journalist Arthur Stuart investigates the career of 1970s glam superstar Brian Slade, who was heavily influenced in his early years by hard-living and rebellious American singer Curt Wild.
- DirectorNeil LaButeStarsAaron EckhartMatt MalloyStacy EdwardsTwo business executives--one an avowed misogynist, the other recently emotionally wounded by his love interest--set out to exact revenge on the female gender by seeking out the most innocent, uncorrupted girl they can find and ruining her life.
- DirectorGregg ArakiStarsJames DuvalRachel TrueNathan BextonFollows a day in the lives of a group of Los Angeles high school students and the strange lives they lead.
- DirectorIain SoftleyStarsStephen DorffSheryl LeeIan HartA dramatization of the Hamburg, Germany phase of The Beatles' early history.
- DirectorNancy SavocaStarsRiver PhoenixLili TaylorRichard PanebiancoBefore leaving to fight in Vietnam, a group of teenagers play a game where they try to seduce the ugliest girl they can find.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsNeve CampbellCourteney CoxDavid ArquetteTwo years after the first series of murders, as Sidney acclimates to college life, someone donning the Ghostface costume begins a new string of killings.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsMelanie LynskeyKate WinsletSarah PeirseTwo teenage girls share a unique bond; their parents, concerned that the friendship is too intense, separate them, and the girls take revenge.
- DirectorScott KalvertStarsLeonardo DiCaprioLorraine BraccoMarilyn SokolA teenager finds his dreams of becoming a basketball star threatened after he free falls into the harrowing world of drug addiction.
- DirectorMichael Caton-JonesStarsRobert De NiroLeonardo DiCaprioEllen BarkinThe story about the relationship between a rebellious 1950s teenager and his abusive stepfather, based on the memoirs of writer and literature Professor Tobias Wolff.
- DirectorNeil LaButeStarsAmy BrennemanAaron EckhartBen StillerUnhappy couples fall apart and hop into other beds with other people.
- DirectorEdward BurnsStarsEdward BurnsJennifer AnistonJohn MahoneyThe love lives of two brothers, Mickey and Francis, interconnect as Francis cheats on his wife with Mickey's ex-girlfriend, while Mickey impulsively marries a stranger.
- DirectorKevin SmithStarsBen AffleckJoey Lauren AdamsEthan SupleeHolden and Banky are comic book artists. Everything's going good for them until they meet Alyssa, also a comic book artist. Holden falls for her, but his hopes are crushed when he finds out she's a lesbian.
- DirectorAndrew FlemingStarsKirsten DunstMichelle WilliamsDan HedayaAfter wandering off during a White House tour, two high school girls inadvertently become Richard Nixon's top secret advisers at the height of the Watergate scandal.
- DirectorMary HarronStarsLili TaylorJared HarrisMartha PlimptonThe story of Valerie Solanas, a '60s radical who preached misandry in her "Scum" manifesto. She wrote a screenplay for a film that she wanted Andy Warhol to produce, but after he repeatedly ignored her, she shot him.
- DirectorGeoffrey WrightStarsRussell CroweDaniel PollockJacqueline McKenzieA group of skinheads become alarmed at the way their neighbourhood is changing.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. JacksonThe lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
- DirectorMike NewellStarsHugh GrantAndie MacDowellJames FleetOver the course of five social occasions, a committed bachelor must consider the notion that he may have discovered love.
- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsJulianne MooreXander BerkeleyDean NorrisAn affluent and unexceptional homemaker in the suburbs develops multiple chemical sensitivity.
- DirectorGregg ArakiStarsMike DytriCraig GilmoreMark FinchLuke is a gay hustler. Jon is a movie critic. Both are HIV positive. They go on a hedonistic, dangerous journey, their motto "Fuck the world".
- DirectorStacy TitleStarsCameron DiazRon EldardAnnabeth GishA group of idealistic, but frustrated, liberals succumb to the temptation of murdering rightwing pundits for their political beliefs.
- DirectorJohn SingletonStarsCuba Gooding Jr.Laurence FishburneHudhail Al-AmirFollows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence, and future prospects.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsRobin WilliamsMatt DamonBen AffleckWill Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.
- DirectorDarnell MartinStarsLuna Lauren VelezJon SedaTomas MellyMoney issues and misunderstandings divide a couple who struggle to raise their children in the Bronx.
- DirectorVincent GalloStarsVincent GalloChristina RicciBen GazzaraAfter being released from prison, Billy is set to visit his parents with his wife, whom he does not actually have. This provokes Billy to act out, as he kidnaps a girl and forces her to act as his wife for the visit.
- DirectorJim FallStarsChristian CampbellJohn Paul PitocTori SpellingThe misadventures of two young gay men, trying to find a place to be alone, one night in Manhattan.
- DirectorJohn HuckertStarsNoel PalomariaMalcolm MoormanCharles LanyerWhen a series of brutal killings of young male hustlers awakens the police to the threat of a serial killer, rookie detective Raymond Fates (Noel Palomaria) and his seasoned partner detective Tom Ellis (Charles Lanyer) battle an intolerant police department that is indifferent to these "misdemeanor killings.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBill PaxtonBilly Bob ThorntonBridget FondaThree blue-collar acquaintances come across millions of dollars in lost cash and make a plan to keep their find from the authorities, but it isn't long before complications and mistrust weave their way into the plan.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsGeorge ClooneyJennifer LopezVing RhamesA career bank robber breaks out of jail, and shares a moment of mutual attraction with a U.S. Marshal he has kidnapped.
- DirectorJohn MayburyStarsDerek JacobiDaniel CraigTilda SwintonBiography of British painter Francis Bacon focuses on his relationship with his lover, George Dyer, a former small time crook.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDanny AielloOssie DavisRuby DeeOn the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.
- DirectorWhit StillmanStarsChloë SevignyKate BeckinsaleChris EigemanStory of two female Manhattan book editors fresh out of college, both finding love and themselves while frequenting the local disco.
- DirectorMark ChristopherStarsRyan PhillippeSalma HayekNeve CampbellThe famous 1970s New York City nightclub seen and told through the eyes of a young employee.
- DirectorPhilip Frank MessinaStarsRobert CostanzoDavid StrathairnAdam ArkinFour small-time two-bit character actors, all close friends, are competing for same important part in the next Martin Scorsese mob film.
- DirectorMarc RoccoStarsDermot MulroneyRobert KnepperLaura San GiacomoKing is a young man, but he's already a veteran of life on the streets of Los Angeles. The leader of a group of runaways, King acts as a mentor to troubled kids such as gay hustler Little J and junkie Greg.
- DirectorNick CassavetesStarsSean PennRobin WrightJohn TravoltaAfter being released from a psychiatric institution, a man tries to redeem himself in the eyes of his now-ex wife from the events that led up to his incarceration.
- DirectorEmma-Kate CroghanStarsFrances O'ConnorAlice GarnerMatt DayA day in the life of two film-school students trying to find love and another house-mate.
- DirectorJohn DuiganStarsSam RockwellKathleen QuinlanMischa BartonWhen Devon, a 10-year-old girl, forges a friendship with Trent, a 21-year-old outsider who mows the neighborhood lawns, things suddenly get very complicated and private.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsChristian SlaterPatricia ArquetteDennis HopperIn Detroit, a pop-culture nerd steals cocaine from his new wife's pimp and tries to sell it in Hollywood, prompting the mobsters who own the drugs to pursue the couple.
- DirectorJane CampionStarsKate WinsletHarvey KeitelJulie HamiltonRuth's been brainwashed by a guru in Delhi, India. Her parents in Sydney hire a specialist in reversing this. Ruth is tricked to return to Australia and is isolated in an outback cabin with the specialist. It gets messy.
- DirectorJill SprecherStarsToni ColletteParker PoseyLisa KudrowThe relationship between four female temps all working for the same credit company is threatened with the arrival of a new hire, who lands a permanent position one of the women was vying for.
- DirectorCameron CroweStarsBridget FondaCampbell ScottKyra SedgwickA group of twenty-something friends search for love and success in grunge-era Seattle.
- DirectorBen StillerStarsWinona RyderEthan HawkeJaneane GarofaloA documentary filmmaker and her fellow Generation X graduates face life after college, looking for work and love in Houston.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsSean GulletteMark MargolisBen ShenkmanA paranoid mathematician searches for a key number that will unlock the universal patterns found in nature.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsSihung LungKuei-Mei YangWang Yu-wenA senior chef lives with his three grown daughters; the middle one finds her future plans affected by unexpected events and the life changes of the other household members.
- DirectorGregg ArakiStarsKathleen RobertsonJohnathon SchaechMatt KeeslarVeronica, 22, meets a writer and a drummer hunk at a club on Halloween. Why choose when she can have both? 3some? But then a third man comes along.
- DirectorSofia CoppolaStarsKirsten DunstJosh HartnettJames WoodsA group of male friends become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents in suburban Detroit in the mid 1970s.
- DirectorRobert DuvallStarsRobert DuvallTodd AllenPaul BaggetAfter his happy life spins out of control, a preacher from Texas changes his name, goes to Louisiana and starts preaching on the radio.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsPam GrierSamuel L. JacksonRobert ForsterA flight attendant with a criminal past gets nabbed by the ATF for smuggling. Under pressure to become an informant against the illegal arms dealer she works for, she must find a way to secure her future without getting killed.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsWilliam H. MacyFrances McDormandSteve BuscemiMinnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.
- DirectorLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsJennifer TillyGina GershonJoe PantolianoTough ex-con Corky and her lover Violet concoct a scheme to steal millions of stashed mob money and pin the blame on Violet's crooked boyfriend Caesar.
- DirectorRory KellyStarsCraig ShefferEric StoltzMeg TillySarah, Joseph and Frank are BFFs. Joseph and Sarah get married but the evening before she tells Frank with a kiss that it could've been him. Frank continues to have a thing for Sarah.
- DirectorMichael SteinbergStarsPhoebe CatesBridget FondaTim RothA fired TV salesman (Roth) abandons his girlfriend (Fonda) for the open highway. Encouraged by her best friend (Cates), the girlfriend has an affair with an idealistic local house painter (Stoltz) just as the boyfriend returns.