If you like his films you might want to check out The Thin Man (1934). It's an old Hollywood classic. You'll see where the humor of his films are from. Especially with the characters played by David Thewlis and Jim Broadbent. Leigh's production company is also named after this movie.
I'd love to post but I'm just not sure I have the proper "movie buff" bona fides. I love Romero, Lynch, and Corman but I'm thinking that my dislike of John Waters might disqualify me. Mods, please delete my post, if necessary.
Outlier, My Left Foot with DDL may have been the single worst movie I have ever had to sit through. My ex-wife (I stress ex) made me sit through this with her, this may have been the reason I divorced her! High Road to China (Action Comedy) Love Hurts (Romance Comedy) Serinity (Sci-Fi) With Honors (Joe Pesci College feel good movie) Were all great movies IMO that went well under the radar.
2001: A Space Odyssey Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Leon the Professional The Terminator Pan's Labyrinth Memento BLACK BOOK Mulholland Drive American Beauty Pulp Fiction Mad Max Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Donnie Darko Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Brokeback Mountain In America Kill Bill 1,2 Monty Python's Life Of Brian Monty Python and the Holy Grail Gandhi The Last Emperor The Silence of the Lambs Just too many to name...
I remember watching a ton of James LeGros movies in the early 90's. Someone here must know what I'm talking about, you couldn't watch an indie flick without him. I wonder what he's up to now.
For "classic" (and foreign I guess), I'll submit La Jetee. Saw this in a film class 10 years ago and sticks with me as one of the best films I've seen. <iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/tgC7Eh355E4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Does this include Foreign Movies? I haven't found anything that trumps Kieslowski's Three Colors Trilogy. In fact, no one's better than Kieslowski IMO.
I've always liked Hitchcocks "Frenzy". It was one of his last films, it's hard to go wrong with Hitchcock.
Hardly any of those are indie. Most were Oscar nominated or had at least moderately large production backing.
A few of my favorites that I don't think have been listed here yet: Breaking the Waves Dancer in the Dark Henry Fool Rachel Getting Married River's Edge Shakes the Clown
i don't give a crap about trying to define what is or is not indie. however, i will contribute that if you like challenging films, films that are as beautiful as they are ugly, check out rainer werner fassbinder. a notorious poetic genius he is.
