Subgenre Sampler
Drama > Independent: 587 Films to Buy & Rent
- Smithereens (1982)
- Dir. Susan Seidelman
Feat. Richard Hell
- Hanging out on the lower rung of the gritty New York music scene in the early 80s, a flaky adolescent girl struggles to make her mark or find…
- Essential John Sayles (Return of the Secaucus 7, Lianna, Brother From Another Planet) (1980-1984)
- Dir. John Sayles
- Three seminal films from John Sayles' formative years as a spearhead of the American independent cinema movement.
- Falls, The (1980)
- Dir. Peter Greenaway
Feat. Peter Westley, Aad Wirtz, Michael Murray
- One of dir. Greenaway's more trenchantly avant–garde works (think 'A Walk Though H' crossed with DROWNING BY NUMBERS), expanding his riddling…
- Permanent Vacation (1980)
- Dir. Jim Jarmusch
Feat. Chris Parker, John Lurie
- Directorial debut feature for future icon Jim Jarmusch, who made this on the cusp of graduating from film school.
Set around the wanderings of a…
- Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980)
- Dir. John Sayles
Feat. Bruce MacDonald, Maggie Renzi, Adam LeFevre…
- In his feature debut, writer–director John Sayles demonstrates a wisdom way beyond his years with this ‘do–it–yourself’…
- Killer of Sheep (1977)
- Dir. Charles Burnett
Feat. Henry Sanders
- A recently exhumed landmark of African–American cinema, dir. Burnett’s long–lost thesis film observes the daily hardships of an…
- Opening Night (1977)
- Dir. John Cassavetes
Feat. John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara
- Intermittently fascinating, semi–improvised opus from Cassavetes (who also stars), about an aging actress (Gena Rowlands) who suffers a…
- Killing of a Chinese Bookie, The (1976)
- Dir. John Cassavetes
Feat. Ben Gazzara
- Cassavetes' most personal film concerns a strip–club owner (Ben Gazzara) who becomes indebted to the mob. An acquired taste for this one as…
- Welcome to L.A. (1976)
- Dir. Alan Rudolph
Feat. Keith Carradine
- A discouraged rock composer finds solace in a number of one–night stands. An arresting, provocative tale of life at the mercy of the…
- Woman Under the Influence, A (1974)
- Dir. John Cassavetes
Feat. Peter Falk, Gena Rowlands
- Peter Falk and Gena Rowlands pull out the stops as a dysfunctional working– class couple. Though the drama (and running time) are left…