The largest independent film festival in the United States had humble beginnings as the Utah/U.S. Film Festival in 1978. Since then, it has launched the careers of many filmmakers spanning different styles and genres, including Robert Rodriguez, Jim Jarmusch, Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith, Steven Soderbergh, and many others.
Since the Sundance Film Festival takes place between late January and early February, it initially wasn't affected by the pandemic, like many festivals were in 2020. However, in January 2021, the festival will go virtual for the first time in its 37 year history. Here's a look back at some of the best movies to come out of the festival, ranked by Rotten Tomatoes.
American Psycho (70%)
Directed by Mary Harron, this slasher film with a dark comedic twist made its debut in 2000 at Sundance. Not everyone loves the comedic aspects of this film - in fact, at one point during pre-production, Leonardo DiCaprio was favored by Lionsgate for the lead role. But Harron wanted Christian Bale as the lead, and so Lionsgate planned to replace her with director Oliver Stone, who would not only work with DiCaprio but also take all of the dark comedy out of the script.
Ultimately, DiCaprio would back out and Harron would be permitted to stay along with Bale, who would draw inspiration from Tom Cruise and Nicolas Cage's performance in Vampire's Kiss to create the crazed perfectionist, Patrick Bateman.
(500) Days Of Summer (85%)
Romantic comedies are sometimes given a bad rap or dismissed as 'chick flicks' - a term criticized for putting a negative spin on movies that tend to cater to women's interests. While not all romantic comedies are stellar in terms of story, (500) Days of Summer definitely meets and exceeds many viewers' expectations.
With an 85% Rotten Tomatoes score, many critics point out that one of the best parts of this movie is the performances and chemistry between Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Z0oey Deschanel. While their relationship was ill-fated, Levitt and Deschanel's honest and sentimental portrayal of their relationship is endearing.
The Usual Suspects (89%)
This 1995 neo-noir was a smash hit at both Sundance and out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Made famous for its dense plot and the iconic end twist, The Usual Suspects is also full of thrilling heists, intense drama, and mystery that viewers have enjoyed long after its release.
Director Bryan Singer actually met Kevin Spacey at Sundance in 1993 after a screening of his film Public Access. Spacey was impressed by Public Access and told Singer and his screenwriting partner he would be interested in working with him in the future - and sure enough, he would star in The Usual Suspects, two years later.
Reservoir Dogs (92%)
Three years earlier, Quentin Tarantino screened his breakout hit Reservoir Dogs at Sundance in 1992. It's considered significant in the world of independent film for achieving so much success on a budget of just $1.5 million. Like The Usual Suspects, Reservoir Dogs is also centered around crimes and a heist - similar in story to Stanley Kubrick's The Killing - along with Tarantino's signature aestheticization of violence.
The ear-cutting scene, in particular, was hard for some viewers to sit through and for many screenings, a handful of the audience would walk out. Despite some negative feedback on the more violent aspects of the movie, Tarantino would carry this aesthetic over to his other projects and become hugely successful.
Heathers (93%)
Take a bubbly teen movie like Mean Girls and add some dark comedy with substantial violence, and you've got Heathers. This cult film was written by Daniel Waters after being inspired by Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove and meant it to stand out from the more gleeful and positive teen dramas of the time.
Winona Ryder and Christian Slater star in Heathers as Veronica and Dean, who end up killing Veronica's unpleasant friends, all named Heather, one by one. Heathers screened at Sundance back when it was still known as the Utah/U.S. Film Festival in 1989.
Memento (93%)
Memento has a unique non-linear story structure that twists and turns, sorting the scenes into either black and white or color to help the viewers piece together what's happening. Christopher Nolan based his script for Memento on a pitch written by his brother, John Nolan.
Memento actually ended its promotional tour festival run at Sundance Film Festival in 2001. Independent filmmaker, Steven Soderbergh, helped to promote the film and bolster its popularity when it initially had trouble finding a U.S. distributor and Memento would go on to be considered one of Nolan's greatest works.
Winter's Bone (94%)
Jennifer Laurence got her start in this gripping realist mystery drama introduced at Sundance in 2010, winning the Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Film. Director Debra Granik brought the Ozarkian story to the screen after reading the novel version by Daniel Woodrell.
Granik fell in love with the female protagonist Ree Dolly, whose strength and determination to protect her vulnerable family drives the story forward into dark places before emerging with hope for a brighter future.
Whiplash (94%)
If Whiplash could be summed up in a single word, most audiences would agree on "intense." The film follows college freshman Andrew Neiman, who aspires to become a skilled jazz musician at the highly competitive Shaffer Conservatory music school, and his struggles under the mentorship of an abusive instructor, expertly portrayed by J.K. Simmons.
A short film version of Whiplash debuted at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, gaining enough critical acclaim to attract investors to finance a feature-length version that would come to fruition a year later.
Hoop Dreams (98%)
Hoop Dreams won the Audience Award for Best Documentary after premiering in the 1994 Sundance Film Festival. The documentary film follows two Black American teenagers from Chicago and their passion for basketball and hopes for a professional career in the sport. After a basketball program at a majority-white high school recruited the boys, the film details their struggles, both economic and social, that they overcame including a 90-minute daily commute to their new school and drastically different social situations.
It boasts a 98% Rotten Tomatoes score with the critical consensus saying that it's "one of the most critically acclaimed documentaries of all time ... a rich, complex, heartbreaking, and ultimately rewarding film that uses high school hoops as a jumping-off point to explore issues of race, class, and education in modern America."
Man On Wire (100%)
Another critically acclaimed documentary, Man on Wire is a biographical British-American film about Philippe Petit, a high wire artist who performed the illegal stunt of walking a wire between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in NYC.
Styled like a heist movie and put together with the help of Petit's autobiography To Reach The Clouds, Man on Wire has thrilled and excited audiences both in the U.S. and abroad since its 2008 release.