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The 39 Greatest Miramax Films

By YPB Team

Palme d'Or winners sit next to scrappy debuts shot on maxed-out credit cards. This was the studio that made indie cinema a box-office habit, so expect some painful cuts.

  1. Pulp Fiction — ranked #11
    Pulp Fiction
    Quentin Tarantino's 1994 crime anthology that won the Palme d'Or and made Miramax the king of independent film.
    1000pts
  2. Good Will Hunting — ranked #22
    Good Will Hunting
    1997 drama about a troubled janitor-genius that won Oscars for Robin Williams and writers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
    930pts
  3. The Piano — ranked #33
    The Piano
    Jane Campion's 1993 period drama that shared the Palme d'Or and won three Academy Awards.
    663pts
  4. Chasing Amy — ranked #44
    Chasing Amy
    Kevin Smith's 1997 romantic comedy about a comic-book artist falling for a lesbian writer.
    663pts
  5. City of God — ranked #55
    City of God
    Fernando Meirelles' 2002 Rio favela crime epic, a Miramax release that earned four Oscar nominations.
    641pts
  6. Bullets over Broadway — ranked #66
    Bullets over Broadway
    Woody Allen's 1994 backstage comedy that won Dianne Wiest her second Oscar.
    623pts
  7. Trainspotting — ranked #77
    Trainspotting
    Danny Boyle's kinetic 1996 adaptation of Irvine Welsh's novel about Edinburgh heroin addicts.
    592pts
  8. Life Is Beautiful — ranked #88
    Life Is Beautiful
    Roberto Benigni's 1997 tragicomedy set in a concentration camp that won three Oscars.
    579pts
  9. Heavenly Creatures — ranked #99
    Heavenly Creatures
    Peter Jackson's 1994 true-crime drama that introduced Kate Winslet.
    579pts
  10. Hero — ranked #1010
    Hero
    Zhang Yimou's 2002 wuxia spectacle that Miramax took to number one at the US box office.
    529pts
  11. The Talented Mr. Ripley — ranked #1111
    The Talented Mr. Ripley
    Anthony Minghella's 1999 thriller with Matt Damon as Patricia Highsmith's charming killer.
    473pts
  12. Cold Mountain — ranked #1212
    Cold Mountain
    Anthony Minghella's 2003 Civil War odyssey that won Renée Zellweger an Oscar.
    473pts
  13. Chicago — ranked #1313
    Chicago
    2002 musical about murderesses chasing fame in Jazz Age Chicago, winner of the Best Picture Oscar.
    473pts
  14. The Grifters — ranked #1414
    The Grifters
    Stephen Frears' 1990 neo-noir about three con artists, nominated for four Oscars.
    473pts
  15. Il Postino — ranked #1515
    Il Postino
    1994 Italian drama about a postman befriending poet Pablo Neruda, a Best Picture nominee.
    473pts
  16. Cinema Paradiso — ranked #1616
    Cinema Paradiso
    Giuseppe Tornatore's nostalgic Italian tribute to the movies, released in the US by Miramax and winner of the Foreign Language Oscar.
    473pts
  17. Gone Baby Gone — ranked #1717
    Gone Baby Gone
    Ben Affleck's 2007 directing debut, a Boston missing-child thriller.
    410pts
  18. Amélie — ranked #1818
    Amélie
    Jean-Pierre Jeunet's whimsical 2001 Paris fairy tale, released in the US by Miramax.
    410pts
  19. Sling Blade — ranked #1919
    Sling Blade
    Billy Bob Thornton's 1996 Southern drama that won him the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
    410pts
  20. Shakespeare in Love — ranked #2020
    Shakespeare in Love
    1998 romantic comedy about a young Shakespeare that won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
    410pts
  21. The English Patient — ranked #2121
    The English Patient
    Anthony Minghella's 1996 wartime romance that swept nine Oscars including Best Picture.
    410pts
  22. The Crying Game — ranked #2222
    The Crying Game
    Neil Jordan's 1992 IRA thriller famous for its twist and a surprise US box-office hit.
    410pts
  23. Kill Bill: Volume 1 — ranked #2323
    Kill Bill: Volume 1
    Tarantino's 2003 revenge saga opener starring Uma Thurman as the sword-wielding Bride.
    410pts
  24. Finding Neverland — ranked #2424
    Finding Neverland
    2004 drama with Johnny Depp as J.M. Barrie, the man who created Peter Pan.
    338pts
  25. Sex, Lies, and Videotape — ranked #2525
    Sex, Lies, and Videotape
    Steven Soderbergh's 1989 Palme d'Or winner that launched the indie boom and put Miramax on the map.
    338pts
  26. The Cider House Rules — ranked #2626
    The Cider House Rules
    1999 John Irving adaptation that won Oscars for Michael Caine and the screenplay.
    338pts
  27. My Left Foot — ranked #2727
    My Left Foot
    1989 biopic of painter Christy Brown that won Daniel Day-Lewis his first Best Actor Oscar.
    338pts
  28. Jackie Brown — ranked #2828
    Jackie Brown
    Tarantino's 1997 Elmore Leonard adaptation starring Pam Grier as a flight attendant outwitting cops and crooks.
    338pts
  29. Kill Bill: Volume 2 — ranked #2929
    Kill Bill: Volume 2
    The 2004 conclusion of the Bride's revenge quest, built on dialogue, flashbacks and a final showdown with Bill.
    338pts
  30. No Country for Old Men — ranked #3030
    No Country for Old Men
    The Coen brothers' 2007 neo-western thriller, co-released with Paramount Vantage, that won Best Picture.
    338pts
  31. Clerks — ranked #3131
    Clerks
    Kevin Smith's 1994 black-and-white micro-budget comedy about a day behind a convenience store counter.
    338pts
  32. Princess Mononoke — ranked #3232
    Princess Mononoke
    Hayao Miyazaki's 1997 eco-epic, released in English by Miramax with a Neil Gaiman script.
    338pts
  33. Doubt — ranked #3333
    Doubt
    2008 drama with Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman clashing over a priest's conduct.
    338pts
  34. Gangs of New York — ranked #3434
    Gangs of New York
    Martin Scorsese's 2002 epic of 1860s gang warfare with Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill the Butcher.
    255pts
  35. There Will Be Blood — ranked #3535
    There Will Be Blood
    Paul Thomas Anderson's 2007 oil-baron saga, co-released by Miramax, with Daniel Day-Lewis's Oscar-winning turn.
    255pts
  36. The Hours — ranked #3636
    The Hours
    2002 drama linking three women across eras, with Nicole Kidman's Oscar-winning Virginia Woolf.
    158pts
  37. Chocolat — ranked #3737
    Chocolat
    2000 fable about a chocolatier shaking up a French village, one of Miramax's biggest hits.
    158pts
  38. Swingers — ranked #3838
    Swingers
    1996 indie comedy about out-of-work actors in Los Angeles that made Vince Vaughn a star.
    158pts
  39. The Queen — ranked #3939
    The Queen
    Stephen Frears' 2006 drama that won Helen Mirren the Oscar as Elizabeth II.
    158pts

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