Patriotic movies to watch on July 4th

Americans across the United States will this week be celebrating Independence Day. Everyone at AS USA hopes you enjoy your Fourth of July celebrations - and to help get you into the patriotic spirit, we have put together a list of movies that are ideal for the occasion.

Patriotism on the battlefield

The United States was born out of the Revolutionary War that began not long after the Declaration of Independence in 1776. After winning our freedom on the battlefield, we have entered into other conflicts to uphold the values in our US Constitution. Here are some films that reflect the US patriotic spirit.

Revolution (1985)

Al Pacino plays a father who is thrust into the Revolutionary War after his son is tortured by a Redcoat.

The Patriot (2000)

Mel Gibson is a reluctant participant in the Revolution until his son is captured by the Brits. Thereafter, he takes to expelling the Redcoats with zeal.

Glory (1989)

During one of the darkest moments in our nation’s history, when brother fought brother, the first all-Black Army regiment was created to fight for the Union. They proved to themselves and the world the meaning of freedom, honor and glory.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

When a family loses three of their four sons, a special team is put together to bring back the lone survivor alive from behind enemy lines in northern France, during the Allies’ unfolding D-Day invasion.

Top Gun (1986)

This 80s classic with Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer, while a fictitious story, inspired patriotic zeal at the height of the Cold War.

Top Gun Maverick (2022)

The remake lived up to the original, as Maverick returns to prepare ‘the best-of-the-best’ to take on an impossible mission.

Air Force One (1997)

Harrison Ford plays a US president who makes a vow to never negotiate with terrorists, only to have terrorist hijack Air Force One with himself, his family and advisers aboard. Spoiler… he shows that he is a man of his word.

Independence Day (2000)

The 1996 Roland Emmerich film was a pioneer in the disaster film genre. The now iconic scene of the White House being destroyed by alien lasers would surely stir the heart of all patriots across the land.

Team America: World Police

The film follows a team of Thunderbirds-esque marionette puppets as they seek to stop world terrorism. Deployed all over the globe, the team stops at nothing to “police the world.” Dozens of countries are invaded by the private army in this pursuit, with a host of famous monuments destroyed.

Standing up to tyranny in Washington

It can seem that Washington DC and our politics are dysfunctional, and Hollywood is more than happy to make movies to strengthen that idea. But Tinsel Town has spun some heartwarming tales of the good overcoming the bad in our capital.

Mr Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

This classic from Frank Capra sees a small town boy sent to Washington, where he almost gets ground up by the Beltway machine. However, his tenacity, strong moral compass and one very long speech show that the promise of America is more powerful than the forces that would corrupt it.

The American President (1995)

Starring Michael Douglas and Annette Bening, this romantic comedy tells the tale of a widower US president who falls for and begins to date an environmental lobbyist. However, his political opponents try to use his personal life to their advantage, until the president uses his bully pulpit to remind them just what the US and its democracy stand for.

Sports movies that will have you shouting “U-S-A!”

Perhaps nothing brings out national pride more than sporting events. Watching your nation’s team or athlete win, especially when the competition is also an ideological and geopolitical adversary, makes the patriotic pride swell.

Rocky IV (1985)

Sylvester Stallone is back as Rocky Balboa in the fourth instalment of Rocky. He must face Ivan Drago, played by Dolph Lundgren, a robot-like bruiser from Soviet Russia.

Miracle (2004)

This movie tells the story of the 1980 USA national hockey team, which did the unthinkable. They took on the invincible Soviet side and came out victorious at that year’s Lake Placid Winter Olympics.

US ingenuity in one of the nation’s greatest achievements

During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union were in a race to space. With the US falling behind, JFK put the nation on the path to get an American to the Moon in ten years. We got there in seven.

Hidden Figures (2016)

The speed with which the United States was able to successfully put a man on the Moon was helped in no small part by people at NASA that the public never saw. Hidden Figures shares the story of three female African American mathematicians. They overcame racism and sexism while also crunching the numbers that allowed American astronauts to safely land on the Moon and return home.

Apollo 13 (1995)

The path to the Moon wasn’t without its setbacks, and the 1970 Apollo 13 mission nearly turned fatal after an accident en route to our nearest neighbor. The crews at NASA and the three men aboard the damaged spacecraft showed just what they were made of when the words “Houston, we have a problem,” were spoken

Have we missed out any patriotic movies that you think should definitely have made this Fourth of July list? Let us know in the comments below!