11 Of The Best Movies To Watch On The Fourth Of July

“Glory” (1989)
Director Ed Zwick’s most stirring and powerful film is a brave elegy for the African-American soldiers that comprised the first all-black military unit for the American Union during the Civil War. It’s a film that deftly balances its racial subtext with grand sequences of old-fashioned battle and some truly remarkable performances. Leading the cast is Matthew Broderick as Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, a former Union soldier born of an abolitionist family who encouraged his African-American soldiers to hold out on their pay until it was equal to that of the white troops in his army. The erstwhile Ferris Bueller is quite good in a demanding dramatic role, but as should be the case, the movie belongs to two African-American actors: Morgan Freeman and a very young, very ferocious Denzel Washington, who plays the charismatic, volatile soldier Silas Trip. “Glory” works beautifully as another one of Zwick’s sweeping period epics, and the battle scenes are visceral and hard-hitting. And yet the film also doubles well as a lament for the marginalized and the oppressed peoples of our nation; in many ways, it’s a sad reminder of how much things haven’t changed. Still, there are glimpses of fleeting hope in Zwick’s mud-caked vision of American upheaval. The past is still the past, the film suggests. The sins of our national history can never be undone. But “Glory” argues that it is never too late to change — to give a voice to the voiceless, and to fight for the equality promised to every American.

“Born On The Fourth Of July” (1989)
Oliver Stone’s been called a traitor, anti-American and many other turncoat-esque slurs, but considering his oeuvre, the director might be the most patriotic filmmaker in U.S. history. What other helmer has devoted so much of his body of work to films about America, what it means to be American and the lie that keeps getting sold to the entire nation? And while every film is more or less a critique of American policy, conspiracies or cover-ups, it’s clear Stone censures the nation so much — and mostly its corruptible political leaders — because the filmmaker loves it and wants the country to be a true example of its best tenets and not just superficial nationalism. And so “Born On The Fourth Of July,” his post-Vietnam rebuke of the American dream, and of the U.S.’s shabby treatment of its veterans, starring Tom Cruise, is easily one of his best films (“JFK” aside). It may not be the most watched film on the 4^th of July, but it’s a powerfully sobering picture of shattered dreams, the cost of blind loyalty and the pains of abandonment after serving your country.

“The Patriot” (2000)
On this list and in the annals of cinema in general, there are both films about America as well as films about the idea of America. Films about America often examine our national blunders and our country’s history of oppression and imperialism with an unblinking eye and a sociologically adroit touch. Films about the idea of America, however, often rewrite our country’s history to serve their own narrative ends and amplify the heroism that is a huge part of our self-perpetuated national myth. Roland Emmerich’s bombastic “The Patriot” definitely falls into the latter of these two camps, but when taken on its own terms, the film is an admittedly rousing and muscular piece of all-American popcorn entertainment, and also a warm reminder of when you could actually enjoy a Mel Gibson performance without feeling a bit dirty. Anyone with a more than passing familiarity with the actual historical events that inspired Emmerich’s film is likely to scoff at some of the unbelievable turns taken in the script by Robert Rodat (Rodat is most well-known for penning Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan,” a more grim and honest look at Americans in wartime). “The Patriot” is ultimately redeemed, however, by the pair of magnetic performances that exist at its center. Gibson, as freedom fighter Benjamin Martin, reminds us all why he was once considered one of our biggest movie stars, while Heath Ledger turns in one of his characteristically warm and well-observed roles as Martin’s grown son.

“The American President” (1995)
Is there anyone better equipped to play the American president than Michael Douglas? Sure, others have given it a go and succeeded — step up, Martin Sheen on T.V.’s “The West Wing” and Warren Beatty in “Bulworth.” And yet there’s something about Douglas’ magisterial, slightly weary screen presence that makes him seem perfectly suited for the part. He’s imperial but human, intelligent but also deeply flawed. He certainly makes a compelling Commander-in-Chief in “The American President,” Rob Reiner’s smart and entertaining follow-up to his universally panned “North” that paired Mr. Douglas with Annette Bening as the wisecracking lobbyist who wins his heart. Sheen also makes an appearance as a White House Chief of Staff, foreshadowing his appearance on “The West Wing.” The script for “The American President” was also penned by “West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin, who told TV Guide that he was constantly high on crack-cocaine when he wrote the script. And yet “The American President” sure doesn’t feel like it was written by someone on crack — in fact, it’s polished, witty and downright romantic. Reiner’s direction is proudly old-fashioned, and Douglas and Bening cast electric sparks off each other — their scenes together are easily the movie’s strongest. “The American President” isn’t the deepest movie on this list, but it’s a winning look at what happens when the most powerful man in America meets his match.

Honorable Mention:
For the pedants, obviously when we say “11 of the best,” we don’t mean these are the definitive best films about or related to July The Fourth. Other films we considered include “Inglourious Basterds” (doesn’t quite fit), “Miss Firecracker,” George Cukor’s “Born Yesterday,” John Ford’s “Drums Along the Mohawk,” “A League Of Their Own,” “Rocky Balboa” and “Rocky IV,” the Harrison Ford-starring “Patriot Games,” “My Girl,” and “Yankee Doodle Dandy” starring James Cagney. Surely there’s more you could mention, and that’s what the comments section is for, no? Happy July 4^th!