Independence Day Movie MarathonLike this list

10 items

• Jaws

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  Jaws is pretty much the perfect summer movie. I mean, it started the summer movie season for pete’s sake, but sunshine and leisure activities abound in Steven Spielberg’s thriller classic—in between terrifying shark attacks, that is. Jaws…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Born on the Fourth of July

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  America’s history as a nation is not all sunshine and rainbows that’s for sure, so if you want to celebrate this country’s great history while also acknowledging some of its serious missteps, Oliver Stone’s epic Vietnam War character piece…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Independence Day

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  Obviously. It’s not 4th of July weekend without Roland Emmerich’s 1996 disaster epic, and while the sequel was apparently of little interest to general audiences 20 years later, Independence Day still holds up as a goofy, fun 90s throwback…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Sandlot

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  The 4th of July not only marks our nation’s Independence Day, but it also serves as something of a halfway marker for summer vacation. Kids aren’t likely to neglect the fact that this means school is starting again soon, but the 1993…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• 1776

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  If you’re in the mood for something really patriotic but also loads of fun, look no further than Peter H. Hunt’s 1972 musical 1776. Based on the Broadway musical of the same name, the film recounts the events surrounding the signing of the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Patriot

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  I wouldn’t exactly have pegged Roland Emmerich as the de facto 4th of July filmmaker, but here he is with two films on this list that make for swell Independence Day watches. The second is his 2000 Revolutionary War epic The Patriot,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

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• Lincoln

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  The most recent film on this list, Lincoln is also about the American political process, albeit with a bit more nuance. Steven Spielberg worked for over a decade to bring one of our nation’s greatest presidents to the big screen, and while…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• John Adams

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  If you’re really in for an indoors day on the 4th of July, why not go all-in with the HBO miniseries John Adams? Technically this isn’t a movie, but I think it qualifies. The King’s Speech and Les Miserables director Tom Hooper helms all…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Top Gun

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  The final entry on this list is not a traditional 4th of July movie, but it captures the spirit of America nonetheless. Tony Scott’s terrific Top Gun is, of course, the story of U.S. Navy fighter pilots, but it’s not too concerned with the…Read moreRead more of this annotation