The Top 5 Movies To Watch On The 4th Of July

If you are rained in on the 4th of July and are looking for a movie to watch to while away the hours and wait for the fireworks, experts have put together a list of the top movies to watch.

What is remarkable about the list is, that all of them were made prior to 2000 and reaching way back to the 70’s. It’s interesting that there are non in the top 5 movies to watch on the 4th of July that were made in this millennium. Does that mean we or Hollywood are not as patriotic as we once were?

If you look at the extended list of the top 20 movies to watch on the 4th of July you will see that 7 that made the list. Those are, “Captain America”, 2011, “Lincoln”, 2012, “National Treasure”, 2004, “Hamilton”, 2020, “Live Free or Die Hard”, 2007, “The Patriot”, 2000 and “Remember The Titans”, 2000.

So, as you can see, we still like seeing all-American movies, in fact, Top Gun 2 didn’t take place on or around the 4th, it certainly was a very patriotic movie that has to date made over a billion dollars worldwide.

All American movies for the 4th of July

What makes a great 4th of July movie? For one thing it has to have a semblance of patriotism or it takes place around the day. In some cases they are based around the idea of American exceptionalism and what it means to fight for your country.

Of course all of these movies are considered classics you have probably seen more than once and are readily available on one or more streaming services. Before you pay to see any of them, you should look at the cable guide first because there’s a good chance that they may be on tv for free. Now that’s the American dream.

Here are the top 5 movies to watch on the 4th of July

• 5. Rocky 1976

  The original Rocky was literally draped in the American Flag, check out the movie poster, it’s all American. The movie came out in 1976 our country’s bi-centennial year, so it had to be a very inspiring movie to honor the 4th. Of course, Rocky 4 was also patriotic with the bout taking place against a big Russian boxer.

• 4. The Sandlot 1993

  The team plays a Fourth of July night game by the light of fireworks, and Smalls observes that, to Benny, “baseball was life.” Later, they play against a snooty rival Little League team, and win handily. That night they celebrate at a fair, where chewing tobacco shared by Bertram before riding the Trabant causes them to vomit.

• 3. Independence Day 1996

  This is the ultimate fight for independence and the very survival of not just America, but the entire world. For such a heavy concept for a movie, it sure is fun! Always worth a rewatch because the movie was made before the total takeover of GCI and all the action looks amazing.

• 2. Top Gun 1986

  The original Top Gun came out at the same time that a lot of anti-war movies were dominating Hollywood, movies like Full Metal Jacket and Platoon were anything but pro-America, so it was refreshing for people to see a movie that made you proud to be an American. Of course, Top Gun 2 came out a few years ago and was monster hit again for the franchise. Look for more Top Guns to come.

• 1. Jaws 1975

  This movie takes place on the 4th of July in the fictional beach town of Amity. We all know that it filmed on Martha’s Vineyard where the red, white and blue is celebrated in a big way and the mayor wants to make darn sure the beaches are open and the fireworks will go off. Jaws has become a period piece now with it’s sun splashed beaches and everything that was a typical 4th of July in America circa 1975.