IndependenceDay is a 1996 sci-fi action film where gargantuan alien spaceships suddenly appear over Earth, initially greeted with awe and curiosity. However, these aliens reveal a hostile agenda, launching devastating attacks on major cities worldwide. Humanity faces near annihilation, compelling a group of survivors to mount a resistance.
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In Independence Day (1996), humanity faces certain doom as alien spaceships descend on Earth with a mission to destroy. Enter a ragtag group of unlikely heroes, including Captain Steven Hiller, a daring fighter pilot played by Will Smith, and David Levinson, a determined scientist with a plan.
Teaming up with a courageous president, they strategize to counterattack against the alien invaders. Can they defy the odds and rescue the planet from annihilation? Independence Day delivers a thrilling action-packed experience with breathtaking special effects, unforgettable speeches, and a dash of humor.
As a versatile writer with a background in graphic design and two years of experience in academic writing, Areeba infuses creativity and precision into every project. Specializing in entertainment media, including TV series and movies, she brings captivating narratives to life, offering fresh perspectives on the ever-evolving landscape of cinema.
The Fourth of July is celebrated in America as Independence Day, commemorating the day in 1776 when the Continental Congress voted to adopt Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence. Or, as the history teacher in the iconic Richard Linklater filmDazed and Confused (set in 1976) says, Remember this summer, when you're being inundated with all this American bicentennial Fourth Of July brouhaha, don't forget what you're celebrating, and that's the fact that a bunch of slave-owning, aristocratic, white males didn't want to pay their taxes."
Ironically, both Jefferson and John Adams died exactly 50 years later, on July 4th, 1826. In their time, Independence Day celebrations consisted of bonfires, concerts, parades, the firing of cannons and muskets, and a lot of binge-drinking (so, not too different from today). In the past century, however, Americans have been able to celebrate our independence from the monarchy with some phenomenal films and television chronicling or dramatizing this event and the American Revolution. Eat your heart out, King Charles, because these are the best titles to watch to celebrate Independence Day on the Fourth of July.
A list of thrilling Fourth of July flicks wouldn't be complete without the fan-favorite Will Smith sci-fi action extravaganza Independence Day, which follows the Oscar-winning actor as he takes on a ruthless extraterrestrial race threatening to destroy the planet on the eponymous holiday with the help of the always delightful Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman. Smith's portrayal of the courageous Marine F/A-18 pilot, Captain Steven Hiller, helped establish him as a bona fide action hero leading man, and the spirited character fighting to protect all of humanity is undeniably one of his most celebrated roles.
The epic disaster hit had moviegoers flocking to theaters over the holiday weekend and helped lead to a resurgence in Hollywood blockbusters, becoming the highest-grossing film of the year and raking in over $800 million. The unforgettable scene in which the White House is obliterated by the alien forces has become synonymous with the film and was a massive visual effects milestone, ultimately helping the movie become a go-to staple for the Fourth of July. Watch on Hulu.
This one is a bit of a cheat, in that it's considered a lost film and essentially impossible to watch; nonetheless, reading about the film is almost as good, because the events surrounding it are absolutely bonkers. The film uses the morganatic relationship between a poor Quaker girl and King George III as a backdrop of the American Revolution, depicting the British (and indigenous people) in a cruel and brutal way.
The display of the British atrocities committed against the Americans was extremely controversial at the time; The Spirit of '76 was unfortunately released just one month after the United States entered into World War I and joined the war effort alongside Britain. As such, the Justice Department found the film's very negative portrayal of the British to be injurious to the Allied efforts in World War I, and writer/producer Robert Goldstein was literally arrested for "aiding and abetting the German enemy" and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
It took the actual U.S. President, Woodrow Wilson, to commute Goldstein's sentence down to three years. Unfortunately, after that time, the filmmaker was largely destitute; he attempted to start a career in Europe, but is believed to have died in the Nazi concentration camps. Go U.S.A.!
Infamously inaccurate but consistently exciting, the Roland Emmerich movie with Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger has been a favorite of all-American moviegoers for two decades. The Patriot follows a father and son who are reluctantly enlisted in the Southern campaign of the Revolution and is more anti-British than pro-American, upsetting audiences in England with its countless depictions of British atrocities (killing children, burning churches filled with people, and so on).
The Patriot is slightly xenophobic but will appeal to many die-hard apple-pie patriots, and Emmerich definitely knows how to craft an entertaining and melodramatic epic. His action sequences have a smaller scale and are grittier than what he did with Independence Day, but they are still intense. Watch on MGM+.
1776 is a movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical about the signing of the Declaration of Independence and includes much of the original production's cast and voices. Essentially Hamilton before Hamilton, 1776 is a rousing epic that has a lot of fun with the Continental Congress and has certainly made the job of being a history teacher a bit easier for many years.
Yes, a G-rated musical about the American Revolution isn't going to be too descriptive or probing, but it's an altogether fun movie that, despite some historical inaccuracies, actually uses parts of the politician's letters and memoirs from 1775 and 1776 to form its dialogue and song lyrics. Watch for free on Tubi.
Jeff Daniels is incredible as a surprisingly funny George Washington in The Crossing, a witty and somewhat irreverent TV movie about the famous crossing of the Delaware immortalized in so many paintings, and the Battle of Trenton. Daniels is playfully profane in a performance that celebrates the eccentricities of Washington and the ribaldry of his rum-swigging soldiers.
The Crossing won a Peabody Award, and while it may not be flawlessly accurate, it is extremely entertaining, almost a hang-out movie set during the American Revolution. The award-winning cinematography from Rene Ohashi perfectly captures the feel of the time. Watch for free on YouTube.
Rocky may not seem like an ideal Fourth of July film at first glance, but it's become synonymous with the holiday in many ways. That's because it's set in Philadelphia (the capital of the colonies, where the Founding Fathers gathered) on the Bicentennial, when the United States of America celebrated its 200th anniversary. This becomes a plot point in the film, which stars Sylvester Stallone (who also wrote the script) as the titular Rocky Balboa, an underdog boxer training to fight the legendary Apollo Creed.
If there was any doubt about the Fourth of July legitimacy of Rocky, Bill Conti's theme song, "Gonna Fly Now," shot back to number one on the Billboard charts seven months after the film's release, when July 4th rolled around. It dominated the charts from July 2 to July 8 the year after the film was released, so it's obvious that it and the film itself had become associated with Independence Day. Watch on Prime Video.
Revolution is another anomaly of sorts, though this one is available to see. The film is about the American Revolution but was produced and directed by the British. Revolution stars Al Pacino as a poor, illiterate father in the 18th century (told you it was an anomaly) who is forced to enlist in the war against the British.
Revolution is also iconoclastic for not presenting the American Revolution in any heroic or romantic terms -- this is a gritty, dirty, bleak film which honestly depicts poverty and the realities of life in the 1770s. It is not a pretty film (aside from actress Natassja Kinski), and it painfully but accurately shows the horrors of war. Rent on digital platforms like Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home.
Chronicling the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and his pivotal role during the American Revolution, the biographical musical Hamilton took the world by storm when it premiered Off-Broadway in 2015, both entertaining and educating audiences with its toe-tapping tunes and phenomenal performances. The Tony-winning, hip-hop inspired musical was created and written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and famously features non-white actors portraying the Founding Fathers and other prominent historical figures, with Miranda basing the show on the Ron Chernow biography.
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