American Cinema

Harrison Ford as the President of the United States — a former Medal of Honor recipient — who fights back when terrorists seize the presidential aircraft. A pure, crowd-pleasing celebration of American resolve and the office of the presidency.

Steven Spielberg's landmark World War II epic opens with an unflinching recreation of the D-Day landings on Omaha Beach, then follows Captain John Miller and his men into Normandy on a mission of extraordinary human decency. Five Academy Awards. A permanent tribute to the Greatest Generation.

The definitive epic retelling of June 6, 1944 — the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Told from Allied and German perspectives alike, with an all-star cast including John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, and Sean Connery. A sweeping, meticulous monument to the largest amphibious assault in history.

The true story of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry — one of the first African American military units in the Civil War — led by the young Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. Denzel Washington won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. A film about what it means to fight for a country that has not yet fully recognized your humanity.

The Tony Award–winning Broadway musical brought to the screen — a lively, witty, and surprisingly honest account of the debates in the Second Continental Congress that produced the Declaration of Independence. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin as you've never quite seen them before.

Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger star in this Revolutionary War epic about a South Carolina farmer who joins the colonial militia after a personal tragedy forces his hand. A visceral, blood-and-powder tribute to the farmers and tradesmen who fought — and bled — for American independence.

The true story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team's stunning victory over the Soviet Union at Lake Placid — the "Miracle on Ice." Kurt Russell plays Coach Herb Brooks in this stirring account of how a group of college players defeated the world's dominant hockey power at the height of the Cold War.

Ron Howard's gripping account of NASA's most famous near-disaster — the 1970 mission that lost its lunar landing but brought its three astronauts home alive through extraordinary teamwork and ingenuity. Tom Hanks leads an ensemble that celebrates American problem-solving at its finest: failure is not an option.

Oliver Stone's searing adaptation of Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic's memoir. Tom Cruise delivers a career-defining performance as a patriotic young man who enlists, comes home paralyzed and disillusioned, and ultimately finds a new form of patriotism in speaking out. Winner of two Academy Awards.

A filmed record of Willie Nelson's legendary Fourth of July Picnic — the annual Texas outdoor concert he launched in 1973 that became one of country music's great patriotic traditions. Outlaw country meets American independence in the wide-open spaces of the Lone Star State.

Tom Cruise as Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell at the U.S. Navy's elite Fighter Weapons School — and the defining pop-culture artifact of Cold War–era American military pride. Cocky, kinetic, and irresistible, it was the highest-grossing film of 1986 and sparked a surge in Navy recruitment applications.

Philip Kaufman's epic adaptation of Tom Wolfe's book about the test pilots and Mercury astronauts who launched the American space program. From Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier to John Glenn orbiting the earth — a lyrical, irreverent celebration of the particular American brand of courage and swagger that reached for the stars.

Rocky Balboa travels to the Soviet Union to fight the terrifying Ivan Drago in a Cold War clash that functions as pure American mythology — the determined individual, training on faith and hard work, against the machine-made opponent. Sylvester Stallone's most nakedly patriotic chapter in the Rocky saga.

George C. Scott's towering Oscar-winning portrait of General George S. Patton — one of the most audacious and complicated military commanders in American history. Opening with Patton's famous address to the Third Army in front of a colossal American flag, it is one of cinema's most indelible depictions of American martial character.

James Cagney won the Academy Award for Best Actor playing George M. Cohan — the songwriter, playwright, and entertainer who gave America "You're a Grand Old Flag," "Over There," and "Give My Regards to Broadway." Released during World War II, it became the great cinematic expression of American show-business patriotism.