Cinematical

Of that list my favorites are Stone's Viet Nam flicks, but I certainly wouldn't call them patriotic, particularly the latter. There's a lot in that movie that's pretty pissed off about the US ...

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For me, it'd have to be America's culture getting its arse kicked: Team America: World Police. ;)

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I was born on the 3rd of July. And I have to agree it is a GREAT birthday. It kinda sucked as a child because everyone was always going out of town, but since I've gotten older and have been able to drink..it is a GREAT day because I can start early get shit faced and then do it all over again the next day. So, here is to all the great July 3rd birthdays out there! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

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Red Dawn. Powers Boothe's best bad-ass performance (pre-Deadwood). Harry Dean Stanton, America's greatest character actor. Outsiders co-stars Patrick Swayze and C. Thomas Howell re-united. Lea Thompson and Jennifer Gray. Red-scare insanity at its finest.

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While it's true that your list of movies has a lot of ass-kicking, they all have a lot of sacrifice and giving up of life in defense of country or ideals.

As far as ass-kicking goes, you left out "Black Hawk Down" (Ridley Scott at his best). In that battle we "kicked ass" at a 40 to 1 ratio (18 Americans killed to over 700 Somalis). In the aftermath, even while they were dragging the American bodies on the street, the Somalis were fretting that a world of hurt was coming their way the next day. Of course, President Clinton didn't have the stomach for that and pulled the troops, thus encouraging one Osama Bin Laden who was a witness to the whole thing.

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Ilana try having your birthday on the 4th, not only are people away, but my family always forgets it's my birthday.It gets upstaged by the holiday. I cannot tell you how many family BBQ's I’ve been to where they get a last minute carvel cookie puss ice cream cake without a "Happy birthday (name)" on it and whatever candles they could scrap around the house!

Sorry just had to get that off my chest :

On a lighter note, I do love ice cream cake(hate cookie puss) AND I get to say my birthday IS a national holiday :-)

That said as far as patriotic films go, I like Born of the Forth of July (just showing the whole free speech rights we have here)

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I would say the self deprecating american films are the best, and theres no more self deprecating film than Dr. Strangelove (or how i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb)!

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just to let you know - the patriot is americans kicking english ass, not americans kicking american ass

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Today is my birthday and I love having it the day before the 4th. My mother always told me I was a 'firecracker' anyway! I have always told my children that it was way cool to have so many people across the country celebrating my birthday. Around here the individual fireworks begin to be heard the day before..my day..because for so many folks, they buy soo many sparklers and bottle rockets..and crackers that they have to start early! And this year is very special. Both of my sons are heroes to me! My oldest son is in the Air Force..serving in Arizona and my youngest is in the Army serving in Iraq! It really brings the meaning of this mid year holiday to mind! And I personally will be watching Mel Gibson in THE PATRIOT and I always like INDEPENDENCE DAY too.

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The two best patriotic films, two films I'll pull out the DVDs for tomorrow to watch (after the Tour de France) are Yankee Doodle Dandy starring James Cagney and 1776 starring Howard Da Silva, Ken Howard and William Daniels. Both represent what is good and idealistic about America.

Yankee Doodle Dandy is a biography of George M. Cohan. Starring James Cagney, the movie shows Mr. Cohan as a vaudeville performer born into show business as part of the Four Cohans. He rises up, in the true American way fights his way up and and brings his family up the ladder of success with him. He writes many successful plays and is remembered to this day for the songs Over There, Yankee Doodle, Me and My Gal and Give My Regards To Broadway. When you say 'John Q. Public' that's a phrase he coined. It's a great movie, an emotionally satisfying movie and after watching it you'll choke right up when Cagney says for the last time, "My mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and, I assure you, I thank you" A genuine flag waver for you.

The other movie. 1776, is a musical made near the time of the 200th birthday of the United States. It tells the story of the creation of the Declaration of Independence during the time of the Continental Congress. With humor, warmth and song it follows the struggles of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin as they manage and maneuver their way through stubborn southerners, loyalists and a New York delegations that abstains 'courteously' until the very end. The songs are smart, witty and honest with songs even dealing with the slave trade (Sugar to Rum to Slaves) and with the song of a dying soldier who hopes his mother finds his body in the field. This movie has everything you would want in a movie. And if at the end when the signers of the Declaration of Independence sign to the tolling of the bell, if you aren't having goose bumps well then you might want to check your pulse.

Those are the best movies for the Fourth of July and if you haven't seen these movies then you need to put them on your list.

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