Looking to veg out with some truly American tales? These are the best patriotic movies and series streaming on Netflix, Amazon, and other top services.
Independence Day looks a little different in 2020. Big BBQs and fireworks displays are canceled due to COVID-19, while many are reckoning with how much work still needs to be done so that all of us might realize the American dream.
History buffs can choose from a wealth of documentaries about the American experience, from American Factory and 13th on Netflix to I Am Not Your Negro on Amazon Video, not to mention all the Ken Burns documentaries you can buy or rent online. For fictional or dramatized takes on our nation’s history and military, however, read on for the best patriotic movies and TV shows on the top video-streaming services.
John Adams (2008)
This HBO mini-series chronicles the political career of John Adams, and his role in the founding of the US, so it’s perhaps the most fitting film on this list for a 4th of July viewing. Skip the fireworks and the BBQ and cuddle up with one of our founding fathers, as the turmoil of the 1770s unfolds over seven episodes. (Streaming on Amazon Video and HBO GO/Now)
Turn
This AMC series goes behind the scenes of the Revolutionary War and a group of spies who helped defeat the British. Seasons 1-4 are on Netflix.
Lincoln (2012)
If you’re wondering why Daniel Day-Lewis’s retirement prompted so many headlines, look no further than his take on Abraham Lincoln, which earned him his third Best Actor Oscar. (Streaming on Netflix)
Glory (1989)
This film follows the first all-black volunteer company during the Civil War, led by Col. Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick). Denzel Washington won his first Oscar for his role as Private Silas Trip; the cast also includes Morgan Freeman as Sergeant Major John Rawlins and Andre Braugher as Corporal Thomas Searles. (Streaming on Showtime)
Band of Brothers (2001)
Another epic HBO war-time mini-series, Band of Brothers takes us to World War II, as seen through the eyes of “Easy” Company. The 10-part drama brings viewers from basic training to the beaches of Normandy and beyond. The star-studded cast includes a pre-Homeland Damian Lewis, Michael Fassbender, and Tom Hardy, among others. (Streaming on Amazon Video and HBO GO/Now)
The Tuskegee Airmen (1995)
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black military aviators in the the US Air Force, then known as the US Army Air Corps. Laurence Fishburne stars in this dramatization of their story. (Streaming on Amazon Video and HBO)
Platoon (1986)
Oliver Stone’s 1986 Vietnam drama Platoon also delves into the dark side of war, and is based on the director’s time as a US infantryman in Vietnam. It earned Stone a Best Director Oscar in 1987, when the film also won Best Picture. Stone followed it up with Born on the Fourth of July in 1989 and Heaven & Earth in 1993. (Streaming on Netflix)
Rescue Dawn (2006)
Rescue Dawn stars Christian Bale as Dieter Dengler, a US soldier taken captive by Pathet Lao after his plane crashes. (Streaming on HBO)
All the Way (2016)
If you can’t catch Bryan Cranston’s Tony-winning performance in Network on Broadway, watch him transform into Lyndon B. Johnson in this HBO movie that charts his first year in office and his role in passing the 1964 Civil Rights Act. (Stream on HBO)
Taps (1981)
If you can’t stream Tom Cruise in Born on the Fourth of July, how about watching him try to protect his military school from a bunch of overzealous developers? Yep. In 1981’s Taps, a bunch of cadets at Bunker Hill Military Academy band together to stop their school from being demolished. The premise is kind of ridiculous, but it’s some good brain fluff if you’ve just watched any of the heavier fare earlier on this list. (Streaming on HBO)
Courage Under Fire (1996)
Lt. Colonel Nathaniel Serling (Denzel Washington), a Desert Storm vet, is asked to review the posthumous candidacy of the first woman (Meg Ryan) to receive the Medal of Honor. What he finds is a possible cover-up surrounding her death. (Streaming on HBO)
Black Hawk Down (2001)
Black Hawk Down, on the other hand, is not quite as uplifting. It depicts the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia in 1993, where U.S. forces attempted to capture warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. But their Black Hawk Super-Six One helicopter was shot down, and the film charts the ensuing chaos. (Streaming on Netflix and Showtime)
Taking Chance (2009)
Another HBO special, Taking Chance stars Kevin Bacon as Marine Lt. Colonel Michael Strobl, who escorted the body of a fallen Marine, PFC Chance Phelps, home from Iraq. Bacon took home a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild award for his performance. (Streaming on Amazon Video and HBO GO/Now)
The Hurt Locker (2008)
This Academy Award-winning movie follows Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner), a team leader of a U.S. Army explosives unit during the Iraq War. The assignment is not for the faint of heart, nor is this movie, which earned director Kathryn Bigelow an Oscar, the first time a woman won the prize. (Streaming on Netflix)
The Looming Tower (2018)
This gripping 10-episode series follows the rivalry between the counter-terrorism divisions of the FBI and CIA, which may have inadvertently led to the tragedy of 9/11. You know what’s coming, but you can’t look away. (Streaming on Hulu)
Seal Team Six: The Raid On Osama Bin Laden (2012)
This 2012 TV movie follows the 2011 effort to locate and kill Osama bin Laden in a Pakistan compound. (Streaming on Tubi)
