On July 4, the United States will hit a significant milestone, celebrating 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
As all Americans know, the nation's history is vibrant, diverse, and complicated. There are many ways the cinematically included can embrace all of those things simultaneously in this anniversary year.
It's a history that has been showcased, celebrated, explored, and questioned in film since the medium's earliest days. Here are 10 movies that do those things and more.
Harlan County U.S.A. (1976)
Harlan County U.S.A. is part of a pair of Oscar-winning documentaries about labor from director Barbara Kopple. American Dream (1990) has plenty of merits, but the earlier film is a beautifully crafted documentary about a coal miners’ strike in Kentucky.
While labor versus the entrenched powers is a David-and-Goliath story that could be told throughout history in almost any country, this is a uniquely American story, as gun-wielding company thugs and scabs clash with picketing miners during a strike that lasted more than a year.
In many ways, American Dream is a companion, chronicling a mid-’80s strike in Austin, Minn. where meat-packing plant workers went on strike against Hormel. However, many critics believe important parts of the story were left out of that one, making it look a little less sympathetic toward the workers.
Click here to buy Harlan County U.S.A on DVD.
Jazz (2001)
It would be a stretch to call a Ken Burns documentary flashy, but they are almost always thoughtful and engaging. Burns' films and miniseries tell the story of America as well as any filmmaker ever has. Of all of Burns’ mini-series, Jazz may be the one that feels most emblematic of the American experience.
Jazz is a uniquely American art form, and Burns chronicles it with panache, diving into the bombastic sounds of New Orleans and the lesser-discussed clubs of Kansas City, the still-revered superstars and the racism that they endured. The series goes deep and soberly celebrates the art form. (To be fair, similar superlatives can be laid in front of other Burns projects like Baseball and National Parks.)
Click here to stream Jazz on Prime Video.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007)
While many events in 2026 will present a glossy version of American history, that's not what is provided by this adaptation of Dee Brown’s book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West.
It’s the story of westward expansion in the U.S., a project that saw the government take Indigenous children, break treaties, enact forced relocations, slaughter bison, and otherwise attempt to undo the lives of Indigenous peoples on land that the U.S. government deemed valuable. It’s a heartbreaking story, and the film manages to tie so many parts of the history together, even if it only covers a couple of chapters from the original book. The movie centers on the story of Lakota tribes, the massacre at Wounded Knee, and the death of Sitting Bull.
A more modern continuation of that history can be found in the award-winning documentary, Lakota Nation vs. United States, which explores the Lakota fight to reclaim the Black Hills.
Click here to stream Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee on Prime Video.
All the President's Men (1976)
Alan J. Pakula’s classic movie belongs to a rare class of thriller that is almost impossibly tense while being bereft of action.
It’s the story of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s reporting at the Washington Post, which uncovered the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
It’s not only a great film, but highlights the importance of journalism to the American project. Sure, there’s a certain amount of idealism involved, but it’s a reminder of how deeply corruption can take root without a check on political power.
Click here to buy All the President's Men on DVD.
Lincoln (2012)
There are many films about American presidents. Some are mostly complimentary (this one), others are less so (W). Some are quite good (Frost/Nixon), others are less so (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter).
Lincoln sits among the best. Daniel Day-Lewis gives a powerful and emotional performance as one of the most consequential presidents in American history. It’s mostly a positive portrayal, but it does not entirely skirt the hardships. One of its greatest strengths is that director Steven Spielberg pulled heavily from Doris Kearns Goodwin’s classic book, Team of Rivals, to show what it took to be such a consequential leader. It shows the sacrifices, foresight, and humility of Lincoln in surrounding himself with people who had opposing viewpoints.
Click here to buy Lincoln on DVD.
For All Mankind (1989)
The space race is an indelible piece of American history. From the buildup to Apollo 11's 1969 moon landing and into subsequent missions, NASA's expeditions were a source of American pride that captured the nation's imagination.
For All Mankind dives into multiple Apollo missions, showing the minutia of life on a spacecraft, the work, the trials, the humanity, and the glory of those missions in a fresh light that is both enlightening and visually exciting.
Along those same lines, Hidden Figures (2016) shows a different side of the space race, focusing on three Black mathematicians who were pivotal in NASA’s early missions but were unceremoniously left out of the histories. It's an important story with the added benefit of being entertaining, backed by good performances from Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe, who play the mathematicians.
Click here to stream For All Mankind on Prime Video.
Oppenheimer (2023)
While Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer doesn't spend a lot of time looking at the devastation of the U.S. dropping nuclear bombs on Japan, it does an admirable job of probing the American perspective of the bomb’s development and the decision to deploy such a catastrophic weapon.
The nuclear bomb is, historically, seen as one of the most significant moments of World War II and was unquestionably an action that defined the nation for decades to come, laying the groundwork for the Cold War and nuclear fears that would grip the world.
Click here to buy Oppenheimer on DVD.
The Thin Red Line (1998)
Of course, World War II is not the only war that has defined the United States. That much is clear simply from the number of films that have been made, won awards, and continue to bring people to movie theaters. From Saving Private Ryan to Miracle at St. Anna, The Great Escape to Jarhead, The Hurt Locker to The Six Triple Eight, the list is long.
Still, The Thin Red Line is one of the finest movies about any American conflict. In a career almost exclusively filled with masterpieces, this one sits among Terrence Malick's best movies.
It adapts James Jones’ autobiographical novel about the lengthy Allied offensive in the South Pacific during World War II. Private Witt (Jim Caviezel) left his unit and is living peacefully on a small island. He's pressed back into duty in advance of the Battle of Guadalcanal after being discovered by a commanding officer (Sean Penn). It’s safe to say there’s an anti-war bent to the story, but it deftly explores the perspectives and lives of various people, including soldiers, officers, and residents whose lives were forever changed by the war.
Click here to buy The Thin Red Line on DVD.
Selma (2014)
Ava DuVernay’s Oscar-winning movie tackles, with tenacity, one of the best-known moments in the Civil Rights movement. It follows Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s fight for equal rights and the historic march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. in 1965.
Selma is a recent classic, but there are many worthwhile movies about the Civil Rights movement, including the lesser-known Rustin (2023), which touts an all-star cast that’s led by a stunning performance by Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin, who faced not just racism but homophobia during his life. The movie centers on his fight while orchestrating the 1963 march on Washington. It also stars Chris Rock as Roy Wilkins and Aml Ameen as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as CCH Pounder, Jeffrey Wright, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Glynn Turman.
Click here to buy Selma on DVD.
42 (2013)
We didn't get into baseball when talking about Ken Burns, so let's do it here. The late Chadwick Boseman is best-known for starring in Marvel's Black Panther, but his turn as Jackie Robinson in 42 is one of his most memorable roles. Even if the movie is imperfect, it's hard not to be both heartbroken and inspired by Robinson's determination to become the first Black player in Major League Baseball.
Click here to buy 42 on DVD.
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