Top Five Patriotic War Movies Perfect for Viewing on This Fourth of July

When you think of celebrating the Fourth of July, you usually don't think in terms of movies to watch. But what better time of the year to sit back and really put yourself in the patriotic position of defending this great country of ours during a crucial time of war? Here are the top five movies from the last twenty years that will put you in that patriotic frame of mind for this upcoming 4th of July celebration.

1 BLACK HAWK DOWN (2002)
This action-packed military movie directed by Ridley Scott, takes the viewer and throws him into all the bullet-ridden and war torn areas of the urban wasteland that was known as Somalia. This movie shows all the massive gun battles that occured during this military campaign of the mid-nineties that the Clinton administration used to take back the power of a dictatorship in that area. Unfortunately, many Marines would die during this three day siege, but that takes nothing away from the bravery of all the soldiers who would go on to help their fellow fallen G.I.'s that the Somalian Army were trying to take hostage and kill.

2 SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)
If you can only watch just one movie this coming July 4th, make it this one. Steven Spielberg won his first Oscar directing this magnificent WWII film about an US Army patrol looking to pull one soldier out of harm's way so he could make it home in one piece to be with his mother who lost three other sons in the Normandy invasion of 1944.

Tom Hanks gives the performance of a lifetime portraying Captain John Miller, who would lead his patrol to certain doom through the heavily-fortified German frontlines to rescue Private Ryan from his dire predicament defending a bridge from the Nazi regime. The action sequences are so realistic that many war veterans got up out of the theater during the shocking Normandy invasion sequence that featured flying body parts and buckets of blood foaming at the ocean's edge, but it really shows you what it was like for these patriots of WWII to defend our country from the German and Japanese armies.

3 THE PATRIOT (2000)
Actor and director Mel Gibson really comes into his own while making this wonderful movie about one man's struggle to keep his family intact during the American revolution. He is forced to defend his land and his family from the sadistic British officer, Colonel William Tavington, who would like nothing more than to torture and kill Mel Gibson's son, Gabriel Martin, for being on the wrong side of the British/American conflict.

"The Patriot" can also be very bloody to watch, but Mel Gibson does such a great job of directing these shocking scenes, that it just seems like you're watching actual battle scenes from that period, and the horrific action sequences are just emulating the way battles were fought during those tense days of the war for independence.

4 APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
Definitely not a movie that propagates a patriotic American feeling, but this is a classic American movie that asks the question "Is war really worth it if you lose your soul in the process?" Charlie Sheen takes the role of Captain Benjamin Willard who has orders to locate and kill the insane Colonel Walter Kurtz, played by a bald Marlon Brando, who has taken up residence in the middle of the Amazon as a man worshipped by the natives like he is their new god.

This movie takes you into the heart of darkness as Captain Willard gets a motley crew of Army soldiers together to go down the Amazon river with his murderous military plan embedded in his mind, but not his soul. When he does get his chance to kill the power hungry Colonel, he actually relishes his fresh kill by standing at the steps of a huge place of idol worship and looking down at the mob of crazed natives who might now worship him instead of the Colonel he just killed. This is an amazing movie that really makes you pause and think about the horrible truths of the insanity of war.

5 THE THIN RED LINE (1998)
This movie, directed by the genius Terrence Malick, conjures up images of the Phillipines during WWII like no other movie before it, or since. Malick uses pictures of nature all through the battle sequences that points out we are one with nature, but we also are the most destructive force on planet Earth, and we will kill all in our way if we have to.

The many actors in this movie ensemble include: Sean Penn, Adrien Brody, Jared Leto, George Clooney, John Cusak and Nick Nolte. With a cast like that, you know that this movie is worth watching for all the great nuances these fine actors bring to their roles, even though most of the actors are not on screen more than five minutes at a time. The explosive battle sequences are shot with great passion by Malick that brings into focus the futility of war itself.

The fourth of July should not be just for good times with your friends and family enjoying beer and barbecue. No, it should stand as a reminder that many brave soldiers died defending this country from the tyranny of other nations and dictators the world over, and you should always remember them in your thoughts and dreams.