Summer is often the time of year when the biggest blockbuster movies are released. Many movies have included scenes from the Fourth of July holiday. The summer holiday celebrating the birth of the United States of America brings about patriotic celebrations in every town of the country. Parades, picnics and fireworks go hand in hand with the 4th of July.
Here are 5 great movie scenes that take place on the 4th of July.
Jaws
Arguably one of the best summer blockbusters, one of the most intense scenes from Stephen Spielberg’s 1975 film “Jaws” takes place on the 4th of July holiday. Based on Peter Benchley’s novel about a killer great white shark lurking in the waters of the tranquil New England beach town of Amity Island, “Jaws” has fascinated and frightened viewers for over 40 years. The tiny island of Amity depends on tourists to bring in money especially on the 4th of July. Chief of Police Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) is fearful for beachgoers safety after a spate of shark attacks. He brings in a marine biologist, Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) to determine the extent of the danger. Chief Brody and Hooper plead with the mayor of Amity to close the beaches to no avail. “Jaws” has many intense scenes of the unseen shark attacking unsuspecting swimmers, but one of the most intense shows Brody watching the ocean nervously for any signs of the killer shark. While some prankster kids induce panic with a fake shark fin, the real shark is lurking in the pond area of the beach where Brody sent his own children to play in the water where they would be safe. Some have compared to the seen as Brody, a minuteman, watching out for a British attack on the United States.
The Sandlot
David M. Evans’ coming of age film “The Sandlot” was released in 1993. It still has a cult following, mostly of men who remember the excitement of playing baseball with their friends as a kid. What could be more patriotic than a kids’ baseball film having its most moving scene on the 4th of July? The film follows Scotty Smalls who moves with his family to a new town in the summer of 1962. Scotty is taken under the wing of Ben Rodriguez and learns to play baseball while enjoying other youthful endeavors in the small town including encounters with a mischievous baseball stealing dog “Beast”. The 4th of July scene brings heartwarming chills. As Ray Charles sings “America the Beautiful” and fireworks explode, Evans narrates and shares the best line. He says “We all felt like big leaguers under the lights of some big stadium”.
Born on the Fourth of July
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rQOR2MK0o4
The most emotional scenes in Oliver Stone’s 1989 movie “Born on the Fourth of July” are of the 2 juxtaposed 4th of July parades Tom Cruise’s Ron Kovic witnesses. The movie is a biography of Kovic who was paralyzed in the Vietnam War and came home to find he is ridiculed by many in the country he fought for because they disagreed with the United States’ involvement in the controversial war. The first parade scene shows Kovic as a young child witnessing the celebrated war veterans of World War II but seeing the lost look in those veterans’ eyes as they are wheeled through the parade route. Kovic would experience a parade on his return from the Vietnam War. However, not all of the crowed cheered, but Kovic is jeered at and called names. Kovic went on to become an anti-war political activist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haa3n_-eTqk
Avalon
Barry Levinson’s 1990 drama “Avalon” is one of several semi-autobiographical films about a European Jewish man assimilating to life in the United States. Sam Krichinsky is a Russian immigrant who arrives in Baltimore, Maryland on July 4, 1914. Upon his arrival he witnesses celebrations with fireworks honoring Independence Day. Krichinsky is so excited about coming to America, he believes the celebration is for him.
Independence Day
It may be cliché, but “Independence Day” does have an epic 4th of July scene. The 1996 film is about aliens invading Earth. On July 2, the alien mothership deploys smaller ships to take over the world’s major cites and army bases. The world responds with counter attacks. Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith) and computer scientist David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) work together to develop a plan to attack the mother ship by planting a virus and nuclear weapon aboard it. This attack would prove successful and takes place on July 4. President Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman) who is a former fighter pilot gives a speech of encouragement to the military men taking on the feat to conquer the aliens. Of course the speech is incredibly patriotic and compares these daring men to the men who fought for American Independence before them.
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