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As the United States celebrates its 250th birthday this year, there are a lot of ways to celebrate the anniversary with a number of national and local events and programs in Utah and beyond. But you can also recognize the country’s milestone from the comfort of your own home.
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Here is a look at 25 movies to help you feel patriotic as you recognize America’s semiquincentennial in 2026. The films range from, classic American sports movies, movies capturing monumental moments in the nation’s history, inspiring war movies and fictional movies that capture the American spirit.
‘Miracle’
Rated: PG
Streaming: Disney+, Hulu
“Miracle” tells the story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team’s semifinal victory over the Soviets which was dubbed the “Miracle on Ice.” Kurt Russell stars as head coach Herb Brooks who puts together a young team of amateur hockey players and trains them to beat the highly favored Soviet hockey team.
‘Saving Private Ryan’
Rated: R (graphic war violence, profanity)
Streaming: Paramount+, Pluto TV
“Saving Private Ryan” is set in 1944 in Normandy, France. It tells the story of a group of solders led by Capt. John Miller (Tom Hanks) on their mission to locate Pvt. James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon). Their goal is to bring him safely home after his three brothers were previously killed in action.
‘Rocky IV’
Rated: PG-13
Streaming: Netflix
As the fourth installment in the “Rocky” franchise, this movie continues to tell the story of Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). After scientifically trained Russian boxer Ivan Drago killed Rocky’s best friend, Apollo Creed, in a tragic exhibition fight, Balboa travels to the Soviet Union to fight Drago. Throughout the film Balboa undergoes a grueling training regimen in Siberia to avenge the death of his friend.
‘Top Gun’
Rated: PG
Streaming: Paramount+, Pluto TV
“Top Gun” follows naval aviator Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise), who is known for being reckless, as he attends the highly revered Top Gun school. He goes to the school with his radar intercept officer, Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards). While at Top Gun, Maverick battles rivals for the top spot and deals with the fallout from a tragic accident and participates in a real-world dogfight.
‘Top Gun: Maverick’
Rated: PG-13
Streaming: Paramount+, Pluto TV
In the sequel to “Top Gun,” Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) returns to Top Gun to train an elite group of the school’s graduates for a seemingly impossible mission to destroy an unsanctioned and heavily guarded uranium enrichment plant. During this assignment Maverick was forced to confront his past when one of his trainees turns out to be Lt. Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller), the son of Goose — his late best friend.
‘Pearl Harbor’
Rated: PG-13
Streaming: Apple TV for $3.99
“Pearl Harbor” follows two childhood best friends Rafe and Danny (Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett) who become Army Air Corps pilots and are stationed at Pearl Harbor when the base is bombed by the Japanese. The pair also fall for the same Navy nurse, Evelyn (Kate Beckinsale). Rafe and Danny are forced into the action at Pearl Harbor and the film also shows the historic Doolittle Raid on Tokyo.
‘National Treasure’
Rated: PG
Streaming: Disney+, Hulu
Starring Nicholas Cage as Benjamin Franklin Gates, the film follows the historian and treasure hunter as he searches for a massive lost Freemason treasure which his family has been looking for for generations. Ben works alongside computer expert Riley Poole and archivist Abigail Chase. Their journey to find the treasure includes discovering a map hidden on the back of the Declaration of Independence.
‘Remember the Titans’
Rated: PG
Streaming: Disney+, Hulu
“Remember the Titans” tells the true story of T.C. Williams High School’s football team after the school in Alexandria, Virginia, goes through forced racial integration. The newly combined team struggles to overcome prejudice and as the football players work to come together they have to deal with persecution from their own town and other schools. Eventually the team learns to come together and unite with one another under the leadership of head coach Herman Boone and assistant Bill Yoast.
‘The Monuments Men’
Rated: PG-13
Streaming: Apple TV and Prime Video for $3.99
“The Monuments Men” starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray and Cate Blanchett tells the story of a real-life WWII allied task force that was tasked with traveling around Europe to rescue millions of priceless art masterpieces and cultural treasures that were stolen by the Nazis. The goal was to save the pieces before they could be destroyed or hidden forever. The task force named the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives section was made up of museum curators, directors and art historians.
‘Hidden Figures’
Rated: PG
Streaming: HBO Max
“Hidden Figures” is based on the true story of three female African American mathematicians who worked at NASA. Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) served as “human computers” at the agency during the Space Race. As they endured strong racial and gender discrimination, their calculations and other works helped launch astronauts into orbit.
‘Apollo 13′
Rated: PG
Streaming: Prime Video
“Apollo 13″ focused on the true story of NASA’s 1970 lunar mission, the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo Space Program than was meant to be the third moon landing. After the explosion of an onboard oxygen tank the plan to land on the moon is abandoned and astronauts Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) and Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) are stranded in a damaged space craft. As oxygen levels deplete, the crew and mission control work to bring the three men home safely.
‘Selma’
Rated: PG-13
Streaming: Paramount+,
“Selma” highlights Martin Luther King Jr.’s dangerous and risky campaign in 1965 to secure equal voting rights for African Americans. It follows the story of three months of political battles, protests and grassroots marches that built up to the historic trek from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. That event forced federal intervention and the passage of the Voting Rights Act.
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‘Ford v Ferrari’
Rated: PG-13
Streaming: Prime Video
In 1963, Ford made an attempt to acquire Ferrari to help its performance image but after months of negotiations Enzo Ferrari canceled the deal while insulting Ford’s cars and factories. “Ford v Ferrari” tells the story of when an enraged Henry Ford II instructs its team to build a race car to beat and humiliate Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. The movie focuses on automotive designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and his English driver, Ken Miles (Christian Bale).
‘Newsies’
Rated: PG
Streaming: Disney+
Based on the 1899 Newsboy Strike in New York City, Newsies tells the story of Jack Kelly (Christian Bale) as he rallies a ragged group of teenage orphans and runaways to for a union and strike against powerful newspaper titans such as Joseph Pulitzer. The strike starts after after Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst raise the price newsboys have to pay for the papers they’re going to sell. This cuts into the young workers’ small earnings that they need to survive.
‘An American Tail’
Rated: G
Streaming: Apple TV and Prime Video for $3.99
The animated classic “An American Tail” tells the story of Fievel Mousekewitz, a young Russian-Jewish mouse who gets separated from his family while they are immigrating to the United States. After arriving in New York City alone, he has to navigate the gritty unfamiliar city and dodge local cats while trying to reunite with his family.
‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington’
Rated: Not rated
Streaming: Tubi
“Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” tells the story of Jefferson Smith, a new, young and naive senator after he joins the U.S. Senate. He ends up framed for corruption after his idea for a national boys’ camp conflicts with a corrupt political group’s land-grab scheme. The young senator then does a marathon filibuster and exposes conspiracy to redeem American democracy.
‘Hamilton’
Rated: PG-13
Streaming: Disney+
Viewers on Disney+ can watch a recording of the renowned broadway musical “Hamilton.” The musical from Lin Manuel-Miranda tells the story of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. It follows his involvement the Revolutionary War and the start of the nation as he defends the U.S. Constitution with the Federalist Papers, serves as Treasury secretary under President George Washington and eventually dies in a duel with longtime rival Aaron Burr. The show is full of sung and rapped lyrics with music that draws from various genres such as hip hop and R&B.
‘Patton’
Rated: PG
Streaming: Apple TV and Prime Video for $2.99
“Patton” is a biographical film based on the life of U.S. Gen. George S. Patton Jr. (George C. Scott) and his work during World War II. The movie focuses on his battlefield genius, his eccentric personality, his repeated clashes with Allied leadership and military politics. It highlights the work Patton did in North Africa, Sicily and when he is used as a decoy for D-Day. He is also shown leading the third army across Europe after the invasion of Normandy.
‘The Boys in The Boat’
Rated: PG-13
Streaming: Apple TV and Prime Video for $5.99
“The Boys in the Boat” tells the story of the nine American working class boys from the University of Washington who come together to win the gold medal in rowing at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. The underdog team manages to beat out its wealthy, elite Ivy League rivals to eventually beat the Germans. The team is coached by Al Ulbrickson, played by Joel Edgerton.
‘Captain America: The First Avenger’
Rated: PG-13
Streaming: Disney+, Hulu
“Captain America: The First Avenger” chronicles the origin of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), a small frail man from Brooklyn who the U.S. military turns into a super-soldier during World War II. Eventually known as Captain America, Rogers ends up saving a group of soldiers and battling Johann Schmidt (the Red Skull) who is the leader of the HYDRA organization. HYDRA seeks to use a cosmic artifact known as the Tesseract to take over the world.
‘Superman’
Rated: PG-13
Streaming: HBO Max
“Superman” released in 2025, is the most recent adaptation of the story of Clark Kent (David Corenswet), also known as Superman. Three years into his career as a superhero, Kent is balancing that work with his job as a reporter at the Daily Planet. After Superman independently intervenes in an international conflict he faces unintended consequences and public controversy. Superman has to face off against billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) and regain public support.
‘Lincoln’
Rated: PG-13
Streaming: Disney+, Hulu
“Lincoln,” directed by Steven Spielberg, tells the story of the final four months of President Abraham Lincoln’s life. The film stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln as the president goes through an intense behind-the scenes struggle to pass the 13th Amendment through the U.S. House of Representatives and permanently abolish slavery in the U.S.
‘Glory’
Rated: R (intense violence and gore, moderate profanity)
Streaming: MGM+
“Glory” is set during the American Civil War and tells the true story of the Union Army’s first official all-Black unit, the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. The film follows the story from historic formation of the regiment and shows the impact it had during the war. The unit is commanded by Col. Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick) and it consists of free Northern African Americans and escaped slaves such as Sgt. John Rawlins (Morgan Freeman) and Pvt. Silas Trip (Denzel Washington).
‘The Six Triple Eight’
Rated: PG-13
Streaming: Netflix
“The Six Triple Eight” follows the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion — an all-black, all female battalion during World War II. In just 90 days, the group of 855 women in the Women’s Army Corps successfully sorted a massive backlog of 17 million pieces of military mail. The women were led by and advocated for by Maj. Charity Adams (Kerry Washington).
‘Field of Dreams’
Rated: PG
Streaming: Netflix
The sports movie “Field of Dreams” stars Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) as a farmer in Iowa hears a voice telling him “If you build it, he will come.” He eventually builds a baseball field in his cornfield that attracts ghosts of multiple baseball legends such as Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta) and other members of the Chicago Black Sox.