Happy America week!
We’ve got a strong U.S. team in the World Cup and a Fourth of July fireworks display that has finally returned to the East River, both of which are great reasons to celebrate this country. If you’re somehow not into sports, rooftops or barbecues, you can always stay inside and salute your Netflix queue.
To get you pumped for America, we’ve ranked the seven best speeches from movies that ring the bells of freedom and patriotism, from 7 (a sparkler) to 1 (the Macy’s fireworks display).
Now if only real politicians could speak like this, we might have more confidence in them.
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1. 'Independence Day'
“Mankind . . . that word should have new meaning for all of us today.”
President Bill Pullman’s speech before the final scene gets us stirring in our patriotic loins enough that we can forgive all that silly “early-’90s MacBook compatible with an alien spaceship” nonsense.
His call for not just America but worldwide resilience got this reporter and friends at age 15 standing and clapping in the theater.
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2. 'The American President'
“America isn’t easy. America is advanced citizenship. And you’ve got to want it bad, because it’s going to put up a fight.”
Before Aaron Sorkin brought us the riveting “West Wing” and the insufferably smarmy “The Newsroom,” he created a great piece of liberal cinematic porn, “The American President.”
In this clip defending himself against his election opponent, President Michael Douglas makes a bold defense of the ACLU and freedom of speech, something that no real politician would have the balls to do. And he pledges to take real action on climate change and gun control.
Like we said, liberal porn.
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3. 'Rocky IV'
“If I can change, and you can change, everybody can change!”
Ah, Cold War-era cinema. Rocky got sent to Russia to fight Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), a Soviet tank of a man. Rocky’s allegorical battle brought out his American fortitude in never giving up, even when being beaten bloody and still refusing to put up his arms to block the punches. The true American way.
Rocky wins over the crowd, beats Drago and then gives a speech about unity, thus ending the Cold War forever.
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4. 'Milk'
“In the Declaration of Independence, it is written, ‘All men are created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights.’ So for . . . all the bigots out there, no matter how hard you try, you can never erase those words from the Declaration of Independence!”
Sean Penn, as San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk in this 2008 biopic, delivers this impassioned plea for gay rights, playing up the equality promised on both the Statue of Liberty and the Declaration of Independence. The real-life Harvey Milk was sent death threats for speaking out and was assassinated in 1978.
Now, Pride Week is one of the biggest holidays in New York.
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5. 'Miracle'
“Tonight, we are the greatest hockey team in the world.”
Disney’s 2004 movie about the Miracle on Ice 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team is heavy on the schmaltz, but still somehow works thanks to Kurt Russell and scenes like this, where he fills the locker room with patriotic pride.
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6. 'An American Tail'
“There are no cats in America, and the streets are paved with cheese.”
OK, it’s not a speech so much, but the 1986 animated classic is so heavy on immigrant dreams for America that we couldn’t leave it out.
Fievel and his family crave the freedom of America, where they expect to escape the persecution by cats and other oppression. There are cats here, but at least not Soviet cats.
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7. 'Patton'
“All real Americans love the sting of battle.”
The 1970 biopic starring George C. Scott contains one of the most famous speeches in movie history, as Patton tries to rally up his World War II troops. “No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country.”