Invite to America, according to the films– a melting-pot mix of triumph and disaster, limitless opportunities and bone-deep prejudices, age-old traditions and amber waves of grain and all the things that money can or can’t buy. These united states have actually been the subject of those flickering images on a screen almost given that the birth of the medium, though the previous half-century in particular has actually seen a great deal of varied, particular and often complicated movies taking on the checkered past and occasionally rocky present of our country. The films have actually reminded us what’s so terrific about this continuous experiment happening from sea to shining sea. They have also clarified what’s woefully in need of improvement, questioned the fundamental imperfections that in some cases threaten to end up being gorges, and cast some cold, tough looks at almost 250 years of American living.
So, in the spirit of commemorating our annual Self-reliance Day, we’re choosing what our company believe to be the 50 best motion pictures over the previous 50 years that take a look at America, directly or otherwise, and show us something about ourselves. We’re restricting this list just to movies that have actually been launched considering that 1972– which, not coincidentally, happens to be the year that a specific movie about an American household with a penchant for making deals we couldn’t refuse initially hit theaters. That film is certainly on this list. So are a host of other movies, huge and little, that take the concept of being an American and analyze it from all sides. You’ll likely disagree with some of the choices on here and praise others. And truly, what’s more American than that?