To capture the spirit of the United States on its 250th birthday, we're asking some of the country’s most noted filmmakers and fans—actors, directors, producers, executives, and more—to tell us about the pictures they feel reflect this moment on the big screen. For TIME film critic Stephanie Zacharek, for example, it was 2003’s Masked and Anonymous, in which Bob Dylan plays the troubadour Jack Fate: “Fate seems like America’s last hope, not because he’s a savior figure, but because he’s still invested in the idea of being free—not the ‘personal freedoms’ that selfish modern people think they’re entitled to, but something deeper and richer, something that comes with a responsibility to your fellow human beings and the earth around you,” she says. “Jack Fate is America’s past and its future rolled into one: He’s a sonnet, a vibe, a vessel of crackpot optimism. He’s our best day following our worst, because that’s what we’re built to hope for.”The 25 responses below include movies old and new, documentaries and blockbusters and quiet indie triumphs. Together, they demonstrate that movies aren’t just one of America’s most important cultural exports, but also a lens through which the country can be seen in living color.
Robert Redford as Bob Woodward in “All the President's Men” Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Selected by Ron Howard The movie underscores freedom of the press as an imperative component of our society. It’s a reminder that leadership narratives must sometimes be challenged and tested, particularly when deliberate obfuscation stands in a journalist’s way. It accomplishes those things and, oh yeah, it’s a helluva good watch.Howard is a director, producer, screenwriter, and the co-founder and co-chairman of Imagine Entertainment. He recently directed the documentary Avedon and his next project is Alone at Dawn.
Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch and Brock Peters as Tom Robinson in “To Kill a Mockingbird” Silver Screen Collection/G
