America turns 238 years old in a few days, and its honor, the country will collectively take a day off and blow things up and eat red meat. It’s a time-honored tradition, but once everything is blown up and eaten, you might be looking for something similarly unique and exciting to fill the rest of the three-day weekend. You might want to see a movie, but if you don’t want to watch Transformers, there are few new release options for you.
Luckily, the AFI Silver in Silver Spring is stepping up and screening some truly terrific films over the Fourth of July weekend!
The action begins on Thursday, July 3rd, with a screening of Spaghetti Western classic A Fistful of Dollars, followed that evening by a 25th anniversary showing of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. The next day, on July 4th, the schedule heats up with The African Queen, Lawrence of Arabia, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. If you’re looking for more patriotic fare, The Pride of the Yankees screens on Friday as well, and the 1984 cheesefest Red Dawn follows on Sunday. All these films are being shown from their original prints, so you’d be getting the original, authentic theater-going experience!
For night owls looking to recreate the summer movie experience in its absolute fullest, E Street Cinema will also be screening Jaws late on Friday and Saturday nights. The theater is sure to be packed, so this is the closest you’ll get to 1975 without a time machine.
Washington is an exciting city for Fourth of July for obvious reasons, but don’t forget to take advantage of some of the other great resources DC offers during its biggest weekend of the year.