Independence Day (1996)

The aliens are coming and their goal is to invade and destroy. Fighting superior technology, Man's best weapon is the will to survive.

Director:

Roland Emmerich

Writers:

Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich

Stars:

Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum

Won 1 Oscar. Another 26 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Will Smith	...	Captain Steven Hiller
Bill Pullman	...	President Thomas J. Whitmore
Jeff Goldblum	...	David Levinson
Mary McDonnell	...	First Lady Marilyn Whitmore
Judd Hirsch	...	Julius Levinson
Robert Loggia	...	General William Grey
Randy Quaid	...	Russell Casse
Margaret Colin	...	Constance Spano
Vivica A. Fox	...	Jasmine Dubrow
James Rebhorn	...	Albert Nimziki
Harvey Fierstein	...	Marty Gilbert
Adam Baldwin	...	Major Mitchell
Brent Spiner	...	Dr. Brackish Okun
James Duval	...	Miguel
Lisa Jakub	...	Alicia

Storyline

On July 2nd, communications systems worldwide are sent into chaos by a strange atmospheric interference. It is soon learned by the military that a number of enormous objects are on a collision course with Earth. At first thought to be meteors, they are later revealed to be gigantic spacecraft, piloted by a mysterious alien species. After attempts to communicate with the aliens go nowhere, David Levinson, an ex-scientist turned cable technician, discovers that the aliens are going to attack major points around the globe in less than a day. On July 3rd, the aliens all but obliterate New York, Los Angeles, and Washington. The survivors set out in convoys towards Area 51, a strange government testing ground where it is rumored the military has a captured alien spacecraft of their own. The survivors devise a plan to fight back against the enslaving aliens, and July 4th becomes the day humanity will fight for its freedom. July 4th is their Independence Day...

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Plot Keywords:

alien | spaceship | spacecraft | weapon | area 51 | 

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Taglines:

On July 2nd, they arrive. On July 3rd, they strike. On July 4th, we fight back.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi destruction and violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 July 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

ID4

Filming Locations:

K Street Northwest & N Capitol Street Northwest, Washington DC, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

JPY 850,881,900 (Japan) (6 December 1996)

Gross:

JPY 3,766,488,300 (Japan) (24 January 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Centropolis Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

145 min 153 min (special edition)

Sound Mix:

DTS 70 mm (70 mm print) DTS (35 mm prints) Dolby Digital (35 mm prints) SDDS (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dean Devlin:  producer and co-writer is the voice of the fighter pilot alongside the President's plane who says, "I'm on it," targeting the alien ray only to be blasted out of the sky a moment later.

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Goofs

The position of Abraham Lincoln's head on the table when President Whitmore is looking out the window of the Oval Office.

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Quotes

[first lines]
SETI Chief: [answering telephone] If this isn't an insanely beautiful woman, I'm hangin' up.
SETI technician: Sir, I - I- I think you should listen to this.

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Crazy Credits

Frank Bollinger, originally from the art department is credited as "Alien Supervisor" because he wasn't member of the union, so he wouldn't be allowed to work in that department.

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Connections

Spin-off Independence Day (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Rumble"
Written by Link Wray and Milton Grant
Performed by Link Wray
Courtesy of Barnaby Records Inc. by arrangement with
Celebrity Licensing

User Reviews

WOW, KABOOM, SWOOSH!!!

Never mind the stereotypical characters. Never mind the non-existant logic. Never mind that the dialogue is inane and bordering on idiotic. THIS IS GREAT ACTION! And there's no point in denying it.

First of all: I love to watch destruction. Preferably in larger scales. You get fed an enormous amount of it here. Second: I love alien starships the size of New York. And you sure get that too. And third: I love dogfights. You get that too. Forth: I don't take it seriously.

This films is one of the best of the decade, not simply because it works so well in an all-over scheme, but it provides some kicks that no other film had up to then (1996). Aliens arrive in gigantic spaceships and blow up a bunch of major cities. That's all I need.

How to grapple with the fact that logic takes a backseat - please spare me. There are worse films than this one.