Independence Day (1996)

The aliens are coming and their goal is to invade and destroy Earth. Fighting superior technology, mankind'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 34 wins & 35 nominations.

Cast

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

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Plot Keywords:

trailer trash | product placement | alien invasion | alien fighter craft | vomiting | 

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Taglines:

Enjoy The Superbowl. It May Be Your Last (Superbowl Promo)

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi destruction and violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filming at the Los Angeles International Airport was delayed several days due to a threat from Ted Kaczynski (Unabomber).

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Goofs

(at around 41 mins) Although the 'line of sight' scene has been mentioned, in one particular shot from behind David, he has his right hand out with the piece of paper in it, but when the shot switches to in front, he has his hands on his hips.

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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

The opening credits including the title have all the letters break together.

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Alternate Versions

In some cinemas in the Middle East, all scenes including Judd Hirsch were removed. In the film, Hirsch's character speaks Yiddish and wears the traditional Jewish yarmulke.

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Connections

Featured in Bad Movie Beatdown: 10,000 B.C. (2010)

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Soundtracks

Stand By
Written by Sophie Zelmani (as Sophie Edkvist) & Lars Halapi
Performed by Sophie Zelmani
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

Incredible visuals, brilliant action - Independence Day delivers!

Independence Day is really just patriotic drivel in means of plot and adventure. But the film comes into its best moments when the action sequences hit the screen. Buildings explode and men die in beautifully choreographed fashions that raise the bar for many modern action films today.

The film is predictable, and none of the characters are particularly memorable - you aren't really bothered whether they live or die. The plot is so much like War of the Worlds, with more sky battles and aliens, that you may feel that it is just another remake under the same title.

But Roland Emmerich (the director) deserves to be called the undisputed king of action movies - he beautifully directs his films, and the special effects and sound in his films are truly stunning. This was his biggest success, and deservedly so - though The Day after Tomorrow was just as spiffing.

The script ain't strong and the plot ain't great, but this is an action-epic film, and on that scale, Independence Day delivers. It is an extremely memorable experience, and beats action flicks that are being made ten years on. A stunning job that deserves to be called a huge success (in the box office, of course). Great! 8/10

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 July 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

ID4

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$50,228,264, 7 July 1996

Gross USA:

$306,169,268

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$817,400,891

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Centropolis Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

145 min 154 min (extended cut)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1