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 | vomiting | exotic dancer | 

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Taglines:

WARNING! Your next stop may not be there.

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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

(at around 1h 8 mins) When Will Smith is dragging the alien across the desert, after he kicks the parachute with the alien in it and the RVs are approaching, when the shot cuts to the side of the RVs, you can see I-80 on the horizon line, most distinctly, you can see a tractor trailer travelling on it.

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Goofs

(at around 29 mins) When Steve is leaving to go to El Toro, Jasmine comes outside to talk to Steve. In the background there is a couple packing up. A lady comes out from the house with a suitcase, goes toward a car and a man goes toward the house, and they pass each other. The next time they show a close up of Jasmine, the couple are passing each other again, for a split second.

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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

"Animal action was monitored by the American Humane Association. No animals or aliens were harmed in the making of this film."

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Alternate Versions

In most versions shown in cinemas and also the ones available on video, scenes are missing that stress the global dimension of the alien attack. In these scenes, international tv-journalists report about the devastation in their respective countries, and the destroying of international cities is shown (e.g. Paris). The cast list still contains some of these reporters, e.g. it names Jessica Cardinahl as German reporter, and also Korean and Russian reporters. These scenes were interesting, as they illustrate that the aliens are not an American problem, but a global one.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Independence Day/Special Effects/Phenomenon (1996)

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Soundtracks

Live It Cool
Written by Junior Vasquez & Lydia Rhodes
Performed by Lydia Rhodes
Courtesy of MCA Records

User Reviews

One of the better high-concept movies..

As a rule, I don't like high-concept movies. However, Independence Day is one of the few with some merits. It is also the best film to-date by German sci-fi/action director Roland Emmerich. The greatest flaw of Indepence Day (aka ID4 due to initial copyright problems with the Independence Day title) is the excessive jingoism. Completely America centric, it seems that the rest of human civilization is helpless without the Yanks. The American President is not just the only world leader fighting for a free world, he even moonlights as a fighter pilot attacking the aliens.

However, its still a damn entertaining film. There is a large ensemble cast of good actors, some in career best roles. Will Smith was really launched as a movie star by this film and he has some very funny lines. Jeff Goldblum actually looks nerdy-cool as a scientist who likes to play chess in the park. And Bill Pullman is the clean-cut American President who proclaims that July 4 will no longer be an American holiday, but a world holiday! The rest of the ensemble cast includes small but meaty roles for Judd Hirsch, Randy Quaid and Vivica Fox. Harry Connick Jr. has a small part but blows it completely.

The things that make ID4 watching is that something is always going on. There are plenty of one-liners and the one-dimensional character all have their peculiar personality traits and quirks. The action scenes are impressive and in fact this film has the largest number of miniatures ever built. That record will probably never be broken because digital technology is limiting the use of miniatures. If you can let your hair loose and just want to enjoy a light movie without letting the America is Great propaganda get to you, ID4 is for you.

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