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 & 34 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 ...

---

Plot Keywords:

saving the world mission | alien technology | alien invasion | alien contact | 1990s | 

---

Taglines:

THESE extraterrestrials don't want to phone home...They want OUR home.

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi destruction and violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook The War of 1996

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, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$306,169,268, 31 December 1997

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$817,400,891, 31 December 1997

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)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mad Magazine did a parody in which the virus transmitted to the aliens was Windows '95. This computer operating system was notorious at the time for its frequent bugs which caused compatibility problems with other programs.

---

Goofs

When Tiffany alerts the other alien believers of the ship opening up, there is an African-American woman standing right next to her. The woman, hearing Tiffany, looks up and points. But in the shot of the camera zooming down towards Tiffany as she looks up, the woman is gone.

---

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.

---

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.

---

Alternate Versions

The laserdisc special edition includes an alternate ending to the final aerial battle sequence. In it Russell Casse was rejected as a pilot for one of the jets to attack the alien ship approaching Area 51. However, he arrives at the end of battle flying his crop duster (which he has been towing behind his motor home) with a missile strapped to it. He then flies the crop duster into the energy beam weapon of the alien ship to bring it down.

---

Connections

Referenced in Shadow the Hedgehog (2005)

---

Soundtracks

It's the End of the World As We Know It
Written by Bill Berry (as William Berry), Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe
Performed by R.E.M.
Courtesy of IRS Records

User Reviews

Independence Day - outstanding work of the cinematic art

Personally I think this is the best movie of the 90's.

But then I think South Park is the best TV show of the 20th century. Followed by Twilight Zone and Star Trek tying for second and third place.

While there's no accounting for taste in art, I can make reasoned arguments for my choices.

The people here on IMDb who hate this movie and provide negative comments probably have their reasons too, but mostly they say stupid things. For example, the one vituperous reviewer who lambasted the film's "less-than-impressive CGI effects". Well, duh, they didn't use very much CGI as far as I know. They did special effects the old-fashioned way. This schmuck is complaining about reality not being very realistic?

And if box office is any indication of excellence, then the stats are on my side and prove the nay-sayers are tasteless boobs. Make that witless, tasteless boobs. Independence Day is one of the highest grossing movies in history, worldwide sales topping a billion.

Admittedly ID4 is one of those semi-rare movies that people either love or hate. And in this case hate with a passion. Why? I'm still trying to figure that one out, but so far I believe the whiniest critics are just your stereotypical jaded art critics: self-centered pseudo-intellectuals with attitude who pounce on any flaws in anything they personally don't like just to show off their own vapid superiority. What do they want? Yes, the movie has flaws, but it also has a lot of plot, a lot of heart, and a lot of action. Dialog? I make fun of the dialog myself... so what? The worst criticism I can lay against the writers is that a lot of the dialog is inane... just like real people talk! That just makes it more realistic. Have any of these critics on here ever listened to how real people talk? In some cases the dialog is sooo frigging inane in ID4 that I marvel at it's brilliance. Or chutzpah.

"What happened, mommy?"

"I don't know, baby"

As for the Apple-alien hook-up... my god, have we become so inured to the miracles of science that we calmly overlook or accept miracles like anti-gravity and kvetch instead about mundane technicalities? Yes, the Apple-alien computer hook-up is a plot hole... so what? I can easily explain that away a billion times easier than I can explain anti-gravity. I happen to know a bit about both.

Again. Are there stupid things that happen in ID4? Sure. Checked reality lately? Stupid things happen all the time. But so do heroic things. As well as evil. Typical fare for the ancient tragedies. I believe ID4 carries on that ancient and honorable tradition: entertainment. And viewing it as a work of art, I must say that I was impressed over and over again while watching this film: where most of the studios would have wussed out or flinched, these film makers didn't. They stepped up to the plate and tried to beat the ball to death over and over again with their bat.

And you know what? These film makers did it with a hint of humor. Not bad at all.