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:

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

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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

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bill Pullman confirmed in an interview that the studio originally wanted to call the film "Doomsday".

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Goofs

(at around 1h 40 mins) In the Israeli/Arab scene, the officer is heard talking about elements still present "in the Golan Straits". The Golan Heights is a set of hills between Israel and Lebanon, currently under Israeli control, and there are no water bodies anywhere nearby.

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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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Alternate Versions

In the Australian/New Zealand video and theatrical release several shots were edited out so the film could receive a PG rating. These include the destruction of the AWAC as it enters the fire cloud and the shot of the helicopter pilots when the alien destroyer shoots them down. It was eventually released uncut still retaining it PG rating for the Blu-ray release.

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Connections

Referenced in Alice in Chains: Black Antenna: All I Am (2019)

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Soundtracks

Oh Vicky
Written by Bill Elliott
Performed by Bill Elliott
Courtesy of Windswept Pacific Entertainment Co.

User Reviews

Still a great flick

This movie is TRULY one of the best and names itself the Science Fiction version of "Top Gun". The actors were great. Will Smith got "jiggy with it" as a hotshot F/A-18 pilot in the movie; Randy Quaid (the older brother of Dennis Quaid) proved to be the comic relief; Bill Pullman's character transformed from a President with the problem of a nation into a reborn veteran; and Jeff Goldblum became more brilliant than ever! The only difference between "Independence Day" and "Top Gun" is that the 2 adversaries were humans and aliens instead of Americans and Soviet pilots. 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.