Independence Day (1996)

Director:

Roland Emmerich

Writers (WGA):

Dean Devlin (written by) &
Roland Emmerich (written by)

Release Date:

3 July 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

We've always believed we weren't alone. Pretty soon, we'll wish we were.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Spaceship | Area 51 | Spacecraft | Weapon

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 26 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

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 Nimzicki
Harvey Fierstein	...	Marty Gilbert
Adam Baldwin	...	Major Mitchell
Brent Spiner	...	Dr. Brackish Okun
James Duval	...	Miguel Casse
Lisa Jakub	...	Alicia Casse

Also Known As:

ID4 (USA) (promotional abbreviation)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi destruction and violence.

Runtime:

145 min | USA:153 min (special edition)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS 70 mm (70 mm prints) (Europe) | DTS (35 mm prints) | Dolby Digital (35 mm prints) | SDDS (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Ireland:PG | USA:PG-13 (certificate #34370) | Brazil:12 | Japan:U | New Zealand:PG | Australia:PG (edited for lower rating) | Canada:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Italy:T | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:All | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | UK:12 | Israel:PG

Filming Locations:

2nd Street Tunnel, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Centropolis Entertainment

Trivia:

When Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith are fleeing from the mother-ship after launching the warhead, Goldblum repeats his "must go faster" line from _Jurassic Park (1993)_; it's actually the same dialog loop.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When news of the newly-appeared spacecraft from around the world is shown towards the beginning of the film, the broadcast from Russia is labeled "Soviet News", despite the USSR's having collapsed five years before the release of this film, and only months after the end of the Persian Gulf War, in which the President had supposedly fought.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Red Dwarf: Back from the Dead - Series VII (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Rumble

A sad commentary on the insecurity of a nation.

This piece of tripe was one of the worst and most offensive movies I have ever seen. 0 out of 10. Negative numbers, even. Was there one, single original idea in the whole film? Not that I could spot. The aliens were a bald faced copy of H.R. Giger's "Alien." Their fighter craft were knockoffs of those used in "War Of The Worlds", released more than 40 years prior. The idea that a computer virus could be used to defeat an alien technology millions of times more advanced than our own is insulting to anyone with half a brain. It's been done, and the idea comes off as badly here as before. (Read "3001: Final Odyssey" by Arthur C. Clarke.)

These points alone aren't enough to ruin a movie completely; they merely add to the ridiculousness of it in this case. When ID was released, I read an article in Time magazine that talked about the psychology behind the movie. At the time, the United States had run out of Enemies. The Soviet Union wasn't a threat anymore, and the Middle East had already been pounded into submission during the Gulf War. There was no one for us to pick on, to show our overwhelming superiority to. Sensing the void, Hollywood created a new enemy in the race of planet conquering aliens seen in this film. And they made that enemy seem so invincible that it's all the more remarkable in the end when the macho Americans are able to defeat them single-handedly. Yes, it is the good old USA that saves the day, all by itself. Wil Smith's machismo is nauseating. In a movie that doesn't take itself so seriously (Men In Black) this kind of acting is entertaining. But not here.

I am an American, and I take pride in America. But this movie exemplifies everything that is wrong with our outlook. We shouldn't have to build up our self esteem by pretending we are so superior, even to alien races who have conquered space. From a credibility standpoint, this is absurd. Like so many bad sci-fi movies, the producers never stopped to consider the unlikeliness of the scenario. Without going on a tirade about "alien paranoia"- that is, the belief that extra terrestrial life forms are always hostile and want to steal our planet- I'll just say this: to say that the "Melissa" or the "I Love You" virus would be effective against their technology would be like saying that a couple of guys armed with pea shooters could take out an entire Panzer tank division.

Don't waste your time with this. Watch an intelligent sci-fi movie, like "2001: A Space Odyssey", or "Contact." Films like that make you think; ID4 makes you want to sink back in the lazyboy, crack open another beer, and say "Hot dang, we kicked some alien a**!"