Independence Day (1996)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

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)
дЕМЭ мЕГЮБХЯХЛНЯРХ (Russia) [ru]
A függetlenség napja (Hungary) [hu]
Dan neodvisnosti (Slovenia) [sl]
Dan nezavisnosti (Serbia) [sr]
Dan nezavisnosti (Croatia) [hr]
Dia da Independência (Portugal) [pt]
Dia de la independencia (Venezuela) [es]
Dzien niepodleglosci (Poland) [pl]
Ha-Yom Ha-Shlishi (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Independence Day (Germany) [de]
Independence Day (Spain) [es]
Independence Day (Brazil) [pt]
Independence Day - Il giorno della riscossa (Italy) [it]
Independence Day, le jour de la riposte (France) (poster title) [fr]
Independence day - Maailmojen sota (Finland) [fi]
Iseseisvuspäev (Estonia) [et]
Kurtulus günü (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Le jour de l'indépendence (Canada: French title) [fr]
Mera anexartisias (Greece) [el]

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:

Footage of fiery debris was captured on film after a pyrotechnics malfunction occurred on set. The footage was used as the falling wreckage of the "Welcome Wagon" helicopters.

Goofs:

Continuity: As Air Force One is taking off from Washington, D.C., the runway marker lights are still functional, despite the control tower (and everything else behind Air Force One) being obliterated by the aliens' weapon.

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 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

Soundtrack:

Oh Vicki

Great effects, awful plot, legendary unrealism.

One of the best movie beginnings I have seen, but the gloomy atmosphere is ignored by the script writers, the population of USA goes on with their daily lives minutes after the aliens landed, until the aliens start nuking. The unrealistic plot and technical faults will be remembered and seen as a joke for decades to come. A C++ Mac program uploaded to the alien mothership makes it self-destruct? The President and a drunk flying side by side to hit the Weak Spot (tm) of the giant saucer. Come on, why didn't they hire a 7 year old video game freak kid as a technical consultant instead, to get a better believability?