Trailer

Independence Day (1996)

PG-13   |    |  Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Independence Day (1996) Poster

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.

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59 Metascore

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Photos

  • Patrick Tatopoulos in Independence Day (1996)
  • Faye Dunaway at an event for Independence Day (1996)
  • Independence Day (1996)
  • Pre-production concept art for ID4 from bonus materials on the
  • Pre-production concept art for ID4 from bonus materials on the
  • Independence Day (1996)

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Cast & Crew

Top Billed Cast

Director:

Roland Emmerich

Writers:

Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich

Awards

Won 1 Oscar.

Another 34 wins & 34 nominations.

Reviews & Commentary

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User Reviews
11 November 2006 | faraaj-1
8
| 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.

Metacritic Reviews

Critic Reviews

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Robert Loggia modeled the character General Grey after Generals of World War II, particularly George S. Patton.

Quotes

SETI Chief: If this isn't an insanely beautiful woman, I'm hangin' up.
SETI technician: Sir, I - I- I think you should listen to this.

Goofs

When David and Marty are discussing David's discovery that the signal is a countdown to attack, a news reporter in the background states that ships "have just arrived over the capitals of India, England, and Germany." A few seconds later, the TV graphic David points out shows a ship over Bombay, erroneously referred to as India's capital (which is really New Delhi). Germany's capital is listed as Germany rather than Berlin.

Crazy Credits

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

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.

Soundtracks

Boom Boom Booty
Written by Richard Rudolph, Michael Sembello, and Romany Malco
Performed by U.P.F. Featuring ROM
Courtesy of Dolp Songs & ROM Music

Storyline

Plot Summary

Synopsis (WARNING: Spoilers)

Genres

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Details

Release Date:

3 July 1996

Language

English

Country of Origin

USA

Filming Locations

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$50,228,264 (USA) (7 July 1996)

Gross:

$306,169,255 (USA) (12 January 1997)

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