Independence Day (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Independence Day

Independence Day movie poster
Directed by Roland Emmerich
Produced by Dean Devlin
Written by Dean Devlin
Roland Emmerich
Starring Will Smith
Bill Pullman
Jeff Goldblum
Mary McDonnell
Judd Hirsch
Robert Loggia
Randy Quaid
Margaret Colin
Vivica A. Fox
Music by David Arnold
Cinematography Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Editing by David Brenner
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date(s) United States:
July 2, 1996
Running time 145 min. (Theatrical)
153 min. (Special Edition)
Country United States
Language English
Budget $70-75 million[1][2]
Gross revenue Domestic:
$306,169,268[3]
Worldwide: $816,969,268
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Independence Day (also known by its promotional abbreviation ID4) is a 1996 science fiction film about a hostile alien invasion of Earth. It was directed by Roland Emmerich, who co-wrote the script with producer Dean Devlin.

The movie was scheduled for release on July 3, 1996, but due to the high level of anticipation for the film, many theaters began showing it on the evening of July 2, 1996,[4] the same day the action in the film begins. It set several box office records during its theatrical run, and was at the forefront of the large-scale disaster film resurgence of the mid-to-late-1990s.[5]

Contents

[edit] Plot

On July 2, a mammoth alien mothership enters orbit around Earth and deploys several dozen saucer-shaped "destroyer" spacecraft, each 15 miles in width. As the destroyers take positions over most of Earth's major cities, David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum), an underachieving MIT-graduate working for a cable company in New York City, discovers hidden satellite transmissions which he believes to be a timer counting down to a coordinated attack by the aliens. With the help of his ex-wife Constance Spano (Margaret Colin), a White House employee, he and his father Julius (Judd Hirsch) gain entrance into the Oval Office to warn President Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman) of the impending attack. The President orders an evacuation of the targeted cities, but soon afterwards the hovering spacecraft incinerate the cities using advanced directed-energy weapons, killing millions. The President, portions of his staff, and the Levinsons narrowly escape aboard Air Force One.

One of the alien ships using force fields to fend off missiles fired from American aircraft.
One of the alien ships using force fields to fend off missiles fired from American aircraft.

On July 3, the United States conducts a coordinated counterattack. A squadron of Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornets, the Black Knights stationed out of El Toro MCAS in Irvine, California, participates in an assault on a destroyer near Los Angeles. Their weapons fail to penetrate the craft's force field, and it responds by releasing several "attacker" ships which are similarly shielded and armed with directed-energy weapons. A lopsided dogfight ensues, and Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith) ends up the sole survivor, eluding a single attacker by luring it to the Grand Canyon. There, he blinds the alien pilot with his jet's braking parachute and ejects just before running out of fuel, causing both to crash in the desert. Having parachuted to safety, he subdues the injured alien. Hiller is picked up by Russell Casse (Randy Quaid), who is traveling across the desert with a group of refugees in a convoy of RVs. From there they take the captured alien to nearby Area 51, commanded by Major Mitchell (Adam Baldwin), where the President and his remaining staff have also landed. Area 51 conceals a top secret facility housing a repaired attacker and three alien bodies recovered from Roswell in 1947.

When lead scientist Dr. Brackish Okun (Brent Spiner) examines the new alien specimen, it attempts escape and takes control of his mind. When questioned by President Whitmore, it reveals through a telepathic connection that its species travels from planet to planet, destroying all life and harvesting a planet's natural resources before moving on. The alien attempts a psychic attack against Whitmore and is killed by Major Mitchell. Whitmore orders a nuclear attack using B2 Spirit bombers on an alien destroyer which is hovering over a deserted Houston, but this too fails to penetrate the craft's shield.

The alien fighter approaches the mothership.
The alien fighter approaches the mothership.

On July 4, Levinson devises a plan to use the captured attacker to gain access to the interior of the alien mothership in space in order to introduce a computer virus and plant a nuclear missile on board. This, it is hoped, will cause the shields of the Earth-based alien craft to fail long enough for the human resistance to eliminate them. Hiller volunteers to be the mission's pilot, with Levinson accompanying him to upload the virus. With satellite communications knocked out, the Americans use Morse code to coordinate an attack with the remaining forces around the world, timed to occur when the invaders' shields are set to fail. With not enough military pilots to man all available aircraft, the battle requires several volunteers, including President Whitmore and Russell, who both have previous combat flight experience.

With the successful implantation of the virus, President Whitmore leads the U.S. jet fighters against an alien destroyer on approach to Area 51. Though the aliens are now lacking shields, the fighters' supply of missiles are quickly exhausted against the massive craft and its large complement of assault ships. The underside of the alien craft opens up as its primary weapon prepares to fire on the base. Russell possesses the one remaining missile, but his firing mechanism jams. He pilots his aircraft into the alien weapon in a kamikaze attack. The ensuing explosion causes a chain reaction which completely annihilates the ship. Human resistance forces around the world use the same weak point to destroy the remainder of the alien ships, while the nuclear device planted by Hiller and Levinson destroys the alien mothership soon after the duo make a daring escape. Hiller and Levinson return unharmed, crash-landing their captured alien fighter in the desert close to Area 51. The film ends as the main characters watch debris from the mothership enter the atmosphere like shooting stars.

[edit] Cast and characters

[edit] Production

The idea for the film came when Emmerich and Devlin were in Europe promoting their film Stargate. A reporter asked Emmerich why he made a movie with content like Stargate if he didn't believe in aliens. Emmerich stated that he was still fascinated by the idea of an alien arrival, and further explained his response by asking the reporter to imagine what it would be like to wake up one morning and discover that 15-mile wide spaceships were hovering over the largest cities in the world. Emmerich then turned to Devlin and said "I think I have an idea for our next film".[6]

Emmerich and Devlin wrote the script during a two-week long vacation in Mexico, and production began in August 1995. [6] The shoot utilized on-set, in-camera special effects more often than computer-generated effects in order to save money and to get more authentic pyrotechnic results.[6] This meant blowing up models of buildings and filming the explosions at high speeds, and casting practical shadows over models of landmarks rather than trying to accomplish the same shots digitally.[6] The United States military was originally going to provide personnel, vehicles, and costumes for the film; however, they backed out when the producers refused to remove the Area 51 references from the script. [7]

The movie originally depicted Russell Casse being rejected as a volunteer for the July 4th aerial counteroffensive because of his alcoholism. He then uses a stolen missile tied to his red bi-plane to carry out his suicide mission. According to Dean Devlin, test audiences responded well to the scene's irony and comedic value.[6] However, the scene was re-shot to include Russell's acceptance as a volunteer, his crash course in modern fighter aircraft, and him flying an F-18 instead of the bi-plane. Devlin preferred the alteration because the viewer now witnesses Russell ultimately making the decision to sacrifice his life,[6] and that seeing the biplane keeping pace and flying amongst F-18s was "just not believable".[8]

[edit] Filming locations

A variety of film locations were used:

[edit] Tie-in novels

Author Stephen Molstad wrote a tie-in novel to help promote the film shortly before its release in the summer of 1996. The novel goes into further detail on the characters, situations, and overall concept not explored in the film. The novel presents the finale of the film as originally scripted, with the character played by Randy Quaid stealing a missile and roping it to his crop duster biplane.

Following the success of the film, a prequel novel entitled Independence Day: Silent Zone was written by Molstad in February 1998.[9] The novel is set in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and details the early career of Dr. Brackish Okun.[10]

Molstad wrote a third novel, Independence Day: War in the Desert in July 1999. The novel is both a midquel and sequel to the film. Set in Saudi Arabia on July 3, it centers around Captain Cummins and Colonel Thompson, the two Royal Air Force officers seen receiving the Morse code message in the film.

[edit] Reception

Ratings
Australia:  PG
Canada:  PG
Chile:  TE
Finland:  K-12
France:  U
Germany:  12
Iceland:  12
India:  U/A
Ireland:  PG
Italy:  T
Malaysia:  U
Netherlands:  AL
Norway:  11
Peru:  14
Portugal:  M/12
Singapore:  PG
South Korea:  All
Spain:  7
Sweden:  11
United Kingdom:  12
United States:  PG-13

[edit] Box office performance

Independence Day earned $96,102,252 in the United States during its five-day holiday opening, including $50,228,264 during its opening weekend.[11] Both figures were records until The Lost World: Jurassic Park was released the following year. The movie's total worldwide gross was $816,969,268, which at one point was the second-highest worldwide gross of all-time.[12] It currently holds the 18th highest worldwide gross for a movie all-time.

  • Domestic Total Gross: $306,169,268[1]
  • Foreign: $510,800,000[1]
  • Worldwide: $816,969,268[1]

[edit] Reviews

Independence Day is ranked as "fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes with a 62% positive rating, with 20 out of 32 critics giving it positive reviews.[13] It has a metascore of 59 (based on 18 reviews) on Metacritic.[14]

Many viewers felt that the main plot was simply a cursory re-telling of the H. G. Wells novella The War of the Worlds, after lacing it with contemporary social and environmental issues, and packaging it with "eye-popping" special effects.[15]

The nationalistic overtones of the film were widely criticized by foreign reviewers. Movie Review UK described the film as "A mish-mash of elements from a wide variety of alien invasion movies and gung-ho American jingoism".[16] Bill Pullman's pre-battle speech, in which he states that victory in the coming war would see the entire world henceforth describe July 4 as its "independence day", was described as the "the most jaw-droppingly pompous soliloquy ever delivered in a mainstream Hollywood movie" in a BBCi review.[17]

[edit] Awards

[edit] Radio spin-off

On August 4, 1996, BBC Radio 1 broadcast the one-hour play Independence Day UK, written, produced, and directed by Dirk Maggs, a spin-off depicting the alien invasion from a British perspective.[19] None of the original cast were present. Dean Devlin gave Maggs permission to produce an original version, on condition that he did not reveal certain details of the movie's plot and that the British were not depicted as saving the day.[19] Devlin was credited as "Creative Consultant". It won the 1996 Talkie for Best Production.[20]

Independence Day UK was set up to be similar to the 1938 radio broadcast of The War Of The Worlds; the first 20 minutes were set as being live. It did not stir panic as War of the Worlds, but there were a few phone calls to the BBC Duty Office.[19]

[edit] Video game

An Independence Day video game was released in 1997 for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, PC, and Mobile. The multi-view shooter game contains various missions to perform, with the ultimate goal of destroying the aliens' primary weapon.

[edit] Home media

Independence Day was released on VHS on November 22, 1996, and became available on DVD on June 27, 2000. It has been re-released on DVD under several different versions with varying supplemental material ever since; including a release as part of 20th Century Fox's "Five Star Collection", a Limited Edition, Collector's Edition, a 10th Anniversary Edition, and one instance where it was packaged with a lenticular cover.[21] Often accessible on these versions is a special edition of the film, which features nine minutes of additional footage not seen in the original theatrical release.

Independence Day became available on Blu-ray disc on March 11, 2008.

[edit] Sequel

The possibility of a sequel had long been discussed,[22] and Devlin once stated that the world's reaction to the September 11th attacks influenced him to strongly consider making a sequel to the film.[23][24] Devlin began writing an outline for a script with Emmerich,[25] but in May 2004, Emmerich said that he and Devlin had attempted to "figure out a way how to continue the story", but that this ultimately failed. No serious discussions in planning a sequel have been in the works since.[26]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d "Independence Day." Box office mojo.com. Retrieved on September 25, 2007.
  2. ^ Independence Day (1996) Synopsis Rotten tomatoes. Retrieved on September 25, 2007.
    "With a $71 million budget and mind-blowing special effects..."
  3. ^ "Independence Day." Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on December 14, 2007.
  4. ^ Declaration of "Independence". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved on March 4, 2008.
  5. ^ Disaster Films. filmsite.org
  6. ^ a b c d e f DVD commentary
  7. ^ "UW-Eau Claire Marketing Researchers Study Super Bowl Ad Successes." University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Retrieved on October 1, 2007.
  8. ^ "Independence Day." amazon.ca. Retrieved on March 4, 2008.
  9. ^ "Independence Day: Silent Zone Product Details." Amazon.com. Retrieved on October 8, 2007.
  10. ^ "Independence Day: Silent Zone by Stephen Molstad Publisher's Notes." Biblio.com. Retrieved on October 8, 2007.
  11. ^ "Independence Day Box Office Data." the-numbers.com. Retrieved on March 4, 2008.
  12. ^ "William Fay Bio." www.10000bcmovie.com. Retrieved on March 4, 2008.
  13. ^ "Independence Day (1996) Also known as: "ID4"." Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on October 16, 2007.
  14. ^ "Independence Day." Metacritic. Retrieved on October 16, 2007.
  15. ^ Independence Day review on www.film.com/movies
  16. ^ Independence Day review on www.u-net.com.
  17. ^ Independence Day review on www.bbc.co.uk/films
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Awards for Independence Day." IMDb. Retrieved on September 29, 2007.
  19. ^ a b c "Independence Day UK." dswilliams.co.uk. Retrieved on September 25, 2007.
  20. ^ "Dirk Maggs - Director." bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on October 28, 2007.
  21. ^ "DVD details for Independence Day." IMDb. Retrieved on March 4, 2008.
  22. ^ "ID4 II Is In The Works." Sci Fi.com. Retrieved on November 5, 2007.
  23. ^ "Saturn Exclusive: Dean Devlin on Independence Day 2." Mania Movies. Retrieved on November 5, 2007.
  24. ^ "An Interview with Dean Devlin." ign.com. Retrieved on November 18, 2007
  25. ^ ID4 II Script In Works Sci Fi.com. Retrieved on November 11, 2007.
  26. ^ "Emmerich Nixes ID4 Sequel." Sci-Fi Wire, May 6, 2004. Retrieved on January 28, 2008.

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Awards
Preceded by
12 Monkeys		 Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film
1996		 Succeeded by
Men in Black
v • d • e
Films directed by Roland Emmerich
Moon 44 (1990) • Universal Soldier (1992) • Stargate (1994) • Independence Day (1996) • Godzilla (1998) • The Patriot (2000) • The Day After Tomorrow (2004) • 10,000 BC (2008)