Independence Day (film)
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Independence Day (also known by its promotional abbreviation ID4) is an Academy Award-winning science fiction film directed by Roland Emmerich. The film's plot is about a hostile alien invasion of Earth. 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. The movie's total worldwide gross was $816,969,268 - the 18th highest worldwide gross for a movie all-time, and it is rated 49th best sci-fi movie of all time on Rotten Tomatoes.[5]
PlotOn July 2, a mammoth alien mothership enters orbit around Earth and deploys several dozen "destroyer" spacecraft, each fifteen miles in diameter. 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 satellite transmissions, which he believes to be a timer counting down to a coordinated attack by the aliens, from the craft. 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, and soon afterwards, the hovering spacecraft incinerate the cities below using advanced directed-energy weapons, killing millions. The President, portions of his staff, and the Levinsons narrowly escape Washington, D.C. aboard Air Force One. 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, assaults one of the destroyers near Los Angeles. It is soon discovered that their attacks are completely useless as both the destroyer and its own fighter craft are protected by seemingly-impenetrable force fields. After leading his unit of fighter pilots in the failed attack against the aliens, Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith) is involved in a dogfight with an alien fighter. Hiller is able to blind the alien pilot with his jet's emergency parachute just before running out of fuel, causing both to crash in the desert. Having parachuted to safety, Hiller subdues the injured alien. Hiller is picked up by Russell Casse (Randy Quaid), who is traveling with a group of refugees across the desert in a convoy of RVs. From there they take the captured alien to nearby Area 51, where the president and his remaining staff have also landed. There, they discover a top secret facility housing a captured alien fighter 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 the planet's natural resources before moving on. The alien attempts a psychic attack against Whitmore and is killed by military personnel. Whitmore orders a nuclear attack on the alien spacecraft which is hovering over a by-now-evacuated Houston, but this too fails to penetrate the craft's shield. Image:Independence Day MothershipB.JPG
The alien fighter approaches the mothership.
On July 4, Levinson devises a plan to gain access to the interior of the alien mothership in space in order to introduce a computer virus and plant a nuclear device 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 fly the captured alien fighter and Levinson accompanies 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 plan 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 US fighter jets against an alien destoyer on approach to Area 51. Though the odds are even with the aliens now lacking shields, the fighters' supply of missiles are quickly exhausted against the massive craft and its large complement of fighters. The underside of the alien craft opens up as its primary weapon prepares to fire on the base. Russell finds that he possesses the one remaining missile, but his firing mechanism jams. He pilots his jet into the 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, annihilating it entirely. Hiller and Levinson escape 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. Cast and characters
ProductionThe 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 of 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] While the film was still in post-production, 20th Century Fox began a massive marketing campaign to help promote the film, beginning with the airing of a dramatic commercial during Super Bowl XXX, for which Fox paid $1.3 million.[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 bi-plane keeping pace and flying amongst F-18s was "just not believable".[8] Filming locations
Tie-in novelsAuthor Stephen Molstad wrote a tie-in novel to help promote the film shortly before its release in the summer of 1996.[citation needed] The novel goes into further detail on the characters, situations, and overall concept that the film lacked. Following the success of the film, a prequel novel entitled Independence Day: Silent Zone was written by Emmerich, Devlin, and 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.[citation needed] 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. Reception
Box office performanceIndependence 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. At one point, the film had the second-highest worldwide gross of all-time.[12]
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