Independence Day (1996) on Netflix
PG-1319962h 25mActionAdventureSci-Fi
Saucers fifteen miles wide appear above major cities. Marine pilot Steven Hiller, technician David Levinson and President Thomas Whitmore face a countdown hidden in satellite signals.
- Netflix3.9/5
- IMDb7.0/10654,944 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes67%
Trailer
Plot summary
On the second of July, 1996, a mothership settles into orbit beyond the Moon and sends flying saucers, each fifteen miles across, to hang above the world's big cities. Captain Steven Hiller, a Marine pilot with the Black Knights at El Toro, is recalled from Independence Day leave, while his girlfriend Jasmine Dubrow packs up her son Dylan and leaves Los Angeles. In New York, satellite engineer David Levinson finds a signal buried in global transmissions and reads it as a countdown to a coordinated attack. His ex-wife Constance Spano, the White House communications director, brings him and his father Julius into the Oval Office, where President Thomas Whitmore hears the warning and orders the cities evacuated. Crop duster Russell Casse, a former combat pilot, calls the arrival proof of the abduction he has described for a decade.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Independence Day (1996)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The U.S. military originally intended to provide personnel, vehicles and costumes for the film, but backed out when the producers refused to remove the script's Area 51 references.
- Immediately before filming the scene, Devlin and Pullman decided to add "Today, we celebrate our Independence Day" to the end of the speech; the production was nicknamed "ID4" because Warner Bros. owned the title rights from the identically titled 1983 film, and Devlin hoped the new dialogue would help win them.
- The role was originally offered to Ethan Hawke, who turned it down because he thought the script was terrible; Devlin and Emmerich had always envisioned an African-American for the part and specifically wanted Smith after seeing his performance in Six Degrees of Separation.
SPOILER
The film initially depicted Russell Casse being rejected as a volunteer because of his alcoholism, then using a stolen missile tied to his red biplane for his suicide mission; test audiences responded well to the irony, but the scene was re-shot with Casse accepted as a volunteer and flying an F/A-18.- One cut scene had Judd Hirsch's character lead a Jewish prayer, and other removed footage showed Israeli and Arab troops working together; Hezbollah called for a boycott, and Jeff Goldblum replied that the film is about teamwork among people of different religions and nationalities to defeat a common enemy.
- Independence Day was originally scheduled to air on Fox on September 16, 2001, but was canceled following the September 11 attacks, and Fox replaced it with a repeat airing of There's Something About Mary.
- Harry Connick Jr. was not the first choice for his role in Independence Day: he took over the part from Matthew Perry, who was originally cast in the role.
