Stars: Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Margaret Colin, Randy Quaid, Robert Loggia, Jeff Goldblum

Director: Roland Emmerich

Summary: Mysterious spaceships appear in the sky and satellite communication systems cease to work. The population at large is unaware of the visitors' hidden agenda. Only one man knows what's really going on...

WIN DVDs by rating this DVD

Average User Rating:

Reviewed by: philreyn
Posted on November 3, 2005 10:24 AM

I sat on my hands waiting for this to hit the British cinema, and booked tickets on the day of release. First viewing I was dissapointed, as there was too much silly humour. How can an alcoholic crop sprayer (Randy Quaid) suddenly be flying a state of the art jet fighter, trying to save the world?
Watching it for a sceond time on DVD and knowing what to expect, I did enjoy it. The effects are very good, and the sub plots work well. As long as you don't expect anything too serious, it's a worthy purchase.

WIN DVDS by being amongst the first to review this DVD. Reviewing DVDs earns you bonus entries and lets you WIN DVDs!Please login before reviewing this DVD. If you're a new user, register for free and enter to WIN FREE DVDs!

In Independence Day, a scientist played by Jeff Goldblum once actually had a fistfight with a man (Bill Pullman) who is now president of the United States. That same president, late in the film, personally flies a jet fighter to deliver a payload of missiles against an attack by extraterrestrials. Independence Dayis the kind of movie so giddy with its own outrageousness that one doesn't even blink at such howlers in the plot. Directed by Roland Emmerich, Independence Dayis a pastiche of conventions from flying-saucer movies from the 1940s and 1950s, replete with icky monsters and bizarre coincidences that create convenient shortcuts in the story. (Such as the way the girlfriend of one of the film's heroes--played by Will Smith--just happens to run across the president's injured wife, who are then both rescued by Smith's character who somehow runs across them in alien-ravaged Los Angeles County.) The movie is just sheer fun, aided by a cast that knows how to balance the retro requirements of the genre with a more contemporary feel. --Tom Keogh

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	8 Minutes Of Restored Footage, Audio Commentary By Roland Emmerich And Dean Devlin
Year:	1996
Release Date:	May 17, 2004
Runtime:	139 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	04118 V D V D
Keywords:	Day, General, Fiction, Science, Horror, Independence, Sci, Fi
Genre:	Science Fiction