Independence Day

Independence Day is a 1996 American military science fiction film about an alien invasion of Earth. The narrative focuses on a disparate group of people who converge in the Nevada desert and, along with the rest of the human population, participate in a last-chance counterattack on July 4, the same date as the Independence Day holiday in the United States. It was directed by German director Roland Emmerich, who co-wrote the script with producer Dean Devlin.

Plot
On July 2nd, communications systems worldwide are sent into chaos by a strange atmospheric interference. It is soon learned by the military that a number of enormous objects are on a collision course with Earth. At first thought to be meteors, they are later revealed to be gigantic spacecraft, piloted by a mysterious alien species. After attempts to communicate with the aliens go nowhere, David Levinson, an ex-scientist turned cable technician, discovers that the aliens are going to attack major points around the globe in less than a day. On July 3rd, the aliens all but obliterate New York, Los Angeles, and Washington. The survivors set out in convoys towards Area 51, a strange government testing ground where it is rumored the military has a captured alien spacecraft of their own. The survivors devise a plan to fight back against the enslaving aliens, and July 4th becomes the day humanity will fight for its freedom. July 4th is their Independence Day...

Trivia
The abbreviation "ID4" was invented due to undisclosed legal problems (long since resolved) with the title "Independence Day". In the Special Edition, during the scenes where David is searching for his ex-wife's telephone number, his computer screen displays humorous street names such as "Heresheis Avenue." As is the case with many 20th Century Fox Films, the film cans for the advance screening prints and show prints had a code name. Independence Day was "Dutch 2". Fox first wanted to open the film on Memorial Day and change the name to 'Doomsday' to avoid the fierce competition on July 4th. The White House interiors were originally built for The American President, and were subsequently used for Mars Attacks!. The phrases said by the pilots when firing their missiles is NATO brevity code for the types of missiles being launched. "Fox One" means a semi-active radar-guided missile (AIM-7 Sparrow), "Fox Two" is an infrared-guided (heat-seeking) missile (AIM-9 Sidewinder), and "Fox Three" is is an active radar-guided missile (AIM-120 AMRAAM). "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" by Tears for Fears was originally picked to play during the film's introduction before it was replaced by R.E.M.'s "It's the End of the World As We Know It". The scene in which Will Smith drags the unconscious alien across the desert was filmed on the salt flats near Great Salt Lake in Utah. Smith's line, "And what the hell is that *smell*?" was unscripted. Great Salt Lake is home to tiny crustaceans called brine shrimp. When they die, the bodies sink to the bottom of the lake (which isn't very deep) and decompose. When the wind kicks up just right, the bottom mud is disturbed and the smell of millions of decaying brine shrimp can be very very bad. Apparently, nobody warned Will.

Box office
Independence Day was the highest-grossing film of 1996. In the United States, Independence Day earned $104.3 million in its first full week, including $96.1 million during its five-day holiday opening, and $50.2 million during its opening weekend. All three figures broke records set by Jurassic Park three years earlier. That film's sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, claimed all three records when it was released the following year. Independence Day stayed in the number-one spot for three weeks, and grossed $306,169,268 in the domestic market and $510,800,000 in foreign markets during its theatrical run. The combined total of $816,969,268 once trailed only the worldwide earnings of Jurassic Park as the highest of all-time. It has been surpassed by several 21st century films since, and currently holds the 34th highest worldwide gross all-time for a film. Hoping to capitalize in the wake of the film's success, several studios released more large-scale disaster films, and the already rising interest in science fiction-related media was further increased by the film's popularity.

Henry's copy
Henry has the 1996 VHS of this movie from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. It has previews of Volcano and the Independence Day video game.