Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36185 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-09-24
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: DTS Surround Sound, Box set, PAL, Surround Sound, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 147 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
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 Day is 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 Day is 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

Synopsis
With a $71 million budget and mind-blowing special effects, INDEPENDENCE DAY is a grand, high-tech throwback to such films of the 1950s as THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL and WAR OF THE WORLDS. Here, aliens, in numerous gargantuan spaceships, arrive without warning and hover over the world's most important cities, creating global panic. The nasty visitors use death rays to blow New York, Washington D.C, and Los Angeles to smithereens. A handful of plucky Americans, including the Clinton-esque President (Bill Pullman), a gung-ho fighter pilot (Will Smith) and a computer geek named David (Jeff Goldblum), attempt to devise a strategy against the invaders.

On July 4th, their risky plan is put into effect, as dozens of fighter pilots (including the President) wage an assault on the spaceships. However, their success (and the fate of the world) depends on David, who is attempting to disarm the aliens's mothership.

Customer Reviews

naff yet enjoyable
Independence day is one cheesy movie,there is no other way of putting it,silly lines,over the top,happy endings a plenty,individual struggles,world struggles,life,death,joy,forgiveness,obsession,you get the idea,right,every cliche is thrown together and it is quite absurd,yet this is good fun,it probably didnt intend to have this affect but it got it,aliens face earth and want to destroy it and we have to fight back or die forever,silly?yes,fun,yes,it does drag at times but this is worth a watch,in fact i have watched it many times,sometimes i cringe but generally im entertained and thats what counts in the end!

ID4 My Favourite Movie Ever!!! (So Far...)
This DVD Is Fantastic! I Just Got My Copy Of It Today. It Contains The Following: 2 Discs, 5.1 DTS Surround Sound, 8 Minutes Extra Not Included In The Original Theatrical Film, All The Movie Trailers, The Making Of ID4, And A Inside Look At The Day After Tommorrow And Loads More!!!

If Your Looking For An Epic, You've Just Found It!!!!
This Box Set Comes In A Metal Tin.

Independence day
Starring Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Randy Quaid, Vivica A. Fox, Judd Hirsch, Mary McDonnell, Margaret Colin and Robert Loggia, Independence Day in a nut shell is a lot of fun, a bit brainless, and at times over the top but is a thoroughly enjoyable film telling the classic tale of Aliens coming to Earth with an extermination in mind. Set over three days it chronicles the events leading up to an Alien invasion of Earth, the worldwide destruction and subsequent human resistance. First off I think its only fair to judge this movie on its merits. Yes there is occasionally some pretty poor dialog, okay some of the effects have aged better than others granted, but this movie sets out to entertain without trying to provoke a great deal of thought from its many viewers. The plot is straight forward and at times predictable but it contains 2 and a half hours which for me just flew by, which is generally quite a good sign, there are some really strong character moments, mostly good effects (twelve years hasn't been quite as kind to some of the effects in Independence Day as other films), and all round reliable acting with a good story albeit completely unoriginal. It's the typical summer popcorn blockbuster but that's not necessarily a bad thing here. There are hardly any dull moments in Independence Day and it has managed to cram in plenty of entertaining scenes absolutely laden with special effects some of which are top notch even today, the Aliens opening attack in particular was quite impressive and very well done as great monuments such as the Empire State Building and The White House are quite realistically blasted into oblivion. But one of the major pros I found was the terrific cast who made this film a lot of fun to watch particularly with the improvised scenes with Jeff Goldblums character and his father played delightfully by Judd Hirsch, and in the sprit of things there's no shortage of tongue in cheek humour from the various comedic actors in the film. Independence Day never takes itself too seriously which depending on your own take can be a major asset or potential pit fall, even its makers jokingly discuss certain old-fashioned "Hollywood" scenes in the movie during their interesting commentary track, but this gives it a slightly nostalgic feel reminiscent of the 70s disaster movies it was apparently modelled on. Lacking a bit in real depth it is nevertheless quite entertaining and easily worth watching. Unless you really want to nit-pick (in which case even very good movies wont appease you) there is a lot of fun in what is overall a good film that packs some good old entertainment.

Now I reviewed the film only because I have the two disc special edition, not the definitive edition, HOWEVER from my own little research and what another reviewer says on this page it appears that there is no difference between my edition and the definitive one, save for the metal case (which is not even available on Amazon anymore in a metal case). Seeing as the case is the only difference, here is what I thought about the DVD features. The sound and picture quality crisp anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer makes the DVD a must if you only have the tape, and the sound quality is top-notch but while the technical aspects have been given premium packaging the features on disc two are quite disappointing, The bulk of the special features are three documentaries two of which are just television specials recycled from the making of ID4 documentary, They are 80 minutes long in total but you are given the same interviews, same information (all about special effects virtually) in the first two features and the third is a joke 8 minute Documentary of the Alien Invasion in the film which quickly turns into a discussion on whether Ufo's really exist and what the Earth would do in the situations faced in Independence Day. The best feature I found was the filmmakers, Devlin and Emmerich's commentary track on disc one with interesting snippets, and banter and overall moderately interesting discussion, which provides some insight into the making of this film. Then you have trailers and an option to view the alternate ending which if you see it you'll quickly see why it was left out, something Devlin himself admitted. There is also 8 minutes of addition footage on disc one. Overall a good film on a relatively poor and lazily put together DVD package. I think HMV have it on sale a few quid cheaper than Amazon,it is 4.99 in Ireland so its probably similarly priced over in the UK. Overall good film, disappointing bonus features not worth spending more than a Fiver