Product Details

• Actors: Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch
• Directors: Roland Emmerich
• Writers: Roland Emmerich, Dean Devlin
• Producers: Roland Emmerich, Dean Devlin, Peter Winther, Ute Emmerich, William Fay
• Format: Anamorphic, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, THX, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: June 27, 2000
• Run Time: 145 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (715 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00003Q43A
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,225 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #20 in	Movies & TV > Action & Adventure > Action Stars > Will Smith
  #37 in	Movies & TV > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Alien Invasion
  #68 in	Movies & TV > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Aliens

• For more information about "Independence Day (Five Star Collection)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

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

DVD features

Of the two commentaries, the more interesting is the one with the special effects supervisors, who engagingly demonstrate how the film's illusions ran the gamut from traditional "model & string" effects to the most sophisticated CGI applications. "Creating Reality" is the best of the three behind-the-scenes documentaries; "ID4 Invasion" is an interesting compilation of fictional news reports (some of them quite convincing) that were created for the TV reports within the movie, while the "HBO First Look" featurette hosted by Jeff Goldblum is rather glib and redundant. Of greater interest is the "special edition" cut of Independence Day and the original unused ending with Randy Quaid heroically piloting a vintage biplane instead of an advanced fighter jet. As producer Dean Devlin explains, the sight of a rickety airplane keeping pace with F-18 jets was "just not believable." --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Good transfer, but still disappointing, March 23, 2009

By	C. McCarville-Schueths - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Independence Day [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

I have to say that I'm a big fan of this film, and I already own the DVD. Most of those wanting to buy this film on Bluray are those who have already seen it and liked it, so I won't comment on the movie content itself, but rather the technical and supplemental aspects of this release.

I borrowed a friend's copy of the BD version of ID4 just a few weeks ago, as I was contemplating whether to add this to my small but growing blu-ray collection. The picture and audio are superb, and watching this on my new LCD at 1080p with the lossless DTS-MA audio track really transported me back to the July of '96, when I watched this on the big screen. This movie has certainly aged well these thirteen years, and the special effects are still terrific even today. While watching, I was pretty much set on adding this to my collection.

That is, until after I finished watching the movie and wanted to see the extras in HD.

The DVD version I have contains two discs and a lot of extras, including an alternate ending, making-of feature, trailers, and cast/crew interviews. Sadly, in this BD release there are none, not even in standard definition. The only "extra" is a commentary track, which, as an another reviewer already pointed out, is laughably outdated. At $25, I would expect more than just a movie and nothing else.

The Dark Knight BD had two discs plus a digital copy for the same price- that was justifiable, even in this economy. This... isn't.

FOX is notorious for double-dipping their DVD and Blu-ray releases. I would imagine that a two-disc or dual-layered "special edition" version will come out over the next year or so.

Needless to say, this BD release is quite a disappointment.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Independence Day, March 24, 2008

By	Kelly "Reviewer for The Sinfully Sensuous" (Littleton, Colorado) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Independence Day (Single Disc Widescreen Edition) (DVD)

This is one of my most favorite movies!! It is hard to pick which is better the cast, special effects or writing. The special effects go without saying - superb. The timing on some of the events like the synchronized takedown of the different cities could not have been done better. I can't say enough nice things about the cast. Will Smith was funny at times and yet still the tragic hero. Randy Quaid was priceless! Jeff Goldblum was more likeable in this movie than I have ever seen him in the past. I also thought Robert Loggia and Bill Pullman were well chosen. While the script was similar to movies done in the past, there was a new spin on it. I particularly liked the scene when Bill Pullman gave his speech prior to fighting the enemy. Some borrowed history from a Dylan Thomas' poem was genius.

40 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Outstanding DVD Package!, July 3, 2000

By	Star Sailor "Worldwide Traveler" (Whidbey Island, WA) - See all my reviews

Studios are finally getting the whole DVD thing! This is a truly worth-your-money deal with lots of extras including two versions of the film; the first version is the original theatrical release and the second version is a directors cut featuring about 9 minutes of added footage not released in theatres. What's really great about this is they list what new scenes have been included and some of them are really funny and some of them make the story a lot more heartfelt. Also included is a second disc that includes a really cool mockumentary called "The ID4 Invasion" which is truly a priceless gem in this great collection. Also, there is commentary, lots of interviews with cast and crew, a special effects documentary on the making of the film and the original biplane ending which unfortunately looks really hokey and what I felt after watching it was-THANK GOD THEY DIDN'T GO WITH THAT ENDING-THAT ENDING WOULD'VE MADE THIS MOVIE A "REAL" DISASTER! For a product like this under $30 it is totally worth your money. For those who appreciated this movie as a special effects funfest, this DVD is not one to be passed up. For those of you boring types who felt this movie needed a "serious acting edge" buy Out of Africa and leave science fiction alone! Cheers!