Skip to Content
Talkhouse home
Talkhouse home
Film

Revisited Video Essay: Independence Day, a Milestone in Special Effects, Comic Relief, and More

Celebrate July 4th with an epoch-defining video essay by Kentucker Audley on the classic Will Smith movie where he goes and shoots all those aliens.

10:00 AM EDT on July 3, 2019

We're taking a break for a couple days for the holiday, but there could be no more fitting way to mark Independence Day than with Kentucker Audley's video essay on the film of the same name, the first in a series of amazing video essays he made for Talkhouse. Happy 4th, everyone! — N.D.

To celebrate the release of Independence Day: Resurgence, I thought I’d go back and watch the original Independence Day movie. It's a milestone movie full of excitement, suspense, action and comic relief. And it will always be remembered as the movie that made Will Smith a Hollywood legend, and one of Jerry Bruckheimer’s best movies. The form of video essay has grown in popularity over the last couple years because it’s a great way to dig deeper into the magic of movies. ID4, as it’s commonly referred to, is a perfect movie to explore through the video essay because of how awesome it is. I hope you enjoy revisiting this classic as much as I did!

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

Related Stories

Three Great Things: Jay Baruchel

The fan favorite actor, whose new film The Stunt Driver opens today, on his love of hamburgers, solo reading time and movie nights with his wife.

September 25, 2026

Fast Forward

Writer-director Louis Paxton charts the stepping stones from childhood onward that led him to make his Sundance favorite The Incomer, which hits theaters today.

September 25, 2026

How I Became The Scout

The writer-director of The Scout on her autobiographical experiences as a location scout that inspired the film.

September 24, 2026

What I’ve Learned From Reading All of Stephen King

On the occasion of Stephen King's 79th birthday, filmmaker Julia Marchese ponders what she has gained from devouring his entire body of work.

September 20, 2026

The Little Train That Finally Came Home

The remarkable 40-year story of how Adam Rifkin finally brought to the screen his mother's Western, Last Train to Fortune, which is out now.

September 18, 2026

Chemical Come-down and August in the Water

Writer-director Avalon Fast, newly named one of the "25 New Faces of Independent Film," shares a personal story about the 1995 Japanese supernatural drama.

September 16, 2026