''Independence Day'' is a 1983 American drama film directed by

Robert Mandel Robert Mandel (born 1945) is a film producer and director and television director from Oakland, California. He is best known for his film '' School Ties'', which includes early film roles in the careers of Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, ...

from a script by the novelist

Alice Hoffman Alice Hoffman (born March 16, 1952) is an American novelist and young-adult and children's writer, best known for her 1995 novel ''Practical Magic'', which was adapted for a 1998 film of the same name. Many of her works fall into the genre of ...

. It was designed by Stewart Campbell and shot by Charles Rosher. It stars

Kathleen Quinlan Kathleen Denise Quinlan Abbott (born November 19, 1954) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her Golden Globe-nominated performance in the 1977 film of the novel '' I Never Promised You a Rose Garden,'' and her Golde ...

, David Keith,

Cliff DeYoung Clifford Tobin DeYoung (born February 12, 1945)According to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905-1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com is an Ame ...

Frances Sternhagen Frances Hussey Sternhagen (born January 13, 1930) is an American actress; she has appeared on- and off-Broadway, in movies, and on TV since the 1950s.Joy, Car"Frances Sternhagen in Talks to Join Company of Broadway Magnolias" Broadway.com, Nov ...

and

Dianne Wiest Dianne Evelyn Wiest (; born March 28, 1948) is an American actress. She has won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress for 1986’s '' Hannah and Her Sisters'' and 1994’s ''Bullets over Broadway'' (both of which were directed by Wood ...

. The film concerns the small-town life of an artist (Quinlan) and her challenge to become "what she's ''almost'' sure she could be." "Her desperation takes the form of affectations and pretensions that are a little like those of the young Katharine Hepburn in '' Alice Adams'' and the young Margaret Sullavan in ''

The Shop Around the Corner ''The Shop Around the Corner'' is a 1940 American romantic comedy-drama film produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starring Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart and Frank Morgan. The supporting cast included Joseph Schildkraut, Sara Haden, Fe ...

'', but the Quinlan character "has the talent driving her on past all that." Wiest plays a battered wife. The film was reviewed favorably by the critic

Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions oft ...

in her collection '' State of the Art'': "Kathleen Quinlan plays the part of the woman artist with a cool, wire-taut intensity, Robert Mandel keeps the whole cast interacting quietly and satisfyingly, Wiest has hold of an original character and plays her to the scary hilt." After years only available on VHS, ''Independence Day'' got a DVD release by the

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

in November 2015.Aisle Seat 11-11: The November Rundown
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Plot

In the small town of Mercury, New Mexico (the film actually was shot in

Anson, Texas Anson is a city in and the county seat of Jones County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,430 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Abilene, Texas metropolitan area. Originally named "Jones City", the town was renamed "Anson" in 1882 ...

), where she works as a waitress in her family's diner, Mary Ann Taylor's true love is photography. She would like to get beyond these limits, but when Jack Parker returns to town, he lets her know that he's been to the big city and happiness there is as elusive as anyplace else. Mary Ann and Jack fall in love. Their bliss is interrupted, however, by the discovery that Jack's meek sister is being physically abused by her husband. Jack tries to intervene, but in the end, Nancy intentionally triggers a gas explosion, killing her husband and herself.

Cast

as Mary Ann Taylor * David Keith as Jack Parker *

as Carla Taylor *

as Les Morgan *

as Nancy Morgan *

Josef Sommer Maximilian Josef Sommer (born June 26, 1934) is a retired German-American stage, television, and film actor. Early life He was born in Greifswald, Germany, and raised in North Carolina, the son of Elisabeth and Clemens Sommer, a professor of Art ...

as Sam Taylor * Bert Remsen as Red *

Richard Farnsworth Richard William Farnsworth (September 1, 1920 – October 6, 2000) was an American actor and stuntman. He was twice nominated for an Academy Award: in 1978 for Best Supporting Actor for ''Comes a Horseman,'' and in 2000 for Best Actor in '' T ...

as Evan * Brooke Alderson as Shelly *

Noble Willingham Noble Henry Willingham, Jr. (August 31, 1931 – January 17, 2004) was an American television and film actor who appeared in more than thirty films and in many television shows, including a stint opposite Chuck Norris in ''Walker, Texas Ranger ...

as Andy Parker * Cheryl Smith as Ginny (Smith's final film role) * Jeff Polk as Billy Morgan * Zachary DeLoach as Joey Morgan

Release

Following a handful of less than ecstatic test engagements, ''Independence Day'' was quietly withdrawn from distribution as the under performance was seen as confirmation of the doubts raised by Warner Bros. marketing division regarding the viability of the film.

References

External links

* * {{Robert Mandel 1983 films 1983 drama films American drama films Melodrama films 1983 directorial debut films 1980s English-language films Films directed by Robert Mandel Films shot in Texas Films scored by Charles Bernstein Films set in New Mexico Warner Bros. films 1980s American films