Review of Independence Day

Introduction

Amazingly, Independence Day was a film that I missed at the cinema. I was fully aware of its release, and it`s not like it wasn`t playing on loads of screens for several months. But somehow I just never got to see it. I finally got round to watching it for the first time a few years ago, on a rather small screen whilst in a hospital bed.

It would be fair to say that a small screen and a mono speaker are not the best way to judge an all-action blockbuster such as this. Far better to judge it in something more closely resembling the cinema, my lounge being a fine example of that something.

Video

The picture here is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic and is truly excellent. Unsurprisingly it looked miles better than the last time that I viewed it.

Black levels are good, colour is good, detail is very high and there are no artefacts. It really is very good indeed and you`ll want to show it off to all of your friends. With all of the action and special effects on screen, they can`t fail to be impressed!

Audio

As you would expect from a big blockbuster, you get a big blockbuster of a soundtrack. An excellent DD5.1 soundtrack gives you lots of directional effects, booming explosions, rumbling bass and planes and gunfire flying everywhere.

A reasonable score also adds to the film at just the right moments, to provide a sonic feast which matches up very nicely to the visual feast.

Features

This is a 2 disc special edition, and rest assured there are plenty of extras to keep you entertained.

You`ll find two commentary tracks, both of which can feel a little sparse at times, but there`s still plenty of information on them. The special effects commentary track is perhaps the more entertaining of the two, despite being very heavily focused on the effects themselves.

We also get the "HBO First Look: The Making of ID4" documentary, which is introduced by Jeff Goldblum. As these things go, it`s quite a good example. Then there`s another documentary, which is of course not real - "ID4 Invasion". It`s a very amusing fake.

Staying with documentaries, we come to the best one, "Creating Reality". This concentrates on the effects used in the film, from model shots to the computer graphics used. You can find out how they blew up the White House too.

You`ll also find lots of storyboards and stills, trailers, alternative scenes and TV spots.

A massive selection but unfortunately not quite as much as the region 1 disc, which contains a few more features.

Conclusion

A total popcorn, feel good about blowing up aliens film. Leave your brain in a jar, open your eyes and ears and just enjoy what`s happening on screen. If you start thinking about the story and the plot then the film is not doing its job.

If you liked the film then you`ll want to get it on DVD so you can enjoy it again and again. This 2-disc set is an excellent package with great picture and sound, and plenty of extras to keep you coming back. However, the region 1 version contains more extras, and the region 4 version is miles cheaper (whilst being identical to the region 2).

I am also informed that the region 4 ID4 disc is dual coded for region 2, so unless you`re unable to purchase discs from another country, you might wish to look to any region other than 2 to buy!