Rate Independence Day!

[Josh500 1,615]

I have never seen this movie, but yesterday I got the OS album by David Arnold for 2 bucks. 😂 

 

Just wondering what you guys think of it?

[Naïve Old Fart 9,493]

Its a fine, well-crafted piece of work. Its not my favorite DA, but it serves the film well, being dramatic, sweeping, and unashamedly jingoistic, in equal measure.

Listen-out for the cheeky CE3K quote 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

If this score, and to an extent the film itself, never existed, I think my life might have taken a significantly different direction. I can't say for certain what might have happened, but I probably wouldn't have become the committed film score obsessive that I did. Hell I might not have been into music much at all. So yeah, ID4 was so important, it was life-changing to me.

[Thor 7,463]

5-star score, no doubt. I don't listen to this kind of bombastic orchestral film music anymore (the new variations of these), but I used to back in the 90s and early 2000s, so I still have a soft spot for them and return to them quite so often, even now when I tend to veer more towards the calm, ambient, non-orchestral and textural. Bits of nostalgia and change-of-pace now and then.

 

As a big Emmerich fan, I also love the movie. Not his greatest, but up there.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Both the film and score are a solid 4 stars

[Josh500 1,615]

8 hours ago, Sally Spectra said:

If this score, and to an extent the film itself, never existed, I think my life might have taken a significantly different direction. I can't say for certain what might have happened, but I probably wouldn't have become the committed film score obsessive that I did. Hell I might not have been into music much at all. So yeah, ID4 was so important, it was life-changing to me.

 

Wow. You serious? 

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

14 minutes ago, Josh500 said:

 

Wow. You serious? 

 

Yes.

[Josh500 1,615]

8 minutes ago, Sally Spectra said:

 

Yes.

 

So be a little more specific. Which cues or tracks are you favourites, and why? Which cues make this score so great for you? 

[Jay 37,281]

5 star score.  It's incredible!  I love every second of it.  The 2CD LLL release is outstanding!

The film is great, but I probably only say that because I saw it in the theater when it came out (I was 16 that summer)

I do think it holds up better than a lot of other summer blockbuster type movies, especially from the 2000s and 2010s but from the 90s as well.... It's really a lot of fun.  I rated it 4 stars in the poll.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

Score: 1.5

 

Film: 2

 

Can't say I'm a fan of either.

[Jay 37,281]

WTF is Horner doing with his hand in that picture!?

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

Score: The Americana bits are great cheesy fun but the noisiness of the alien suspense/action music gets a bit grating.  3.5

 

Film: 2 stars

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

19 minutes ago, Josh500 said:

 

So be a little more specific. Which cues or tracks are you favourites, and why? Which cues make this score so great for you? 

 

It reaches beyond whichever certain cues are my favourite. The score as a whole touched me in a way that not even Williams, Goldsmith, Elfman etc. could achieve while I was growing up. The rich orchestrations, complex harmonies, catchy themes and elements of suspense and pay-off give this score a catharsis unlike any other, and consequently sparked my unwavering interest in film scores.

 

I always liked the "movie music", as a child, but ID4 came out at the right time when I was 11, my interest in planes and aliens was at its height, and the score hit all the right notes. It was a perfect (fire)storm.

[Loert 2,510]

It's an astounding score, one of my very favourites. The music for the final battle scene (Virus Uploaded/The Day We Fight Back) is IMO one of the most exhilarating action pieces ever written. It kept me going through my college exam revision last summer. But that's just one highlight out of many (Evacuation is another). Overall I can't praise it highly enough. 5 stars.

 

As for the film, I had it on VHS when I was about 6-7 years old and watched it many times over then, so in some way it holds a special place in my memory. While it's an entertaining and wholesome film, some of the dialogue is awful (and some great!), and even given the premise that aliens are coming to attack the Earth, some scenes are...pretty unrealistic. But it works as a pure piece of entertainment, something which doesn't take itself too seriously. The Darkest Day scene is very memorable. I give it 4 stars.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

It's pretty good.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

15 minutes ago, Jay said:

WTF is Horner doing with his hand in that picture!?

 

Resting his face on the devil horns hand gesture it looks like

[mstrox 6,643]

4

 

4

[Josh500 1,615]

Interesting. So for some of you, ID4 is like Star Wars, Jurassic Park, or Harry Potter - in the sense that it was a movie that defined your childhood (or teenage years) and cemented your interest in film/film music.

 

When this movie came out, I was 14, so at a very impressionable age. I should have seen it in the theater, but somehow I missed it. Bummer. 

 

For me, the movie that defined by childhood was Jurassic Park and True Lies (yes, really--I became a diehard James Cameron fan after that; especially the jet scenes were my absolute favourites!).

 

Ah good times.... 

[Thor 7,463]

Well, I was 19 when it came out, but I still had a bloody great time. Saw it on a HUGE screen in a big concert hall auditorium. They don't do that anymore.

[publicist 4,643]

Both 3's.

[nightscape94 965]

Score is an easy 5, one of the best to come out of the 90s.  The movie is about a 2.5. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I'm not very familiar with the score.  I remember liking the movie quite a bit but I don't think I've seen it in this millennium.  I couldn't hum a single melody.  Don't worry, I'll remedy that some day because I know how well-loved it is; just not top of the priorities right now.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

I believe I first saw it when I was around 10 on a VCR we got from a rental store. I enjoyed it at the time as a trashy, bombastic fun but it left no real lasting impression. It was wasn't a film I was compelled to watch on repeat viewings, like JP or the SW trilogy.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

3 minutes ago, Sharky said:

I enjoyed it at the time as a trashy, bombastic fun but it left no real lasting impression. It was wasn't a film I was compelled to watch on repeat viewings, like JP or the SW trilogy.

 

Exact same for me.  It was fun but not something that grabbed hold of me like other movies I saw when I was around that age.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

It's not as great as Titanic or the Tim Burton Batmans. But then again, what is?

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Pieter Boelen 740]

11 hours ago, Thor said:

As a big Emmerich fan, I also love the movie. Not his greatest, but up there.

Now I'm curious, which one would you consider his greatest?

[Thor 7,463]

10 hours ago, Pieter_Boelen said:

Now I'm curious, which one would you consider his greatest?

 

Top 5:

 

1. STARGATE

2. THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW

3. INDEPENDENCE DAY

4. THE PATRIOT

5. GODZILLA

 

I also like MOON 44 and 2012 quite a bit, as well as bits of 10.000 BC. I thought INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE was OK. Not too fond of UNIVERSAL SOLDIER (but it's been ages since I saw it), don't like ANONYMOUS (but an unusual change-of-pace for him) and WHITE HOUSE DOWN. Haven't seen STONEWALL yet.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,493]

THE PATRIOT?! That Brit-hating piece of trash??!! I wouldn't micturate on it, if someone had set it alight!!!!!

[Pieter Boelen 740]

Stargate is indeed pretty awesome as well!

I used to like Independence Day better, but these days I'm not so sure.

Of course my opinion of Stargate got tainted (read: improved) by the SG-1 TV series that I ended up liking far more than I ever expected.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

The Patriot's awesome.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

It's a pretty good looking film. Not as good as Godzilla, though.

[Thor 7,463]

10 hours ago, Pieter_Boelen said:

Stargate is indeed pretty awesome as well!

I used to like Independence Day better, but these days I'm not so sure.

Of course my opinion of Stargate got tainted (read: improved) by the SG-1 TV series that I ended up liking far more than I ever expected.

 

I didn't care for the subsequent SG series, except for UNIVERSE, which I really liked.

[crocodile 7,983]

Very strong 3 stars for the score and very strong 2 stars for the movie.

 

Karol

[Pieter Boelen 740]

9 hours ago, Thor said:

 

I didn't care for the subsequent SG series, except for UNIVERSE, which I really liked.

That's the only one I haven't seen yet, because supposedly it is darker than the others.

One day...

[Josh500 1,615]

9 hours ago, crocodile said:

Very strong 3 stars for the score and very strong 2 stars for the movie.

 

Karol

 

Strong 3 stars and very strong 2 stars? 

 

So you don't like the movie and score very much, then. 😂 

21 hours ago, Sharky said:

The Patriot's awesome.

 

The score is still the best part.

 

But yeah, Mel wasn't too shabby in this movie, either.

[Score 770]

5 stars to the score, 4 stars to the movie.

 

One of my very favourite action scores from that period. The 2CD release is a pleasure to listen to, from the beginning to the end. By the way, I would really like to see Omni release its full score... I hope it will happen at some point!

 

 

Like for many others here, my judgement of the movie is probably influenced by the fact that I saw it back then in the theater (I was 11) and it made a huge impression on me. At that time, it was definitely one of the most entertaining shows of spaceships and action ever done. I was already familiar with Star Wars (and that had been my first conscious film music experience), but I had seen it only in VHS, obviously. This was totally a different experience. Then, of course the fundamental laws of physics (and computer science as well!) are violated without shame, and there are a bit too many over-the-top instances of patriotism for my taste, but it was and still is fine entertainment.  

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

It's a good movie that I ever understood the hate for. Godzilla I actually get to a certain extent, but ID4 is a solid popcorn flick.

[Trent B 337]

I gave the score a 5 star. It's among one of my favorites.

 

The movie itself I gave it a solid 4.

[Orgasm[+]Donor. 75]

I gave the score 4.5 and the movie 3.5 because of the following:
Watching this movie I realized that ETs could come and kick our asses back to the stone age.

That The Fucking United States of Fucking America is the only country who could save the earth because superiority bla bla bla, and that the rest of the world was a bunch of peasants.

Watching this movie back to back with Armageddon, as a kid, made me feel ashamed no to be american. Still the movie is enjoyable, better than the sequel.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Drax, did you just make this alt-account?

[Orgasm[+]Donor. 75]

I dont know any Drax..
I m an occasional viewer of the forum and finally wanted to express my sympathy

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Welcome!  I think you'll fit right in!

[Orgasm[+]Donor. 75]

thank you Disco !

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

And that makes you... my new best friend.

[Orgasm[+]Donor. 75]

quote from titanic right?

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I like that film. I've quoted it several times.

[Orgasm[+]Donor. 75]

what i thought ! =)

[Disco Stu 15,495]

So Drax, are you keeping two browsers open, one for each logged-in account or are you logging in and out on the same browser?

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I play as Sally Spectra on Chrome. Orgasm[+]Donor on Android's 'Internet' browser. And as Evil-Lyn on Firefox.