Where else but America can a drunken crop-duster become a hero by pulling a Slim Pickens and riding a nuclear payload to its target?
Video:
To my eyes, "Independence Day" is visually like the film itself: very good, but not great. The visual quality varies with the lighting. If it's too bright or too dark the level of detail suffers and a little grain seeps in. But really, that's nit-picking. I'm guessing the master is the same way, because there are plenty of instances when the detail is so strong you could swear you could see whiskers move. "Independence Day" was transferred to a 50-gig dual-layered disc using AVC/MPEG-4 technology at 27mbps and presented in 2.35:1 widescreen. The colors are naturally saturated and look particularly vibrant during those attack and flame-out sequences.
Audio:
The featured audio is an English DTS HD 5.1 Master Lossless that's almost as dynamic as the best PCM tracks. The bass really rumbles, and the filmmakers obviously want you to rock your living space because the audio is recorded at a pretty high level. The problem is that, as in theaters, the action scenes seem twice as loud as the dialogue, so if you have a family member who's sensitive to the whole idea of hearing loss, you're going to have to keep turning the volume up and down. It's also during the action scenes when the filmmakers seem to remember that they're working with 5.1 channels of sound and bother to involve the rear speakers. Otherwise, there's not much in the way of street sounds, for example.
Extras:
Fox has been touting the bonus features designed by Van Ling (who also produced the "Star Wars" DVDs), but while Ling does a lot with indexing, bookmarking, and interactive "gaming," there's only so much a designer can do. And the actual content of the features isn't going to blow anyone away, I don't think.
Take the "Alien Scavenger Hunt Game," for instance. It's a variation, really, on the popular kids' "I Spy" computer games, which ask you to search each frame for a list of objects at the bottom of the screen and then move a cursor to them and click. You do this during the film itself, which, since there are a total of just 12 objects you're looking for in a 145-minute film, feels kind of like looking for that proverbial needle in the haystack. I didn't care to keep going, to be honest.
The interactive trivia track is a neat idea, but instead of learning about what scientists think about real alien life possibilities or any of the bigger issues that could have been explored, the focus is on the visual effects . . . which overlaps considerably with a Visual Effects Audio Commentary featuring FX-meisters Volker Engel and Doug Smith. That commentary, by the way, is informative but dull, dull, dull. Far better is the one from director Roland Emmerich and his producer, Dean Devlin, who at least show some excitement and rattle off enough anecdotes to keep most people as entertained as they are informed.
Mostly, though, Ling's attentions seemed to be on indexing, and he's come up with both macro and micro ways of accessing topic-specific scenes within the film. As Ling points out in the videos that are currently circulating, this would be enormously useful for fans of franchise films like the "Star Wars" or "Harry Potter" series. But what's unspoken here is, how useful are they for a one-shot film like this? I can see film school profs getting excited about all the bookmarking and indexing sophistication that this disc offers, but not the average movie lover. Do I care about a pull-down menu that will show me every scene that shows Judd Hirsch? (No offense, Judd, I'm just using you for an example).
Aside from a few promo trailers, the only other bonus content is that this disc is enhanced for D-Box motion control.
Bottom Line:
"Independence Day" isn't a great movie, but it does accomplish what it sets out to do, and that's entertain. If you want depth and relevance, you'd better look elsewhere, because this is a check-your-brain-at-the-door affair that's fun enough if you accept the film on its own terms.
To my eyes, "Independence Day" is visually like the film itself: very good, but not great. The visual quality varies with the lighting. If it's too bright or too dark the level of detail suffers and a little grain seeps in. But really, that's nit-picking. I'm guessing the master is the same way, because there are plenty of instances when the detail is so strong you could swear you could see whiskers move. "Independence Day" was transferred to a 50-gig dual-layered disc using AVC/MPEG-4 technology at 27mbps and presented in 2.35:1 widescreen. The colors are naturally saturated and look particularly vibrant during those attack and flame-out sequences.
Audio:
The featured audio is an English DTS HD 5.1 Master Lossless that's almost as dynamic as the best PCM tracks. The bass really rumbles, and the filmmakers obviously want you to rock your living space because the audio is recorded at a pretty high level. The problem is that, as in theaters, the action scenes seem twice as loud as the dialogue, so if you have a family member who's sensitive to the whole idea of hearing loss, you're going to have to keep turning the volume up and down. It's also during the action scenes when the filmmakers seem to remember that they're working with 5.1 channels of sound and bother to involve the rear speakers. Otherwise, there's not much in the way of street sounds, for example.
Extras:
Fox has been touting the bonus features designed by Van Ling (who also produced the "Star Wars" DVDs), but while Ling does a lot with indexing, bookmarking, and interactive "gaming," there's only so much a designer can do. And the actual content of the features isn't going to blow anyone away, I don't think.
Take the "Alien Scavenger Hunt Game," for instance. It's a variation, really, on the popular kids' "I Spy" computer games, which ask you to search each frame for a list of objects at the bottom of the screen and then move a cursor to them and click. You do this during the film itself, which, since there are a total of just 12 objects you're looking for in a 145-minute film, feels kind of like looking for that proverbial needle in the haystack. I didn't care to keep going, to be honest.
The interactive trivia track is a neat idea, but instead of learning about what scientists think about real alien life possibilities or any of the bigger issues that could have been explored, the focus is on the visual effects . . . which overlaps considerably with a Visual Effects Audio Commentary featuring FX-meisters Volker Engel and Doug Smith. That commentary, by the way, is informative but dull, dull, dull. Far better is the one from director Roland Emmerich and his producer, Dean Devlin, who at least show some excitement and rattle off enough anecdotes to keep most people as entertained as they are informed.
Mostly, though, Ling's attentions seemed to be on indexing, and he's come up with both macro and micro ways of accessing topic-specific scenes within the film. As Ling points out in the videos that are currently circulating, this would be enormously useful for fans of franchise films like the "Star Wars" or "Harry Potter" series. But what's unspoken here is, how useful are they for a one-shot film like this? I can see film school profs getting excited about all the bookmarking and indexing sophistication that this disc offers, but not the average movie lover. Do I care about a pull-down menu that will show me every scene that shows Judd Hirsch? (No offense, Judd, I'm just using you for an example).
Aside from a few promo trailers, the only other bonus content is that this disc is enhanced for D-Box motion control.
Bottom Line:
"Independence Day" isn't a great movie, but it does accomplish what it sets out to do, and that's entertain. If you want depth and relevance, you'd better look elsewhere, because this is a check-your-brain-at-the-door affair that's fun enough if you accept the film on its own terms.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]22280[/release]