Independence Day

BMG Classics / RCAVictor / World Records

Music Composed by David Arnold

Orchestrated and Conducted by Nicholas Dodd

Release Date: 1996 / 2000

     Even after four years this film still holds up pretty well, as the current DVD release has shown. Yes, it may not be epic cinema at its best, but that was never the intention of Emmerich and Devlin anyway. The film is just a fun romp that shouldn't be taken seriously. It is truly a popcorn film and should be enjoyed as such.

     Of course, the same doesn't hold true for David Arnold's excellent score. It is truly epic in scope. The style is reminiscent of Williams scores from the 70s and 80s, and it is really a major part of what makes the film work as well as it does. While the characterizations may have been hokey at best, Arnold's score is right there keeping things working. The music is totally serious in nature, and Arnold never really makes fun of the material that he's composing for. The highly patriotic strains of the main theme have thrilled many, while the ominous brass heralding the arrival of the alien invaders keeps the uneasiness close by. In addition, Arnold has some excellent choral work that no score of an epic nature should be without. As he demonstrated in both Stargate and Godzilla, Arnold really knows how to utilize a chorus effectively. 

     The original release of this score was from RCAVictor. It contained 50 minutes of music and contains a nice selection from the score. Coinciding with the DVD release of the film, the bootleg label World Records has released what can pretty much be considered the ultimate Independence Day score album. With just under 100 minutes of music, this is pretty much everything from the film. While you can't go wrong with the original RCAVictor album, true fans of this score should settle for nothing less than the new bootleg. While there have been other boots floating around for some time, this is the first one to offer sound quality that is at least as good as that on the legitimate release. And unlike a certain "other" release, the music here is presented as Arnold originally intended with no intrusive editing.   

    For the most part, the music is fairly dark in tone, especially in the first half. One of the great things about this score is Arnold's focus on the development of themes. This is especially noticeable in the bootleg release. The theme for the invaders is quite prominent in one form or another for most of the score, but it is heavily concentrated in the first half, which accounts for the darker tone. Little touches abound on this disc, like a portion of music from Stargate in Launching Welcome Wagon (and there is a reason for that). The first of Arnold's loud frantic action pieces for this score comes in the form of Evacuation / Firestorm. The percussion and brass work in this track are really terrific, and, like a lot of the other cues in this score, it is quite loud and bombastic (which is a good thing). Alien Autopsy takes the horror genre and molds the invaders theme around it in an interesting twist. Beginning with International Code (an acclaimed track in its own right), the music begins a steady climb upward until the final strains of the patriotic main title. An excellent suite for the ending titles completes the CD and brings about a fitting end.

     This is David Arnold's best score to date, and that is quite a recommendation since he has been responsible for more than his fair share of excellent scores. While the RCAVictor album is no slouch, if you're a fan of this score you should settle for nothing less than the World Records set. At the very least you must have one of the two releases in your collection. It is definitely one of the best scores of the 90s. *****

Track Listing - Original Release

1 - 1969 -We Came in Peace (2:04)

2 - S.E.T.I. -Radio Signal (1:52) 

3 - The Darkest Day (4:13) 

4 - Cancelled Leave (1:45) 

5 - Evacuation (5:47) 

6 - Fire Storm (1:23) 

7 - Aftermath (3:35) 

8 - Base Attack (6:11) 

9 - El Toro Destroyed (1:30) 

10 - International Code (1:32) 

11 - The President's Speech (3:10) 

12 - The Day We Fight Back (4:58) 

13 - Jolly Roger (3:15) 

14 - End Titles (9:08) 

Total Running Time: 50:39

1 - Prologue (2:05) 

2 - S.E.T.I. Radio Signal (1:54) 

3 - Satellite Destroyed (0:42) 

4 - That's Impossible (0:18) 

5 - Cropduster (0:56) 

6 - The Destroyers Detach (0:35) 

7 - AWAC Gets Fried (1:01) 

8 - The Darkest Day (4:15) 

9 - Hiller Sees the Saucer (2:11) 

10 - Cancelled Leave (1:47) 

11 - Launching Welcome Wagon (0:48) 

12 - Welcome Wagon Moves In (0:34) 

13 - Evacuation/Firestorm (7:12) 

14 - Aftermath (3:37) 

15 - Base Attack - Canyon Chase (6:13) 

16 - First Lady Found (1:30) 

17 - Area 51 (1:34) 

18 - Spaceship from Roswell (0:57) 

19 - The Freak Show (1:52) 

20 - El Toro Destroyed (1:32) 

21 - Alien Autopsy (5:22) 

22 - Nuke Attack - Reunions (6:02) 

Total Running Time: 53:10

1 - 1969 - Film Version (1:59) 

2 - The First Lady Dies (2:43) 

3 - David Gets an Idea (0:56) 

4 - Planning the Attack (1:47) 

5 - International Code (1:34) 

6 - Pre-Flight Check (1:51) 

7 - The President's Speech* (3:13) 

8 - Farewell - Launching the Ship (2:03) 

9 - Lift Off - Mothership - Rebellion (13:54) 

10 - Jolly Roger (3:18) 

11 - Independence Day (3:42) 

12 - End Titles (9:11) 

Total Running Time: 46:18