I imported Independence Day from WWW.DEEPDISCOUNTDVD.COM so I had the US version before it was released on DVD in the UK. I had originally watched ID4 at the cinema and bought it on video when it was released. I am one of the people who absolutely love it - but this opinion is about the facts, you can make you own mind up from the may other "reviews" about this film.
ID4 was a huge box-office hit - with only a 75 million dollar budget it raked in (eventually) 811 million dollars world-wide after huge US hype. It even had it's own advert during the superbowl..!
The 2-disk set gives you the option of watching the original final version or the version with all the extra footage included. The extra footage is about 6 mins but is in chunks of 20 to 30 seconds and seems a lot more. This footage digs deeper into the characters and brings out much more of the "story". The film (after these cuts) still runs for 153 minutes and yet a lot of corners are cut - the easy approach is always adopted to get the message across.
The director, Roland Emmerich is used to big budget movies ("Universal Soldier", "Godzilla", and after ID4, "The Patriot") and ID4 is a special-effects extravaganza. The film is an accumulation of all the old sci-fi movies about aliens attacking the world and exterminating the human race. The plot is somewhat flawed (too many coincidences) but the film as just-a-film-to-watch is outstanding and (along with the Matrix) is an excellent example of what DVD is all about.
The extra second disk is full of additional content - the usual cinema trailer and cast reviews etc. It also has the original American TV spots and the advert from the US SuperBowl. There is an interesting 30 minute "documentary" on the "what would happen if this really did happen" question - which has content from many sources including ex-KGB and U.S. officials.
The sound on this DVD film is amazing - eventually a film which uses all 6 channels more than once-or-twice throughout the whole film. On DVD this film is just as it was in the cinema - a big money blockbuster designed for wide-screen with pumping sounds and loads of action. If you are a person who wants depth and content and outstanding acting then stay away - you'll definately be disappointed.
If you get this DVD (or already have it) try to access the "eggs" - the news reports and the outtakes are pretty funny I thought and the sound example (running sound through the different audio channels) are "educational". Select the computer terminal, and then move right (the power button turns red). Press select and the screen says "Access code 4-7 or something like that). Then go back to the "main menu" and the space-ship is floating. Enter 74 on the keypad (i enter +10, 7, 4) and you go into the space-ship for hidden extras). Apparently 73 and 72 work also. Best of luck..!
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Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
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![Independence Day [1996] [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78508494.jpg "Independence Day [1996] [DVD]")
Apr 23rd, 2001
(Apr 19th, 2001)
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