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| Arnold |
ID4: Independence Day: (David Arnold) If you doubt
that anticipation alone can sell a non-franchise film as a blockbuster
long before its release date, then study what 20th Century Fox
accomplished with
Independence Day. The film itself was mediocre,
just as all of Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich's early productions
turned out to be, but it became a classic disaster staple due to its
revolutionary special effects, a likable performance by Will Smith, and
a tendency to bloat every aspect of its production to overblown levels.
Starting with the Super Bowl and the film
Broken Arrow early in
1996, Fox pushed trailers showing the fiery destruction of the White
House (a compelling image given that it was a presidential election year
and the public still enjoyed a desensitized pre-9/11 mindset) and other
landmarks. Each successive trailer teased out more incredible special
effects shots of immense destruction, often to glorious accompaniment by
the popular theme from Hans Zimmer's
Crimson Tide. A monumentally
effective marketing campaign by Fox included black helicopters flying
over Los Angeles with banners announcing the end of the world on the
premier date. With a story full of as many preposterous loopholes as
that by Devlin and Emmerich, seeing the spectacular annihilation of the
cities of the United States, primarily, was the main attraction of
Independence Day. Like any good science fiction invasion flick
(and especially one modeled as a tribute to Irwin Allen's natural
disaster favorites of the 1970's),
Independence Day didn't
require the nasty-looking aliens to have any reason for choosing Earth
as their next target. Nor was there any reason to shy away from
melodramatic deaths, a poke or two at the pious, and noisy and blatant
patriotism at its flag-waving best. Contributing to the overbearing
noise factor was David Arnold's epic, Grammy-winning score for the film,
recorded with 90 players, a 46-member choir, relatively new 24-bit
recording technology, and every last ounce of stereotypical Americana he
could muster for the occasion. Devlin once commented on the apparent
fact that "you can leave it up to a Brit to write some of the most
rousing and patriotic music in the history of American cinema." Indeed,
the score is not only among the most obvious fanfares representing
American culture in the modern age (or perhaps ever), it has also proven
to be Arnold's most memorable and popular career film scoring
achievement.
Along with his striking opening cues for Devlin and
Emmerich's
Stargate in 1994,
Independence Day caused many
film music collectors to speculate that Arnold could be the long-awaited
replacement for the maestro, John Williams. Ironically, Williams would
replace Arnold for 2000's
The Patriot and, outside of some highly
varied, but occasionally outstanding music for the James Bond franchise,
Arnold's career in film scoring never soared as expected (in part due to
his endeavors in the production of various song recordings). Still, the
high quality of the music for
Independence Day, regardless of how
obnoxious it can potentially be outside of context, was proof that
Arnold's previous two major scores,
Last of the Dogmen and
Stargate, were not flukes. In retrospect, everyone affiliated
with the film remarks about how smoothly its production went, including
Arnold. Devlin and Emmerich knew immediately what they wanted for the
film: huge bravado with transparent, frequent thematic references. They
had temped the film extensively with James Horner's
Apollo 13, an
exceedingly popular score at the time that happened to fit nicely with
both the patriotic and militaristic needs of
Independence Day.
Arnold was also instructed very clearly on what thematic identities to
place where, eliminating much of the guess work in attribution for the
composer. He did find the composition of the themes quite challenging
(with the exception of the aliens' motif, which oddly came to him in a
dream), pressured by the hype of the film's pre-release media blitz in a
way he did not experience again until
Casino Royale.
Interestingly, however, some doubts about the score's originality have
been raised through the years. A lawsuit was reportedly leveled against
Fox and Arnold by a composer named Terry Herald, who claimed (with some
merit) that a theme in the
Independence Day score was lifted
directly from his 1991 television documentary
Air Force One: The
Planes and the Presidents. The same reports indicate that Herald was
paid off in a settlement, and given that such legal troubles are usually
mopped up quietly, there's a definite possibility that all of these
circumstances are true. That scenario led to speculation over time that
the lawsuit was responsible for the fact that the
Independence
Day score never received a deserved, legitimate, expanded album
release despite significant demand (until 2010).
Regardless of the inspiration for the score (which Arnold
claims came to him after much toil and frustration in a Los Angeles
hotel room), the composer very successfully tackled the assignment with
the same ferocious patriotism and sense for Americana as the vigorous
plot. No plug remained un-pulled for
Independence Day, with all
the snare-ripping, wild piccolos, blaring trumpets, and cooing choral
elements necessary for such a story. The precise orchestration of
constantly overlapping lines (a true introduction to the talents of
orchestrator and conductor Nicholas Dodd) and the enthusiasm in the
ensemble's performances are the reason why
Independence Day is
much more sophisticated than just a loud mess of noise. Grumpier critics
denounced it because of its sheer volume, but the robust structures in
the work are intelligent enough to satisfy those who might usually avoid
such elevated volume. For all of its bravado, Arnold's work here is
surprisingly well developed and complicated in its handling of the three
primary themes. Given that the original commercial album was arranged
with most of the banging and clanging action music as the emphasis of
the presentation, fans may write off
Independence Day too
quickly, a problem only rectified in part by widespread bootlegs that
dominated the market for the score during the 2000's and, finally, a
much heralded, 2010 official expansion from La-La Land Records. Arnold
has confessed to being more personally fond of the score's sensitive
interludes as well, gravitating the majority of his own mental effort
towards capturing the right balance of personal appeal and majestic
atmosphere for the film's many tender character interactions. The three
primary themes developed in
Independence Day are extremely well
integrated, often blurring the lines between the two that represent
mankind. The first and most obvious one is the hopelessly optimistic and
grandiose, patriotic brass theme that sometimes extends to the high
woodwinds. The "End Titles" suite offers a strong presentation of all
three ideas, but this primary theme opens and closes that suite with all
the flair you can imagine for an upbeat fanfare. This idea is keenly
provided in slower, darker hints, often by soloists, in the first half
of the score. When humanity starts fighting back, however, the theme's
more expansive performances define not only America's struggle, but that
of the entire world. In the trio of adjoining cues from "Dad's a Genius"
to "Alien Ship Powers Up" and the popular "International Code," this
theme gains a sudden burst of momentum that launches it to its numerous
explosive performances in the twenty minutes of straight action material
late in the film.
After the main fanfare, the second major theme in
Independence Day is one that represents both the American
president and the more compassionate side of humanity. You hear this
theme in agonizing capitulations during scenes of the aftermath of the
initial attack and most prominently in "The President's Speech." This
idea holds a fair amount of the running time late in the "End Titles"
suite and, as in much of the score, is often elevated in tempo to match
and blend with the patriotic theme. The sometimes sappy nature of this
theme is augmented more often by choir, and it's easy to hear that
Arnold was attempting to maximize the melodrama in this idea. The third
theme represents the alien invasion, or at least it seems as though
Arnold intended that to be the case. This theme was originally set to
open the film with overwhelming force and dread, as the aliens pass the
moon and approach Earth, but was replaced with a more generic, tense
crescendo. Regardless, whether this idea was meant to accompany the
aliens or a broader sense of devastation is somewhat moot, for Arnold
utilizes it extensively as a fanfare of doom in the first half of the
score. From its descending progressions performed by massively ominous
brass layers to its subtle fragments during the earlier scenes of the
film, Arnold carefully reminds the audience of the idea so well that
it's one of the more distinctly memorable villain's themes in recent
times. Its underlying rhythmic movement, propelled with resounding depth
by Japanese and African drums, creatively spells "DIE" in Morse code.
There are other thematic ideas of secondary stature that supplement
these three major identities in
Independence Day, too. A
sensitive solo woodwind and horn theme for Captain Steven Hiller's (Will
Smith) relationship with his family is heard in both "Cancelled Leave"
and, more extensively, "Wedding." There's not surprisingly a hint of
Horner's
Apollo 13 that bleeds through in this theme, but given
the motif's overall brevity, the impact of the similarity is minimal.
Another consistent theme exists for Mary McDonnell's somewhat lame
portrayal of the First Lady, an unnecessary character. Arnold
nevertheless gives her a tender, somber theme heard initially at the end
of "First Lady Found" and explored for several minutes in "The First
Lady Dies." Unfortunately, you'll catch yourself thinking of the lyrics
"tomorrow never dies" during the main phrase of this theme, for it
heavily foreshadows the softer sections of the composer's first Bond
score the following year. Finally, meandering choral progressions meant
to stir up wonder and awe are heard in "Area 51" and "Alien Ship Powers
Up," giving a traditional, 1950's sense of fantasy some due
respect.
The instrumentation in and itself serves as a great
factor in the cohesion of
Independence Day. The fact that Arnold
never resorts to the synthetic realm (aside from some very subtle bass
enhancements on keyboard), as well as the complexity of the simultaneous
lines of action in the louder sequences, is likely what caused many
listeners to compare this work to that of John Williams. The percussion
section is often disregarded for its rampant snare tapping, but the
"Base Attack" cue offers a stereo-bouncing effect of struck metallic
effects (anvils and cow bells?) in its third minute that remarkably
synchronizes with the ensemble's frequent use of full octave spans (more
of this in the score would have been awesome). A tambourine in
"International Code" supplies additional depth to the Russian-style
vocals for a brief montage of resistance across the world. That cue, in
many ways the highlight of the entire score (and film), appropriately
infuses some stereotypical Arabic progressions (comparable to
Stargate in its waning moments) and Morse code-like effects. In
the brass section, a wildly blaring, descending figure is used for the
alien destroyers' actual firing mechanism, and that motif is applied as
a foreshadowing tool at 2:05 into "Base Attack." Arnold even allows the
trumpets to wildly meander off tone at 3:05 into "Evacuation" to augment
the mounting panic. The strings, while often frantic in their
contributions, unfortunately seem to get lost in many of the more
ambitious cues, though they nicely anchor Arnold's favored character
cues. Flute and/or piccolo usage in
Independence Day is perhaps
the most entertaining, shrieking with reckless abandon in several of the
most hyperactive cues, including wildly manic, seemingly independent
lines late in "Base Attack." Overall,
Independence Day is a
highlight of film music in the 1990's, a carefree expression of
popcorn-ready bombast not equaled in its ferocity during the early years
of CGI-dominated pictures. At a time when blockbuster scores were headed
in the direction of Hans Zimmer's synthetic and simplistic constructs,
Arnold's score was a blazing continuation of a previous generation of
orchestral force. In the subsequent decade, he never approached the same
level of spirit, with the disintegrating collaboration with Devlin and
Emmerich highlighted by a seldom-noticed theme for the American military
in
Godzilla that reprises some of the nobility of
Independence
Day. There has always been talk of a sequel, but while by 2010 the
organization of that production was beginning to roll in earnest, Arnold
has remained coy, making statements that suggest that he'd be extremely
hesitant to return to the concept.
On album,
Independence Day was severely
mistreated in its initial RCA/BMG offering of 1996. That album featured
versions of cues eventually replaced in the film version of the score,
most notably the opening track. Its arrangement of only about half the
score was tragic in the absence of much of the score's best majestic and
tenderly harmonic material. For some, the presentation was strong
enough, the choir mixed well to provide depth without adding volume. The
"End Titles" arrangement is in many ways the best suite of the three
major themes, and the last two or three minutes of that track are used
frequently in fireworks displays around America, not to mention
everything from small-town band performances to Memorial Day ceremonies
in large American cities. But
Independence Day always required
better treatment, especially considering the mass of music from the
middle portion of the film that was represented only by "Aftermath" and
"El Toro Destroyed." Confusion was caused when later pressings of the
commercial album substituted the film version of "1969 - We Came in
Peace" without any notation, causing fans to not know which version they
were purchasing until they listened to it. Released two days before the
film's opening, the original RCA/BMG pressing was not only short, but it
offered lousy packaging that only printed the track titles on the CD
itself (an illogical faux pas that should lead to the firing of any
album art director, regardless of excuses about deadlines). An expanded
album was promised late in 1996, but one was never released (reportedly
due to financial restrictions, but the lawsuit was a possibility as
well). It was thus only a matter of time before the bootlegs appeared on
the market, and for a short time during their main debut in late 2000,
they were actually featured at regular soundtrack specialty outlets.
While substandard attempts to bootleg
Independence Day had been
floating around for a few years, the first mass-produced bootleg of the
score hit their shelves as the sixth part of the so-called "World
Records" bootleg series. Many variants have existed since, though all of
them offer top-notch sound quality (outside of some minimal upper-range
hiss). In 2010, La-La Land Records' official presentation of the
complete score was limited to 5,000 copies and manages to exceed the
bootlegs in overall editing and sound quality. The 2-CD set contains a
plethora of alternate recordings and a few major cues absent the choir
as well, though some collectors may be satisfied with the bootlegs,
which really did contain all the absolutely necessary music. Still,
Independence Day is the kind of spectacular score worthy of
ultimate album treatment, and the 2010 product, despite its expense, is
a highly recommended item for any serious collector of digital age film
music.
@Amazon.com: CD or
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- Music as Written for the Film: *****
- Music as Heard on the 1996 Album: ***
- Music as Heard on the 2000 Bootleg: *****
- Music as Heard on the 2010 2-CD Set: *****
- Overall: *****
| Bias Check: |
For David Arnold reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.47
(in 15 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.28
(in 43,409 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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