Ahead of the release of Independence Day: Resurgence, Sean Wilson remembers one of the first movie’s greatest assets in the form of David Arnold’s absurdly rousing and patriotic soundtrack…
However long-overdue sci-fi sequel Independence Day: Resurgence turns out, it’ll be lacking the thunderous impact of David Arnold on soundtrack duties. The British composer reportedly wasn’t even asked to score the movie, a crying shame when one considers the extraordinary majesty and thrill that he brought to its classic 1996 predecessor, a ridiculously rambunctious soundtrack that, Arnold wryly observed at the time, could only have been composed by a Brit looking at America from an outsider’s perspective. So let’s take a look back at what is inarguably one of the most spectacular scores of the 1990s.
1969 – We Came in Peace
Militaristic drums and noble trumpet immediately set the scene for both score and movie, establishing good old ‘Murican values and a warm sense of Aaron Copland-esque patriotism. Right from the off Arnold and his regular orchestrator Nicholas Dodd establish the tone and texture of the soundtrack, one pleasingly willing to forego subtlety in favour of sweeping orchestral emotion.
The Darkest Day
It’s easy to underestimate how effectively director Roland Emmerich builds tension in the first Independence Day, and much of the credit must go to Arnold’s musical instincts. The moment where the alien ships first appear in the skies over America is a landmark scene in special effects, made all the more ominous by Arnold’s brassy, portentous music representing the invaders themselves. Unashamedly operatic, it’s the kind of grandiose soundtrack accompaniment sorely lack in the modern age of movies.
Evacuation
Another masterful bit of tension-building, Arnold’s score inexorably builds over the course of several minutes as the aliens prepare their attack, his powerful rhythmic sense tying together all of our disparate characters in their fraught attempts to escape. The forceful impact of the build-up of course leads into the chilling “time’s up” moment as Jeff Goldblum’s David watches the countdown come to an end on his computer. By contrast, the ensuing attack sequence is a fine example of how lack of music can be used to heighten the visceral impact of visuals and sound design.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4skJPydvPU8
Firestorm
The absence of music for the majority of the attack sequence only serves to heighten its explosive presence during the tunnel escape where Jasmine (Vivica A. Fox), her son Dylan and, of course adorable dog Boomer, manage to narrowly avoid death. Arnold’s thunderously rhythmic music is terrifically exciting, driving up the suspense of the movie no end, and anticipates his eventual work on such Bond movies as Tomorrow Never Dies and Casino Royale. Check out the neat musical homage to the late, great James Horner’s classic Aliens soundtrack at the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGccdG-l014
The First Lady Dies
As a movie, Independence Day gleefully trades in the kind of character archetypes we’ve seen in previous disaster movies, but that’s not to say it’s without its affecting moments. Arnold’s heart-rending, tear-jerking moment for the moving scene where President James Whitmore (Bill Pullman) says goodbye to his fatally injured wife Marilyn (Mary McDonnell) is genuinely beautiful, with more than a hint of John Barry around the melancholy string arrangements.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9xkPHzz7_g
The President’s Speech
Is it possible to have a more wholesomely Americana piece of music than this? Arnold goes hell for leather here, accentuating the movie’s jingoistic undercurrents without one smidgen of irony. But that’s exactly what the movie needed, and exactly what it got. This is where the score’s stirring central theme launches a rousing assault on the senses, just as our plucky humans prepare to lead the fight back.
End Titles
AKA the track where it all gloriously comes together, showcasing the remarkable complexity of Arnold’s creation ranging from heraldic brassy outbursts to the thunderously dark alien music to the spine-tingling choral climax that is really quite overwhelming. The piece sums up Arnold’s incredible achievement with Independence Day, a score fashioned of a dense yet never overwhelming fabric that keeps numerous memorable ideas in play and runs with a near-relentless sense of bombast whilst never sacrificing a sense of tongue-in-cheek fun. As important to the film as the presence of Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman, it’s a landmark soundtrack of the decade.
Sean Wilson is a film reviewer, soundtrack enthusiast and avid tea drinker. If all three can be combined at the same time, all is good with the world.
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https://youtu.be/b7Ozs5mj5ao?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published June 19, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
