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Racking up over $300 million at the U.S. box office alone back in 1996, as wide-eyed patrons left the theater, feelings ranged from "It totally rules" to "It totally sucks!" (Anytime you try interject emotions into the great mysteries of the universe you compound your troubles exponentially.) So let us now rank ID4 as one of those critic-proof guilty pleasures, films so bad that we can't bring ourselves to admit that we kinda like it. ID4 has become the Xanadu for the new millennium, only cheesier.

Once upon a time, there was only the amazing teaser trailer, which made Independence Day s the event of the summer of 1996. More than Twister, Mission Impossible or Kazaam, ID4 was the film that Planet Earth was anxiously awaiting, and unashamedly so. So what happened when that wait was over? I think many, myself included, had the cinematic air let out of our tires - it was a major disappointment after the huge hype. But is it fair to lambast a film based almost solely upon the audience's inflated expectations? No, unless the filmmakers are directly responsible for the hype. In the case of ID4, they were, with a marketing machine set way past overdrive.

So now, after the ID4 craze has died down and the anticipation has dissipated, the film must stand on its own. The wreckage is not good. Sure, it is dumb summer fun, but there are plot holes and contrivances big enough to fly one of those motherships out of - and I'm sure glad those ultra-advanced aliens are Mac compatible! ID4 ends up being a film that is best served by a nimble finger on the "Chapter Skip" button: a little destruction here, a dogfight or two there, and then you can get on with your life. Since there's really no emotional heft to the characters or the story, skipping over the boring "plot" only makes ID4 that much better. Never has a film needed fast forward so badly as Independence Day.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Okay, so this 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is nothing new, but it sure looks terrific. It is a sight to behold. The extra resolution inherent in a anamorphic transfer raises the level of detail and gives the film a smooth image with real depth to it. Coloring is beautiful with solid, accurate tones that hold steady with no smearing or oversaturation. Blacks are pure and deep with excellently rendered low lighting detail that never becomes obscured. The THX approved disc also boasts natural-looking edges with a bare minimum in overenhancement and only a slight amount of visible film grain to be observed.

Note that like the three previous DVD releases of ID4, this "Limited Edition" includes both the 144-minute theatrical cut and the 153-minute extended version via seamless branching. As with Fox's The Abyss, the blends are seamless on even a decent player (if you own a cheapie unit you may still see a slight bit of lag).

Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?

Long considered one of the reference soundtracks on laserdisc, the English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack here is a real head-spinner. Again, it is the same as the previous DVDs. The aural assault from all directions is impressive and immerses you fully in the onscreen action. Not only are all five of the main channels extremely directional but there is a noticeable amount of imaging between them for a seriously enveloping experience. Fidelity is explosive in all channels with crisp highs and earth shattering bass provided courtesy of the dedicated LFE track. The walls shake and the foundations will crumble with this soundtrack as some of the strongest bass I've yet to have run through my subs makes its way though. The bass can sometimes sound a touch muddy, but nothing that can't be overlooked and ultimately enjoyed for what it is. I also heard a bit of strain in dialog at peak levels but the center channel generally sounds full and well balanced. Surround use is in your face with an aggressive amount of split information that whizzes by your head at a dizzying pace.

(Note: With the seamless branching, I did have a few experiences where audio in the theatrical version seemed a hair out of sync whenever scenes were removed. That again is going to vary based on the DVD player used to view the disc.)

Alternate soundtracks include 2.0 Dolby surround dubs in both English and French, along with English and Spanish subtitles and English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Did the world really need yet another DVD release of Independence Day? Apparently Fox Home Entertainment thought so. But first, a little history lesson...

When ID4 was originally announced for laserdisc back in 1996, there was the promise of a way-cool box-set that would pay off big time with tons of great supplements and even a gold CD of the film's soundtrack. This was going to be a real, honest to goodness laserdisc mega-set, the likes of which were expected to make other Fox special editions like The Abyss and The Sound of Music blush.

Alas, when the set finally made it to market in July of 1998, it was little more than most other laserdiscs with a few extras, and included the original ending, trailers and other ad spots, a short documentary on the effects work and a commentary by the team of Devlin and Emmerich. The worst sting of all was that it was packaged as a two-disc gatefold for a retail of $100. Not really what people were expecting.

As disappointed as I was with the laserdisc special edition, when Fox finally released ID4 as a Five-Star Collection release in 2000, it more or less delivered the goods, and all for a very affordable list price of $34.95. And even Fox's dumbed-down, single-disc reissues in 2001 (in separate widescreen and full screen versions) were a good deal for $19.95 a pop - the dropped the second disc of extras, but it is hard to complain when you got a great transfer, two cuts of the movie and a couple of commentaries.

So now we have a new Limited Edition of ID4. What's new? Well, nothing really. The big news is a special Inside Look at the upcoming Roland Emmerich disaster flick The Day After Tomorrow. Too bad this lame "featurette" runs a whopping two minutes and doesn't include much you can't see on the free trailer online. To be fair, the DVD does come with a free movie ticket to see the flick on the big screen (worth up to $6.50 towards admission price) so I guess you could consider it a rebate?

The rest of the extras are the same as the single-disc editions before. The screen-specific audio commentary from Devlin and Emmerich is one of two included with this set. Their commentary is great for people needing a good healthy bout of sleep. While it starts out alright, it quickly goes into a lot of silence and laughing between the two with jokes that only they seem to get. Within the first three minutes of the film they refer to one their opening shots as an homage to Star Wars and compare their film to Robert Zemeckis' Contact, only they have "the Asian Jodie Foster." (Excuse me, I have to gag.) The commentary is available on both the theatrical and special edition cuts, but the commentary was recorded for the extended version, so the longer cut contains more commentary removed from the theatrical version. Kudos to Fox though for going through the trouble of making it work for both versions.

The second screen-specific audio commentary was newly recorded for the Five-Star DVD, and features effects supervisors Volker Engel and Doug Smith. Their chat is a bit more technical in nature but still involving for those interested in the main strengths of ID4, its effects. They provide the hows and whys of their creation and give credit where it's due for all the ideas realized in the final film. The track is more intriguing than Devlin and Emmerich's but is only available on the special edition cut. And that is it. No trailers, no stills, no nuthin'.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

Alas, while the original Five Star Collection edition included some ROM extras on disc two, those features have not been carried over to this single-disc release.

Parting Thoughts