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Independence Day (1996)
Independence Day (1996) poster
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3.4

Independence Day (1996)

Action, Adventure, Science Fiction • 2h 25m

Overview

Strange phenomena surface around the globe. The skies ignite. Terror races through the world's major cities. As these extraordinary events unfold, it becomes increasingly clear that a force of incredible magnitude has arrived. Its mission: total annihilation over the Fourth of July weekend. The last hope to stop the destruction is an unlikely group of people united by fate and unimaginable circumstances.

Director: Roland Emmerich

Cast: Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Robert Loggia, Randy Quaid, Margaret Colin, James Rebhorn, Harvey Fierstein, Adam Baldwin, Brent Spiner, James Duval, Vivica A. Fox, Lisa Jakub, Ross Bagley, Mae Whitman, Bill Smitrovich, Kiersten Warren, Harry Connick Jr., Giuseppe Andrews, John Storey, Frank Novak, Devon Gummersall, Leland Orser, Mirron E. Willis, Ross Lacy, Vivian Palermo, Raphael Sbarge, Bobby Hosea, Dan Lauria, Steve Giannelli, Eric Paskel, Carlos Lacámara, John Bennett Perry, Troy Willis, Tim Kelleher, Wayne Wilderson, Jay Acovone, James Wong, Thom Barry, Jana Marie Hupp, Matt Pashkow, Robert Pine, Marisa Johnston, Michael Winther, Warren Dexter Beatty, Paul LeClair, Michael Vacca, David Channell, John Capodice, Greg Collins, Derek Webster, Mark Fite, Eric Neal Newman, Levan Uchaneishvili, Kristof Konrad, Kevin Sifuentes, Elston Ridgle, Randy Oglesby, Barry Del Sherman, Lyman Ward, Anthony Crivello, Richard Speight Jr., Barbara Beck, Joe Fowler, Andrew Warner, Sharon Tay, Peter J. Lucas, Yelena Danova, Johnny Kim, Vanessa J. Wells, Jessika Cardinahl, Gary W. Cruz, Ron Pitts, Wendy L. Walsh, Christine Devine, Mark Thompson, Ernie Anastos, Kevin Cooney, Rance Howard, Nelson Mashita, Jeff Phillips, Sayed Badreya, Adam Tomei, Kimberly Beck, Thomas F. Duffy, Andrew Keegan, Jon Matthews, Jim Piddock, Frederic W. Barnes, Eleanor Clift, Jerry Dunphy, Jack Germond, Morton Kondracke, John McLaughlin, Barry Nolan, George Putnam, Eric Michael Zee, Pat Skipper, Carlos Lara, Mike Monteleone, Lee Strauss, Lisa Star, Malcolm Danare, Arthur Brooks, Michael Moertl, James J. Joyce, Joyce Cohen, Julie Moran, Robin Groth, Richard Pachorek, Dakota, Gary A. Hecker, Frank Welker

Best English-Friendly Release

Best Video Release

Fox 4K Blu-ray, merely okay with compression issues

Best Audio Release

Fox 4K Blu-ray reference sound

Format

UHD Blu-ray

UHD Tiers

Solid
Fox:

video merely okay with compression issues but reference sound

Length

145 mins

Type

Movie

Alternative Titles

ID4, Independence Day 3D

Last Updated

2 years ago

Contributors

Best English-Friendly Release
Best Video Release

Fox 4K Blu-ray, merely okay with compression issues

Best Audio Release

Fox 4K Blu-ray reference sound

Format
UHD Blu-ray
UHD Tiers
Solid
Fox:

video merely okay with compression issues but reference sound

Length
145 mins
Type
Movie
Alternative Titles
ID4, Independence Day 3D
Last Updated
2 years ago
Contributors

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UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Sony 4K Blu-ray (theatrical only in 4K)

Upcoming Release:

Sony 4K Blu-ray Steelbook upcoming with Dolby Vision and both cuts in 4K

Best Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray (theatrical only in 4K)

Best Audio:

The LPCM 5.1 from the old Extended BD and the DTS-HD 5.1 from the new Extended UHD are exactly the same. The DTS-HD tracks on both of the theatrical UHDs are also the same, and in fact appear to be lossless versions of the Superbit DTS mix with no tampering.

Best English-Friendly:

Sony 4K Blu-ray (theatrical only in 4K)

Upcoming Release:

Sony 4K Blu-ray Steelbook upcoming with Dolby Vision and both cuts in 4K

Best Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray (theatrical only in 4K)

Best Audio:

The LPCM 5.1 from the old Extended BD and the DTS-HD 5.1 from the new Extended UHD are exactly the same. The DTS-HD tracks on both of the theatrical UHDs are also the same, and in fact appear to be lossless versions of the Superbit DTS mix with no tampering.

Stargate poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

US Lionsgate 15th Anniversary Blu-ray, Australia Via Vision Blu-ray, UK Optimum Ultimate Edition Blu-ray, or Germany Koch Media Blu-ray?

Best Video:

US Lionsgate 15th Anniversary Blu-ray, Australia Via Vision Blu-ray, UK Optimum Ultimate Edition Blu-ray, or Germany Koch Media Blu-ray?

Stargate poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

US Lionsgate 15th Anniversary Blu-ray, Australia Via Vision Blu-ray, UK Optimum Ultimate Edition Blu-ray, or Germany Koch Media Blu-ray?

Best Video:

US Lionsgate 15th Anniversary Blu-ray, Australia Via Vision Blu-ray, UK Optimum Ultimate Edition Blu-ray, or Germany Koch Media Blu-ray?

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Sony 4K Blu-ray Steelbook

Best Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray Steelbook

Best Audio:

Cinema DTS

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UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Sony 4K Blu-ray Steelbook

Best Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray Steelbook

Best Audio:

Cinema DTS

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UHD Blu-ray
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Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Moonfall poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Lionsgate 4K Blu-ray

Universal Soldier poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray

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Point Break poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

UK ICON 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

UK ICON 4K Blu-ray (caps)

UK 4K Blu-ray has a slightly better encode than US Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray and Germany StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

5.1 mix is flawed on Shout! Factory/ICON, a phasey upmix instead of the proper discrete surround. The UHD 2.0 tracks are downmixes of that track.
2008 Fox Blu-ray sounds great, very close to the original 70mm mix, only with split surround.
2001 DVD has the original mix as 4.1 and matrixed 2.0.

Imprint 4K has a 4.0 track. The StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray has a different 5.1, unclear if it's the same as Fox BD.

Best English-Friendly:

UK ICON 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

UK ICON 4K Blu-ray (caps)

UK 4K Blu-ray has a slightly better encode than US Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray and Germany StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

5.1 mix is flawed on Shout! Factory/ICON, a phasey upmix instead of the proper discrete surround. The UHD 2.0 tracks are downmixes of that track.
2008 Fox Blu-ray sounds great, very close to the original 70mm mix, only with split surround.
2001 DVD has the original mix as 4.1 and matrixed 2.0.

Imprint 4K has a 4.0 track. The StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray has a different 5.1, unclear if it's the same as Fox BD.

Poor Things poster
4K Streaming
Best English-Friendly:

Streaming

Best Video:

Streaming: Kaleidescape > Movies Anywhere > Disney+

Best Audio:

Streaming has the original theatrical Dolby Atmos mix
Disney/Fox Blu-ray only has a 5.1 downmix

Kaleidescape is lossless (TrueHD 7.1), others are all lossy (E-AC-3 5.1 JOC) at varying bitrates.

Best English-Friendly:

Streaming

Best Video:

Streaming: Kaleidescape > Movies Anywhere > Disney+

Best Audio:

Streaming has the original theatrical Dolby Atmos mix
Disney/Fox Blu-ray only has a 5.1 downmix

Kaleidescape is lossless (TrueHD 7.1), others are all lossy (E-AC-3 5.1 JOC) at varying bitrates.

Once Upon a Time in America poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

251 min cut (Extended): Fox Blu-ray. Eagle Pictures has forced Italian subs in some parts

229 min cut (Theatrical): WB Blu-ray

139 min cut (US theatrical): VHS

Best Video:

Eagle Pictures 4K Blu-ray, caps

The 4K includes both theatrical and extended cuts. It's overall a solid upgrade over previous discs, but some will strongly dislike the color grading.
There are some issues with encoding and grain management.


Nic's review:

Some definitely messed with it as there’s grain management going on that resulted in magnetic, squishy grain movement. Both cuts (4K discs) are affected and it doesn’t look like an encoding issue to me as the bitrates don’t drop down to single digits á la Paramount or StudioCanal. During opticals, the lowest I’ve noted on the Extended 4K was around 30 MB/s vs. ~5 MB/s more for the theatrical cut.

Darker scenes are mostly (but not always) better but when it gets brighter, particularly in exteriors or scenes like the Jennifer Connelly dance scene at minute 38, I can’t unsee the digital tinkering as it does some damage texturally.

I compared it with the Eagle Pictures and Warner Bros Fox Blu-ray of the extended cut and they all look fine without grain management like that. Eagle Pictures’s Blu-ray is an older one if anyone’s curious and credited to another authoring house than 64Biz, which did the 4K.

Other than that, except for some encoding-related chroma noise that peeks through in the DV layer, Eagle Pictures did everything right. They corrected the framing to 1.85, kept the original English titles, the English restoration note, subtitles, HDR/DV is gentle and respectful of the source black levels are better than on the Warner Bros/Fox Blu-ray. Without that grain management, this would’ve been the all-timer release we all longed for.

Best Audio:

251 min cut: Fox Blu-ray (24-bit, Eagle Pictures is 16-bit, not audible)
229 min cut: Warner Bros LaserDisc (missing 2 minutes, but original mono mix was never released on DVD/Blu-ray)

Additional Info:

Extended edition adds scenes cut from the theatrical, but from a much lower quality source. It's intended to approximate the original cut, but to what extent that is true is debatable.
US theatrical cut is infamously bad, was panned at release and never re-released on home video.

Best English-Friendly:

251 min cut (Extended): Fox Blu-ray. Eagle Pictures has forced Italian subs in some parts

229 min cut (Theatrical): WB Blu-ray

139 min cut (US theatrical): VHS

Best Video:

Eagle Pictures 4K Blu-ray, caps

The 4K includes both theatrical and extended cuts. It's overall a solid upgrade over previous discs, but some will strongly dislike the color grading.
There are some issues with encoding and grain management.


Nic's review:

Some definitely messed with it as there’s grain management going on that resulted in magnetic, squishy grain movement. Both cuts (4K discs) are affected and it doesn’t look like an encoding issue to me as the bitrates don’t drop down to single digits á la Paramount or StudioCanal. During opticals, the lowest I’ve noted on the Extended 4K was around 30 MB/s vs. ~5 MB/s more for the theatrical cut.

Darker scenes are mostly (but not always) better but when it gets brighter, particularly in exteriors or scenes like the Jennifer Connelly dance scene at minute 38, I can’t unsee the digital tinkering as it does some damage texturally.

I compared it with the Eagle Pictures and Warner Bros Fox Blu-ray of the extended cut and they all look fine without grain management like that. Eagle Pictures’s Blu-ray is an older one if anyone’s curious and credited to another authoring house than 64Biz, which did the 4K.

Other than that, except for some encoding-related chroma noise that peeks through in the DV layer, Eagle Pictures did everything right. They corrected the framing to 1.85, kept the original English titles, the English restoration note, subtitles, HDR/DV is gentle and respectful of the source black levels are better than on the Warner Bros/Fox Blu-ray. Without that grain management, this would’ve been the all-timer release we all longed for.

Best Audio:

251 min cut: Fox Blu-ray (24-bit, Eagle Pictures is 16-bit, not audible)
229 min cut: Warner Bros LaserDisc (missing 2 minutes, but original mono mix was never released on DVD/Blu-ray)

Additional Info:

Extended edition adds scenes cut from the theatrical, but from a much lower quality source. It's intended to approximate the original cut, but to what extent that is true is debatable.
US theatrical cut is infamously bad, was panned at release and never re-released on home video.

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Fox Blu-ray

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Fox Blu-ray

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Fox Blu-ray

Best Video:

Fox Blu-ray

Phone Booth poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Fox Blu-ray

Best Video:

Fox Blu-ray

Additional Info:

The non US DVDs have the Making of for the film.

Phone Booth poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Fox Blu-ray

Best Video:

Fox Blu-ray

Additional Info:

The non US DVDs have the Making of for the film.

Unlawful Entry poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

US Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray or Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray?

Best Audio:

Fox 2002 NTSC DVD includes the original mix as discrete LCRS 4.0, later reelases only include a matrixed version an an inferior 5.1 upmix.

The matrixed stereo version on Shout! Factory's 4K Blu-ray sounds good.

Best English-Friendly:

US Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray or Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray?

Best Audio:

Fox 2002 NTSC DVD includes the original mix as discrete LCRS 4.0, later reelases only include a matrixed version an an inferior 5.1 upmix.

The matrixed stereo version on Shout! Factory's 4K Blu-ray sounds good.

Anastasia poster
4K Streaming
Best English-Friendly:

Movies Anywhere Streaming

Best Video:

Movies Anywhere Streaming

Best Audio:

Fox Blu-ray

Anastasia poster
4K Streaming
Best English-Friendly:

Movies Anywhere Streaming

Best Video:

Movies Anywhere Streaming

Best Audio:

Fox Blu-ray

Titanic poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Paramount/Fox Blu-ray
3D Blu-ray for the IMAX/Open Matte version

35mm scan for original theatrical cut

Best Video:

Paramount/Fox Blu-ray
3D Blu-ray for the IMAX/Open Matte version

35mm scan for original theatrical cut

4K Blu-ray is AI upscaled

Best Audio:

Cinema DTS

Additional Info:

The 4K Blu-ray bonus disc, the 2012 Blu-ray bonus disc, and the 2005 3 disc DVD have exclusive extras.

Titanic poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Paramount/Fox Blu-ray
3D Blu-ray for the IMAX/Open Matte version

35mm scan for original theatrical cut

Best Video:

Paramount/Fox Blu-ray
3D Blu-ray for the IMAX/Open Matte version

35mm scan for original theatrical cut

4K Blu-ray is AI upscaled

Best Audio:

Cinema DTS

Additional Info:

The 4K Blu-ray bonus disc, the 2012 Blu-ray bonus disc, and the 2005 3 disc DVD have exclusive extras.

Nine 1/2 Weeks poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

International Fox Blu-ray has the best encoding and the OAR of 1.85.1.

Best Video:

France LCJ Editions 4K Blu-ray is worse than Blu-ray - caps. Upscale from the BD with fake grain and horrendously encoded. AI enhancement is also present.

International Fox Blu-ray has the best encoding and the OAR of 1.85.1.

Nine 1/2 Weeks poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

International Fox Blu-ray has the best encoding and the OAR of 1.85.1.

Best Video:

France LCJ Editions 4K Blu-ray is worse than Blu-ray - caps. Upscale from the BD with fake grain and horrendously encoded. AI enhancement is also present.

International Fox Blu-ray has the best encoding and the OAR of 1.85.1.

Aliens poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Any 2010s Fox Blu-ray

Best Video:

Any 2010s Fox Blu-ray

Disney 4K Blu-ray has AI enhancement see youtube comparison

Aliens poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Any 2010s Fox Blu-ray

Best Video:

Any 2010s Fox Blu-ray

Disney 4K Blu-ray has AI enhancement see youtube comparison

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The Corruptor poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Warner Bros Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Toy Robot 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Warner Bros Blu-ray

The Corruptor poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Warner Bros Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Toy Robot 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Warner Bros Blu-ray

The Phantom poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Best Video:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray > 4K Blu-ray

4K is disappointing with color space issues and poor encoding, disc replacement program for the 4K disc has been put out with the correct color space.

Best Audio:

DVD 5.1 or LaserDisc PCM 2.0

The Phantom poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Best Video:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray > 4K Blu-ray

4K is disappointing with color space issues and poor encoding, disc replacement program for the 4K disc has been put out with the correct color space.

Best Audio:

DVD 5.1 or LaserDisc PCM 2.0

D.A.R.Y.L. poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Vinegar Syndrome 4K Blu-ray

D.A.R.Y.L. poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Vinegar Syndrome 4K Blu-ray

The Beloved Rogue poster
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Best Video:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Best Video:

Kino Lorber Blu-ray

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

Sony 4K Blu-ray

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

UK 88 Films 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

UK 88 Films 4K Blu-ray See caps


DE Nameless 4K Blu-ray is an extremely poor AI upscale. See caps

Best Audio:

UK 88 Films Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

UK 88 Films 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

UK 88 Films 4K Blu-ray See caps


DE Nameless 4K Blu-ray is an extremely poor AI upscale. See caps

Best Audio:

UK 88 Films Blu-ray

Lionheart poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

MVD 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

MVD 4K Blu-ray see comparison

Lionheart poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

MVD 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

MVD 4K Blu-ray see comparison

Keoma poster
UHD Blu-ray
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UK Cult Films Blu-ray

Best Video:

German Plaion 4K Blu-ray see caps but doesn't have EN subtitles

Keoma poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

UK Cult Films Blu-ray

Best Video:

German Plaion 4K Blu-ray see caps but doesn't have EN subtitles

The Empire Strikes Back poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

OG: "4K80" or "D+80" on the high seas. If not, Disney 4K Blu-ray

Special Edition: "4K97_V" or "D+97_V" on high seas.

Upcoming Release:

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Best Video:

OG: "4K80" or "D+80" on the high seas

Special Edition: "4K97_V" or "D_97_VI" on the high seas. If not, the 4K Blu-rays are generally considered an improvement over the 2011 Blu-rays. (although both restorations are DNR'ed and have issues).

Best Audio:

OG: LaserDisc audio is the best option for the Dolby Stereo mixes. 70mm six-track mix is included in 4K80 (taken from an actual 70mm print). There are 16mm rips of the mono mix.

Special Edition: Cinema DTS or 1997 LaserDisc for the Special Edition.

Best English-Friendly:

OG: "4K80" or "D+80" on the high seas. If not, Disney 4K Blu-ray

Special Edition: "4K97_V" or "D+97_V" on high seas.

Upcoming Release:

2027 Original Trilogy restoration/50th anniversary rerelease clips leaked plus release confirmed

Best Video:

OG: "4K80" or "D+80" on the high seas

Special Edition: "4K97_V" or "D_97_VI" on the high seas. If not, the 4K Blu-rays are generally considered an improvement over the 2011 Blu-rays. (although both restorations are DNR'ed and have issues).

Best Audio:

OG: LaserDisc audio is the best option for the Dolby Stereo mixes. 70mm six-track mix is included in 4K80 (taken from an actual 70mm print). There are 16mm rips of the mono mix.

Special Edition: Cinema DTS or 1997 LaserDisc for the Special Edition.

The Bad Guys poster
UHD Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly:

2D version: Universal 4K Blu-ray

3D version: Australia Universal/Sony 3D Blu-ray

Best Video:

2D version: Universal 4K Blu-ray

3D version: Australia Universal/Sony 3D Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

2D version: Universal 4K Blu-ray

3D version: Australia Universal/Sony 3D Blu-ray

Best Video:

2D version: Universal 4K Blu-ray

3D version: Australia Universal/Sony 3D Blu-ray

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