Independence Day Live at the Royal Albert Hall

The Royal Albert Hall’s spectacular Film with Live Orchestra programme is back this year with a new selection of classic blockbuster films due to be screened on a monumental 40-foot screen and accompanied by world-class live musicians. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Independence Day, the explosive 90s thriller, was one of the key films chosen to kick off this year’s programme with a little help from the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, the Maida Vale Singers and conductor Gavin Greenaway. With a stunning score composed by David Arnold, who introduced the screening with a pre-show interview, the film proved to be the perfect choice for a performance of this scale.

As Arnold highlighted, Independence Day is an “event” movie, so to present it at the Royal Albert Hall, an iconic venue world-famous for its groundbreaking events, served to bring the film to life with even more punch than it already possesses. With unrivalled acoustics and a ceiling filled with floating UFO-shaped objects, the Hall set the ideal scene for the audience and the musicians alike.

It is difficult to describe just how breathtaking the opening scenes of the film were as the orchestra revved into full speed and immediately exposed the sheer enormity of the score. The affection with which Arnold and his colleagues wrote the music back in 1997 was mirrored in the passionate excellence of the musicians and succeeded in adding a new dimension to the blockbuster, making it jump to life on the screen. Notably, the most dramatic moments of the film – for example, the scene in which the aliens open attack on the major cities of the US – are intensified to extreme levels and kept the audience on the edge of their seats as if the film had just been released for the first time. It was clear that the musicians threw everything they had at the performance and were visibly exhausted as the film came to a close.

An exciting way to rediscover a classic, the Royal Albert Hall’s Films with Live Orchestra experience is delightfully overwhelming and a true phenomenon. The only drawback is that its audiences will never want to watch a film without the accompaniment of a live 90-piece orchestra again!

Michelle Keepence

For further information about The Royal Albert Hall’s Films with Live Orchestra programme and future events, visit here.