4. Iconic Imagery
It has been said before (by me sometimes), that the enduring appeal of cinema, and indeed it's most historically important features won't be down to technical advancements, or even actors for the most part, but will be a matter of moments. Shots that are fractions of their total, but which offer a far more lingering legacy than the film itself. Independence Day has one of those shots, crowning the hugely impressive alien attack sequence that decimates some of the world's major cities (though, of course we only really get to see what happens to the important American ones). I refer, of course to the shot of the White House being destroyed from above, exploding with almost balletic grace and burning onto the minds of impressionable blockbuster fans across the world. Roland Emmerich isn't known for subtelty, and some of his shots in Independence Day are almost indecently insistent - like the triumphant Masai warriors crowing at the sight of a downed alien ship in Africa, but in that one moment the director's audacity, his boldness and his eye for a crowd-pleasing shot came together with irresistible effect. And what better way to destroy the element of safety, and the oh-so American sense of invincibility that usually runs under the skin of action blockbusters than to destroy such a prominent symbol of American strength? http://youtu.be/XT43TpjLSRI