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Official Synopsis:
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark -
Get ready for the edge-of-your-seat thrills in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indy (Harrison Ford) and his feisty ex-flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) dodge booby-traps, fight Nazis and stare down snakes in their incredible worldwide quest for the mystical Ark of the Covenant. Experience one exciting cliffhanger after another when you discover adventure with the one and only Indiana Jones.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom -
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom brings you non-stop thrills and excitement like nothing you've ever experienced. Indy (Harrison Ford), his sidekick Short Round (Ke Huy Quan), and nightclub singer Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) go from high-flying action above the Himalayas to a nail-biting runaway mine car chase and finally a spine-tingling escape from a fortress-like mine in India. Hang on tight as the world's ultimate action hero takes you on a heart-pumping roller-coaster ride of adventure that's guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade -
There's nothing more exciting than trying to keep up with the Joneses in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Indy's Nazi enemies are back and have kidnapped his father, Professor Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery), to get help in their search for the Holy Grail. Following a trail from America to Venice to the deserts of the Middle East, it's up to Indy (Harrison Ford) to save his father, save the Grail and save the day in this non-stop, action-packed adventure the whole family will treasure.
Our Take:
You know, I just don’t get LucasFilm.
Okay, so you’ve made two of the most popular film trilogies in history. (Three, I guess, if you count the Star Wars prequels.) Why is it, then, that you simply can’t create a definitive DVD experience for any of them?
The original Star Wars trilogy? A four-disc box set with a feature-length making-of documentary. The Indiana Jones Trilogy? Same thing. So when Paramount announced new special editions of the Indy trilogy in time for the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I thought, “Well, maybe they’re finally going to get it right.”
Nope.
Now listen, I’m as huge an Indiana Jones fan as they come, so it’s hard for me to complain anytime we get anything new involving everyone’s favorite archaeologist. But with all the materials that are archived at LucasFilm, why do we get a double dip that isn’t necessary or innovative? Each of the three DVD’s includes two new featurettes (three if you count the featurette-like introductions), a short storyboard-to-scene comparison, and four photo galleries. Where are the deleted scenes? Where are the commentaries? Or how about some new kind of extra feature we’ve never seen before? Shouldn’t someone like George Lucas, who’s been at the forefront of pushing film technology forward for over 30 years, be doing something innovative with his DVD’s? Spielberg gives us the near-masterpiece Close Encounters: 30th Anniversary Edition a few months ago; why can’t we get something like that for Indy? I just don’t get it.
To top it all off, if you buy the Indiana Jones Adventure Collection, which includes all three Special Edition DVD’s, you don’t even get the feature-length documentary that was included in the previous Indy box set. Come on!
But I know that this set will sell like hotcakes to devotees of Dr. Jones such as myself, so for those of you who are going to buy it regardless, here’s what you have to look forward to:
Raiders of the Lost Ark (I refuse to call it Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark) –
* Introduction (8 minutes) - Basically a short interview/making-of featurette with Lucas and Spielberg.
* Indiana Jones: An Appreciation (12 minutes) - A retrospective featurette with Lucas, Spielberg, Harrison Ford, and others from the set of Indy IV.
* The Melting Face (9 minutes) - Focuses on the famous climax of Raiders.
* Storyboards: The Well of Souls (4 minutes) - A storyboard-to-scene comparison.
* Galleries - Four photo galleries: Illustrations & Props, Production Photographs & Portraits, Effects/ILM, and Marketing.
* Lego Indiana Jones - A trailer and PC-playable demo for the upcoming game.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom -
* Introduction (6 minutes) - Another interview/making-of featurette with Lucas and Spielberg.
* Travel with Indy: Locations (10 minutes) - Focuses on the numerous locations the series filmed in. Can also be played with pop-up trivia.
* Creepy Crawlies (12 minutes) - Focuses on the bugs, critters, and snakes of the trilogy. Can be played with or without pop-up trivia.
* Storyboards: The Mine Cart Chase (2 minutes) - A storyboard-to-scene comparison.
* Galleries - Four photo galleries: Illustrations & Props, Production Photographs & Portraits, Effects/ILM, and Marketing.
* Lego Indiana Jones - A trailer and PC-playable demo for the upcoming game.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade -
* Introduction (6 minutes) - The final featurette with Lucas and Spielberg.
* Indy's Women: The American Film Institute Tribute (9 minutes) - A 2003 Q&A session with Karen Allen, Kate Capshaw, and Alison Doody.
* Indy's Friends and Enemies (11 minutes) - Focuses on the supporting characters of the trilogy.
* Storyboards: The Opening Sequence (4 minutes) - A storyboard-to-scene comparison.
* Galleries - Four photo galleries: Illustrations & Props, Production Photographs & Portraits, Effects/ILM, and Marketing.
* Lego Indiana Jones - A trailer and PC-playable demo for the upcoming game.
The Indiana Jones movies are among my favorites of all time, and because I’m a sucker I’ll probably always have to have every version of the films that get released on home video. I can only hope that someday Lucasfilm decides to do it right. These are fun DVD’s and I enjoyed all the new extra features, but I can’t give this set my full “RECOMMENDED!” stamp because I strongly feel that they could have been much, much better. One of these days, I guess…
Overall Picture:
Movies (average): A+
DVD’s (average): B-
- Mike Spring
Editor
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