DVD
Review | The Indiana Jones Trilogy
Written by: Kage
Alan
Aside from the original “Star Wars” trilogy,
itself causing quite a stir because Lucas wants to make additional
changes to the films before releasing them on DVD, this is one of the
most requested series fans have been asking for since DVD first caught
on. I’m happy to report that nobody has to rely on bootleg discs
transferred from lesser sources anymore because Paramount has at long
last released the…well, the whole collection, which is another point
of contention with fans.
“Raiders of the Lost Ark”, now with the “Indiana
Jones & the” placed in front of the title was the first in the George
Lucas/Steven Spielberg attempts to create a successful new film series
based on the old Republic serials of yesterday. It worked! Professor
of archeology by day and adventurer by night/weekend, Indiana Jones
(Harrison Ford) is off in hot pursuit of the fabled lost Ark. With the
help of an old flame, Marion (Karen Allen), the two find themselves in a
race to beat the Germans from locating the artifact and using it to give
the Nazis regime invincible power. Exciting? You bet! Nothing in the
trilogy beats this first film hands down.
“Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” finds
Indiana traveling from the exotic city of Shanghai to the remote wilds
of India with two uninvited traveling companions in toe; Short Round
(Jonathan Ke Quan) and Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw). The crops have
died, children have gone missing and there is an evil in the land in
form of the Thuggee cult and their evil leader. Far be it from Indiana
to turn down a good fight, though. Darker than “Raiders” and a bit more
cartoonish as well, “The Temple of Doom” is the least favorite of
Spielberg and fans alike.
“Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” tried to
recapture the energy of the first film by involving the Nazis again and
then doubling the excitement by introducing us to Indiana’s father,
Henry Jones (Sean Connery). Despite being too close in age to be father
and son, Ford and Connery chew up the scenery together and come off as
wonderfully convincing. Unfortunately, while the characters provide for
great fun, the search for the Holy Grail, especially its discovery, are
handled less than realistically. Sure, this is just a movie, but
“Raiders” set the pace with a realistic and serious approach that the
following two films didn’t embrace. Despite this, “The Last Crusade”
was a sweet swansong…until the 4th and final film comes out
anyway.
Paramount has painstakingly gone back and restored/remastered
each film frame by frame and the Widescreen transfers are very
impressive. Between the picture and audio quality, I was truly blown
away! I don’t think the trilogy looked and sounded this good in
theatres. As for extras, they are included on a separate 4th
disc in the set. Starting off, we have “Indiana Jones: Making The
Trilogy”, which is divided up into three areas representing teach film;
“Raiders of the Lost Ark” (50 ¾ min), “The Temple of Doom” (41 min) and
“The Last Crusade” (35 min). Next up are 4 featurettes; “The Stunts Of
Indiana Jones” (11 min), “The Sound of Indiana Jones” (13 ¼ min), “The
Music of Indiana Jones” (12 ¼ min) and “The Light and Magic of Indiana
Jones” (12 ¼ min). Rounding off the disc are some trailers and a link
to the Indiana Jones website.
As for the original “Making The Trilogy”
documentaries, there’s some EXCELLENT material on them, though it seems
there was less and less effort put into the productions as they went on
as can be observed in the running time alone. There’s bound to be much
more material than we saw, only that’s going to have to wait until
someone decides to do a 2-disc special edition of each film, something
fans were requesting in the first place. Where are the audio
commentaries? Where are the deleted scenes? What Paramount delivered
was good, but far from being anything definitive. In that respect, I’m
disappointed. Fans were also less than pleased that in order to watch
their favorite Indiana Jones film, they had to buy the entire box set.
Hey, I know it sounds like I’m doing an awful lot
of complaining here, so let me just set the record straight by saying
that I love this series and I am ecstatic that they’re finally available
on DVD. Paramount did an incredible job with the transfers and they
deserve a standing ovation for that alone. Unfortunately, when it came
to the extras, somebody (whether it was Lucas and Spielberg or the
studio) dropped the ball. Since many of you are probably reaching for a
Kleenex to hand to me while telling me to shut up, pop “Raiders” in,
kick back with your bullwhip and get ready for some fun!
Film Rating:
A (Raiders) B (Temple) B+ (Crusade)
DVD Special Features: B-
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