Rating: Summary: The mother of all trilogies is finally immortalized on DVD!! Review: Before there was ever a "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider", there was only one name..."Indiana Jones"!! It's been 12 years in the making (despite theatrical releases and several video releases), but it was worth the wait! On Oct. 21, Paramount Home Entertainment has finally released "The Adventures of Indiana Jones: The Complete DVD Movie Collection" on DVD! Director Steven Spielberg ("Jaws") and creator George Lucas ("Star Wars") have really outdone themselves this time! And best of all, superstar Harrison Ford gives us not one, not two, but three of his best performances ever in his career that is "Indiana Jones"! Here are my comments on all three films:"Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981): This is the film that started it all. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was released in the summer of 1981 and it quickly became the highest-grossing film of the year and also became one of the greatest adventures of all time. "Raiders" is set in 1936, and the film introduces us to Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr. (Ford), a renowned archaeologist, a world-class adventurer, and an expert in the occult, whose quest for rare and priceless antiquities find him constantly running from one bad guy to another. During the film, Indiana (or "Indy") is hired by the U.S. Government to find the Ark of the Covenant, which is believed to still hold the Ten Commandments. Unfortunately, agents of Hitler are also after the Ark. So Indy reluctantly teams up with Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), one of Indy's old flames as they search for the Ark while dodging bullets, confronting snakes, and staying one step ahead of the Nazis while traveling on a quest that takes Indy and Marion from Nepal to Cairo. The strong supporting cast (including Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, and Denholm Elliott) really takes "Raiders" to true classic status. "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" (1984): This second film in the "Indiana Jones" series is actually a prequel set 10 years before the events of "Raiders of the Lost Ark". "The Temple of Doom" is considered to be the darkest film of the whole series, and it pretty much caused the MPAA to create the rated "PG-13" rating, but that's not a bad thing because "The Temple of Doom" is looser, more imaginative, and more satisfying. "Temple" focuses on Indy teaming up with Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw), a nightclub singer, and a 12 year-old named Short Round (Ke Huy Quan, "The Goonies"). After somewhat of a clean getaway by double-crossing bad guys, Indy, Willie, and Short Round end up in an Indian village, where the people believe that evil spirits have taken their children away after a sacred stone was stolen. Indy agrees to try and retrieve the stone for the villagers. As it turns out, the children are being kidnapped by the evil Thuggee cult, whose leader dabbles with black magic with the stone that Indy is seeking. While watching "The Temple of Doom", look for a brief cameo by Dan Aykroyd at the beginning of the film as he hustles Indy and company into a getaway plane. "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" (1989): This third "Indiana Jones" film is, to me, my favorite Indy film of all time because not only does it recapture some of the best elements from "Raiders of the Lost Ark", not only does Harrison Ford do a tremendous job in this film, it also has legendary actor Sean Connery ("The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen") along for the ride as well! "The Last Crusade" focuses on Indy saving the world once again from Nazis. During the film, the Nazis have kidnapped Indy's father, Prof. Henry Jones, Sr. (Connery), for his diary, which contains maps and first-hand accounts of many of the world's most sacred and hidden items. One of these such items, the Holy Grail, is what the Nazis are after, and is the reason they had kidnapped Prof. Jones and his diary. Indy then must make his way into the "lion's den" -- Nazi Germany -- in order to save his father, his diary, and the Holy Grail -- all from the Nazis. This film also has a couple of familiar faces from "Raiders of the Lost Ark": Denholm Elliott as 'Marcus Brody' and John Rhys-Davies as 'Sallah'. And also, while watching "Crusade", look for a cameo appearance at the beginning of the film by the late River Phoenix as the young Indy character. "Indiana Jones Bonus Material" disc: Now for the even greater part: Not only do you get all three "Indiana Jones" films on DVD, there is also a 4th disc containing over 3 hours of bonus material, including a feature-length documentary on the making of the Indy trilogy, featurettes on the sound, stunts, and music of Indiana Jones, the light and magic of Indiana Jones, trailers for all three films, and link to the original Indiana Jones website! In conclusion, this is the trilogy that die-hard Indiana Jones fans like myself have been waiting years for! Paramount has certainly picked the right time to release this boxed set on DVD! A trilogy such as this in my DVD collection is priceless!
Rating: Summary: Worth the wait. Trust me. Review: At last, one of the most anticipated DVD box sets has arrived. Does Indiana Jones live up to the hype? Absolutely. Of course, all three films have been digitally restored to provide optimal audio and visual, which in and of itself is astonishing. These films contain perfect sound quality, perfect video quality, and wonderful overall satisfaction quality. But the set doesn't end there...a bonus disk contains a full-length documentary "Making the Trilogy," which goes in depth, film by film, and takes a look behind the scenes with current interviews of the cast. It also contains special featurettes on the lighting, stunts, music, and sounds of Indiana Jones. This set definitely lives up to expectations, worth every cent!
Rating: Summary: Fifth DVD Review: Has anyone else puchased the limited 5th DVD set? I got it the morning it hit the stores 10/21. The 5th DVD is outside the box under the shrink wrap. Titled "Raiders of the Lost Ark classic featurette".
Rating: Summary: A DVD quest Review: For many fans and videophiles, the Indy Jones trilogy was the holy grail of DVD, one of the format's few high-profile hold-outs. Paramount has met most of the high expectations with this four-disc set. The set's first three discs contain restored versions of the Jones films: "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "The Temple of Doom" and "The Last Crusade." The fourth disc packs in more than three hours of bonus materials supervised by director Spielberg and story-weaver Lucas, featuring new interviews with pretty much anyone fans would want to hear from (and then some). Video and audio get off to a shaky start. "Raiders" (1981) looks OK, but it's a product of its time -- at least there are few visible signs of wear and images are reasonably clear. But it isn't until "Temple of Doom" (1984) that the high quality of these DVDs begins to emerge. "Doom" is inevitably called "the darkest" Indy film, but from frame 1 it employs a robust color palette to tell its tale of slavery and black magic. The DVD delivers the goods, with rich blood reds and working-in-the-coal-mine blacks. "Last Crusade" (1989) looks like a new film, with sensational, crystal-clear images. Dialog and music come across clearly on "Raiders," but its surround effects tend to muddy up and distract from the action. "Doom's" audio works better, with clear and discrete surround. "Crusade" sounds as if it were recorded yesterday. All of the films are in Dolby Digital (5.1). Audio and video carry the THX endorsement, naturally. The DVD docu "Making the Trilogy" -- actually three featurettes strung together -- interviews all concerned, and has amazing footage from every step of the filmmaking process. Check out the audition tape of Tom Selleck and Sean Young (close call, that). The film shoots were well documented, so there's plenty of great footage of the cast and crew at work on classic scenes. The DVD extras spend a lot of time covering the exotic locations used in the Indy series: Sri Lanka, Jordan, Venice, etc. Featurettes that average about 12 minutes cover stunts, sound, music and special effects. The effects segment reveals plenty of exploding, decaying and melting heads, all done without CGI. One of the series' running gags was use of giant stunt man Pat Roach, who played multiple roles, notably the bald pugilist Nazi in "Raiders." Composer John Williams does his usual great job explaining his work, telling how atonal music helped creep out audiences: "We go to great lengths to scare people." Sound editor Ben Burtt, who won Oscars for his work, tells how a Honda Civic provided the sound of the giant boulder chase that opens "Raiders."
Rating: Summary: lets get something straight.. Review: For a DVD set that is marked for release 3 days from now, how come we have so many eager reviewers? I was very surprised. No doubt the IJ movies were amazing, but am I right in assuming the general public has NOT seen them on DVD? Amazon, whats going on here?
Rating: Summary: review is for dvd set only Review: This dvd set is lazyness at it's best no comentary very little extra's and no dts track. but this is what paramount is famous for. most of thier dvd's have very little extra's it's a shame because this was three of the most anticipated movies to come to dvd. I'm sure the star wars trilogy wont be this way as it is 20th century fox, they know how to do dvd's.
Rating: Summary: All 3 classics that marked adventure movie history on DVD Review: The Indiana Jones films have marked a certain spot in the Acion/Adventure movie category that no one can outdo or make better. These 3 films are simply classics and will stay with everyone forever. For years and years, the Indiana Jones trilogy has been on VHS and in different trilogy packages, the most recent one coming with Young Indiana Jones tape in it. But, finally, the Indiana Jones trilogy has hit the DVD market, and we, the huge fans, are extremely happy it's in our hands, and in our DVD players. All 3 films have been digitally remastered with the wonderul THX. Picture is crisp and clear, color is great, and the sound is very good and redone. Only problem I found was the music score. The music score sounded kind of like it was underwater in some parts. Maybe it's just my speakers or somethin but I dunno. Not only does this pack come with the 3 classics, but it also comes with a Bonus Materials disc, which I'm just a little dissapointed in. I thought the movies would have commentaries on them, deleted scenes, gag reels, ya know, your run of the mill bonus material, but it doesn't It comes with a bunch of featurettes and trailers. Also, the price you can't beat. 45 bucks for 4 DVDs! That's a great price. Overall, this box set of the Indiana Jones trilogy is a must for all you Indy fans out there. Pick it up now, you won't regret it.
Rating: Summary: Surprisingly Incredible Review: Anyone checking out this box set knows how great these movies are. And everyone has an opinion on which is the best and which is the least of the three. I won't bore anyone with my opinions and just share my thoughts on this new DVD release. First, there's no way Indiana Jones has looked this great before now! Colors are incredible and vibrant. Shadows and blacks are rich and deep. Props to Lucasfilm for the extensive restoration given to these amazing films. The sound is equally incredible. The 5.1 digital mix is submersive and dynamic. Well done again, Lucasfilm! When this box set was first announced, fans were shocked and disappointed at what seemed like a tiny amount of extras. No audio commentaries? No deleted scenes? What was going on? We waited so long for this release! Well, Lucasfilm fooled us all. Unlike other DVD releases that boast so many extras they could be published as a separate book, Indiana Jones lists just a handful of documentaries and featurettes. But what a documentary! This two-hour-plus look inside the movies is SO good you don't really need much else. The featurettes on sound, stunts, and more are great (stuntmen are simply INSANE). A lot of DVD's give you quantity and ignore quality. Major kudos go to Lucasfilm for giving us some of the best extras I've seen in a long time. Sure, I'd have liked audio commentaries and deleted scenes. (Word on the street is George Lucas asked Spielberg to do commentaries but he repeatedly declined.) But just about all you need to know about these movies are found on the extras included in this set. Adventure has a name, and it is indeed Indiana Jones. If you haven't picked up this set yet, what could you possibly be waiting for?
Rating: Summary: better sequels? Review: I read a review below that said the sequels were lame attempts, and the package that made you buy all three was a result of corporate greed. Now, I respect other people's opinions when they say that certain movies stink, but just out of curiosity, I conducted a little survey. I asked about 30 people around me, family, friends, colleagues, and asked which of the 3 is their favorite. No pressure to pick a certain one, I guarantee you, I just casually asked them. "Have you seen all three? Then which is your favorite?" And you know what? 100% said the Last Crusade. I also asked them which scene is their favorite among ALL THREE. And guess what? 100% said the Third Leap of Faith. I asked them their second favorite scene. It was a tie between the spiky death chamber in Temple of Doom, and anything with Sean Connery. Finally, I asked them who their favorite character was BESIDE Indiana Jones, and twelve people each said Short Round and Henry Jones Sr. So, the results speak for themselves-people like the sequels better. Of course, the people around me do not represent the entire world, but still it gives you a certain perspective, no? I was the only freak who said I liked Temple of Doom the best, but that's another story. (okay, the story is, it was the first of the triology that I saw, it was my favorite movie as a child, and despite the political incorrectness-which would really bother me if I had first seen it as an adult- I think it remains the darkest, funniest and most thrilling of the three. And the violent gore? I totally dig that.) And as for the 4-disc package being a lump of corporate greed, well, if the films were of lesser quality, then sticking them together is wrong. Or if the sequels were much inferior then yes, they should be sold separately. But I think the films are inseparable. The package is fabulous. And thank goodness they cleaned the film up. It looks they shot it just yesterday. The filmmakers, cast and dvd makers have obviously given a tremendous amount of effort to please the fans, rather than slap-dashing it with little featuerettes knowing that people are going to buy them anyway. The only complaint I have is that the 'Making of's aren't long enough. And I was shocked and traumatized to see a 30-year-old Short Round with braces. (You can also see him with long hair and glasses but no braces in The Goonies Dvd.)
Rating: Summary: A ho-hum box . . .I'm not impressed Review: Look, few people suggest that at least the first and third film aren't worth seeing. In my estimation, these films represent the pinnicle of adventuring movies. I loved them in the 80's and 90's, and I continue to love them today. But let's not forget that these movies have been available on Video for years. While having the DVD is certainly nice in terms of convenience, we spend the $45 to $60 on the box set because we've come to expect greater fidelity (both in terms of sight and sound) AND special features. This trilogy box lets us down enormously on both fronts. Even the video release of the Star Wars trilogy appears to have benefitted considerably more from remastering than the sad efforts here. And WHERE are all the special features???!!!!???? No running commentary; no deleted scenes; very few interviews; too much stock footage. It's almost as if the boys and girls over at Lucas did the BARE MINIMUM in order to simply slap these movies onto silvery plastic. This is all the more bewildering given that we've been told for year that the delay has been about "getting it right" and other such admirable goals. Don't get me wrong - I love the movies. But this is otherwise a limp effort on all accounts. Own for convenience. Don't expect much else. A sad showing.
|