Rating: Summary: Don't listen to the negative reviews at all Review: This trilogy is one of the greatest of all time, that's all there is to it. Raiders Of The Lost Ark introduces to us the college professor/extraordinary adventurer Indiana Jones. The action sequences are timeless and incredible. Temple Of Doom, contrary to what a previous reviewer seems to think, is not a bad movie. It is different though. The movie has many more comedic elements. This makes the movie a lot of fun to watch. Indiana's scenes with Shorty are often hilarious. It doesn't skimp on the action though, which is still abound in plentiful amounts. It's also the movie that created the PG-13 rating if that matters at all to you. The Last Crusade is very strong in the stabs it takes at history, the action sequences again, and the acting of Sean Connery. None of the films are to be missed. They're action packed, but at the same time, intelligent. There's no mindless carnage; just well planned, excellently executed action sequences. Oh, and did I mention this is Harrison Ford at his finest? This is a very worthy investment, buy it today. Please, ignore the comments that "Titanic" is the greatest film ever, and see how easily all three of these movies surpass that abyssmal flick.
Rating: Summary: Still some of the best movies ever Review: Indiana Jones is finally on DVD! One of the best movie trilogies gets respect now that it is on DVD. This set is worth every penny simply because the movies are classics. There just aren't enough great adventure movies like these anymore.Only a TRUE fan will not complain about these movies being available only in the boxed set. The sequels are just as great as the first, 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.' It is beyond me why people overlook the other two! You don't understand Jones as a character and Spielberg/Lucas as filmmakers! The best of the three is 'Temple of Doom'; it is truly heroic, action-packed, funny, fast-paced, haunting, and emotionally charged. The best feeling in the trilogy is in this movie, when Indy saves the Indian children and they return to their families. What emotion! And the John Williams score, too? Amazing and heroic. The AFI doesn't need to put Indiana Jones on a 'best heroes' list. We already knew he was a hero and it was confirmed again. And again it is confirmed with the DVDs. Buy this and see great heroism in cinema!
Rating: Summary: Buyer beware Review: I just purchased this set today [elsewhere.] They had two different boxes for both widescreen and fullframe. The difference is a FIFTH DVD. Since it's a gift I can't open it. The box says "Free exclusive 5th DVD, Raiders of the Lost Ark classic featurette."
Rating: Summary: 'Temple of Doom' dooms box set Review: The worst thing about this release is that you can't buy the movies separately. If that was the case no one in their right mind would buy "the Temple of Doom". Spielberg probably knew that, hence the box, thereby guaranteeing sales for this awful movie. Reasons for awfulness: 1. Kate Capshaw's whining Willie. How could anyone in their right mind go from a strong female character like Karen Allen's Marion in the 1st movie to this joke of a woman in 'Doom'? My wife was appalled at the whole helpless female bit, and Willie's dunderheadedness, like trying to perfume the elephant. How'd Kate get this part... sleep with the director (hee hee)? Thankfully a strong female lead returns in 'the Last Crusade'. Yeah, Ilsa was evil, but she didn't take any crap. 2. Jonathan Ke Quan as Short Round. Watching Spielberg direct children you realize he has no concept of how they really are. They come across as little adults, who are always smarter than the grownups and always save the day. Just like they always do in real life, right? Nuh-uh. Any idea why someone like Indy would even pal around with this squirt? 3. A lousy relic... all this for a rock? C'mon! Who cares? The first and third movies got it right as Indy was searching for the stuff of legend, the Ark and the Grail. Supposedly the 4th movie's relic will be Pandora's Box, which is fine. But a rock?!? So, hold out for these movies being released individually. I will. For now I'll stick with my VHS widescreen versions. Buy this box? In the words of Homer J. Simpson: You can cram it with walnuts,ugly!
Rating: Summary: Forcing garbage down our throats Review: Raiders is such a good movie that I will pay $... for it and the extras. This is truly the benchmark upon which all other action movies are judged. This was the Jaws and Star Wars of it's genre. Like all Lucas and Speilberg movies, however, they pander to the public's idiocy with the sequels. The humor in Temple of Doom is about as low brow as you can find. If you laugh at this film, you have the mentality of an 11 year old boy. The only thing missing are fart jokes. We get some horrible Asian sidekick, aka Jar Jar Binks, to bring kids to the movie. This is truly celluloid filth! I wish Lucas and Spielberg would stick to R rated movies as they did in their early careers instead of making "family" horror movies. Bah! The Last Crusade has some good character driven humor, but it quickly grows tiresome as the movie panders to the audience. I will suck up my pride and shell out $45 for Raiders of the Lost Ark. If anyone wants my copy Temple of Doom, they can dig it up, unopened, out of my trashcan.
Rating: Summary: The Man With The Hat Is Back Review: What do you get when the creator of Star Wars, and the man behind Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, decide to make a series of films together? One of the most inventive and entertaining action adventure trilogies of all time. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg fashioned the The Adventures Of Indiana Jones like the movie serials from the 30's and 40's.The action comes fast and furious, as a globe trotting archeologist Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), goes in search of "fortune and glory", getting in and out of trouble along the way. The 4 DVD box set features all three films, directed by Spielberg, and a disc's worth of bonus material. Each movie has been digitally remasterd with improved picture and 5.1 sound. Here is how the set breaks down: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK-Indy is lured by the U.S. Government to find the lost ark of the covenant. Hitler and his Nazi followers want the ark too and plan to use its power to help them rule the world. As he tries to stay one step ahead of them, he comes face to face with a rival named Belloq (Paul Freeman), who is aiding the enemy. His travels also reunite Indy with a lover out of the past. Spunky Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) holds important clues on how to find the ark. THE TEMPLE OF DOOM-The film helped coin the word "prequel" and eventually led to the MPAA coming up with the PG-13 rating. After escaping some trouble in Shanghi, Indy, his pint sized pal Short Round (Jonathan Ke Quan), and whiney nightclub singer Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) find themselves put in peril by a cult. The leader, Mola Ram (Amrish Puri), has enslaved children to help him find ancient and poweful artifacts. THE LAST CRUSADE-In an exciting and clever prologue, viewers get to see a young Indy (River Phoenix), in an early adventure. When the action picks up with Indy as an adult, he learns that while searching for the holy grail, his father Henry Jones (Sean Connery) has been kidnapped by Nazis ("I hate those guys") and their cohorts. With pals Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliot) and Sallah (John Ryhs-Davies) in tow, Indy must rescue dad and once again stop Hitler's evil plans. This time around, enemies and allies, are not as easy to spot. THE BONUS MATERIAL DISC-despite the fact that none of the features have an audio commentary track, A new, 126 minute feature-length documentary of the making of the trilogy is the next best thing. Produced by long time Spielberg and Hitchcock documentarian Laurent Bouzereau, is an in depth look at how the films came about. All of the principals are here-even Connery sat down for an interview!!--I was amazed at how much behind the scenes footage there is. The disc also includes 4 additional featurettes from the Lucasfilm Archives Each one examines key ingredients of the trilogy's successful recipe The Stunts of Indiana Jones, The Sound of Indiana Jones, The Music of Indiana Jones composed by John Williams, and The Light and Magic of Indiana Jones (special effects) do the trick and are good to have for posterity. The original theatical trailers and each disc has a DVD-ROM weblink with a neat looking interface, that takes you to exclusive online content. Is the set perfect? No. I still would have liked to hear a commentary and/or isolated music track for each film, had a few deleted scenes to look at, and maybe a storyboard or two to study. Still you can't help but be a bit giddy over the box set. The films are put together quite well and save TEMPLE's Willie Scott, who is downright annoying at times, they rarely misfire. Ford is super as our hero. And teaming him with Connery for CRUSADE was a stroke of genius. RAIDERS paved the way though, it's the one that started it all, and will always be my favorite flm from the trilogy. The almost 5 star set is a must and was worth the wait. **** and a half stars.
Rating: Summary: THE LAST CRUSADE alone is worth buying the set.... Review: I really wish that the folks at Lucasfilms/Paramount had followed the example set by the James Bond movies: Put out the box set AND the stand-alone movies! All I am really buying this box set for is THE LAST CRUSADE....one of the best movies of the early '90s. Ahhh well... One good thing about this set is that, if you haven't seen all the films, you will have no excuse not to now! I can't wait to see Indy and his dad in the fireplace scene (where the Nazi headquarters catches on fire) and the scene where Indy accidentally gets his dad's diary signed by Hitler! How great is that?!?? This is one movie set I will be watching quite a few times......and you should too!
Rating: Summary: Thank god Lucas left well enough alone Review: It's so hard to be a fan of George Lucas films. Between the absence of the Star Wars Trilogy on DVD, the two new obscenely, mediocre Star Wars films, and all his "special" editions, it's nice to finally have the good, old, Indy we know and love on DVD.
Rating: Summary: Must we be force-fed the weak sequels??!! Review: "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" is a " ***** " (five-star) film; a genuine adventure classic and required addition to every film buff's collection. The eyeball-rolling sequels, on the other hand, were strictly for the kiddies and the ubiquitous fast-food marketing tie-ins. For fans of the sequels (and obsessive completists), box sets are a nice option, I suppose, but the "Indiana Jones" DVD trilogy now joins the available-as-box-set-only "Godfather" collection (and the upcoming "Star Wars" DVD extravaganza) as a cynical slap in the face to those of us who prefer the "a-la-carte" option (and a little money left over for,oh, you know- rent and food). Boo! Hiss! to corporate greed and this extremely irritating industry trend.
Rating: Summary: Where are the special features?? Review: These are great movies and it is definitely time they were released on dvd for all to enjoy over and over again. I am very disappointed with the lack of special features though. Everything is found on the fourth bonus disc, but there is nothing on the movie discs. This great set could have been made even better with the addition of commentary or deleted scenes. I would have thought with the timeless popularity of the trilogy that something more would have been given to the fans.
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