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Indiana Jones: The Adventure Collection
R1 - America - Paramount Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (28th May 2008). |
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The Film
 There are several iconic trilogies that defined by childhood and many millions of others as well; they were “Star Wars” (1977-1983), “Back to the Future” (1985-1990) and of course “Indiana Jones.” These adventure films harked back to the days of adventure serials; the brainchild of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, these films opened the adventure genre to a whole new audience and introduced the world to one of the most beloved cinematic characters of all time. I recall replaying classic scenes from all three films with friends, we would pretend to crack whips and play fight, but also the films subconsciously opened my mind to archaeology, as I found myself wanting to unearth lost treasures and learn about ancient civilizations. Indy and his adventures were a pivotal role model for this reviewer, and although I’m not a archaeologist today (or treasure hunter for that matter), I still look back fondly over those days spent pretending to be. A few years ago these classic films finally made it to DVD, after a long wait, and it was a treat to re-watch them back-to-back-to-back with glorious new transfers and in widescreen after years of enduring terrible pan-and-scan TV broadcasts. And here we are again, in 2008 with a re-released collection, just in time for the fourth instalment of the series in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008) Paramount rolls out the double-dip. I don’t think I’ll bother in providing a synopsis for these films; it’s not out of laziness. I feel there’s no need as almost everyone who’s into film marginally will know something about these films. And if you don’t, well then it’s your loss really. What I will focus on instead is how these films have evolved and continued to provide copious amounts of entertainment and will do so for years to come. The first Indy adventure “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981) is one of those great ‘beginning’ films that establishes the character but doesn’t over-emphasis him, you get much more of an adventure film of Indy (Harrison Ford) globe-trotting after those damn Nazis and the Ark of the Covenant, the film’s action scenes are beautifully staged and because these films come out of the 80’s what you get are real stunts performed on locations or amid grand sets and practical effects, no CGI here. The character of Indy played to perfection by Ford is everything a hero should be, loyal, has morals and a high spirit but also a wonderfully stinging wit and style. He’s the guy all of us want to be and all the ladies want to be with. Can you imagine how these films would have turned out had the producer’s cast their first choice for the character? (FYI, their first choice was Tom Selleck!). What makes “Raiders of the Lost Ark” so endearing? The film captures the sense of adventure in us all, and does it with such bravado and spirit that one can’t help but totally fall in love with the film, its scenario and of course the character of Indy. After the massive success of the first, a second adventure was quickly put into production; “Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom” (1984) was, as most second films in a trilogy seem to be, a much darker film than its predecessor. In fact it was the film that really pushed the ‘PG’ rating to it's limits and set the precedent for the newly minted ‘PG-13’ rating rolled out by the MPAA as a response to the film’s tone. The adventure introduces us to several new characters in Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) who captivates us right away with a saucy musical number and a feisty young side-kick Short Round (Jonathan Ke Quan), this time searching for a mystical stone, Indy finds himself in India dealing with a cult society that uses kidnapped children as slave labor. Although the film’s tone is darker, the adventure level is still rather high and includes some classic moments including the removing of the heart sequence as well as the mine cart chase, which as the film's producer's noted in the special features was originally a scene intended for the first film, but due to time and the fast paced shoot it was never shot. Here we get the scene as part of the second film, as our hero's try and escape the clutches of the cult's henchmen. The most memorable scene for me was the dinner scene where the guests are fed bugs, snakes and finally chilled monkey brains. It’s pure over-the-top silliness but is effective in its ability to immerse the viewer in this strange culture and adds a nice little gross out factor to the film that many people still enjoy. Some may consider this film the weakest of the trilogy, I disagree. The sequel tends to focus more on scares, thrills and chills more so than “Raiders” so in a sense, although it has Indy as the title character, his trademark wit and dialogue “Temple” feels like a altogether different film (perhaps the fact that Nazi's are not in it and that chronologically the events take place before those in "Raiders"), but still a good way to spend a couple of hours and a worthy addition to the franchise. Finally there’s “Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade” (1989), after the lessons learned by Lucas and Spielberg from the second installment tone and style (which was critically panned), they return to the light adventurous Indy we originally fell in love with the first time around, this time bringing back the Nazi’s in an attempt to find the holy grail. Indy is joined by veteran actor Sean Connery as his father. The third film includes the biggest action set pieces as you can easily track the inflation of budget from the first to the last. Sets get bigger, co-stars are name actors, and locations are more distant and majestic etc. I also found that “The Last Crusade” is probably the lightest of the Indy films in tone. This is helped by the almost comical chemistry between Ford and Connery, their interactions garner the most chuckles. It was also nice to see the return of the character Sallah (John Rhys-Davies), who was absent from the second film. The third installment is a much grander film, we’ve got some excellent set pieces that mark the tent pole segments of the film including the zeppelin scene and the tank sequence which I must admit is one of my favorite Indy scenes in the entire series. With the release of the latest installment I was eager to re-familiarize myself with everyone’s favorite archaeologist. These films will always be treasured as much as the artifacts that Indy himself chased after, if you don’t already own these films now is a good chance to pick them up...unless you’re like me and eagerly anticipate a Blu-ray release!
Video
All three films are presented in their original theatrical ratios of 2.35:1 and all of which are anamorphic. The quality ranges from film to film but overall these transfers are very good indeed. Ported over from the 2003 release these films were given a nice clean up and mastered to THX specifications. "Raider" is probably the grainiest of the three films, also being the oldest. The noise is much more evident in darker scenes but manages to hold up, colors are nice across the board and shadow detail also holds up. "Temple" looks a bit sharper, although some colors tend to bleed during the cult sequences when red seems to be the preferred lighting scheme, the films have minimal dirt and damage, skin tones appear good although in some scenes they can veer towards the orange. Finally "Crusade" is the best of the three film, sharpness is very good, colors hold up well, the print is nice and clean with minimal grain (however, as expected some effects optical shots bring out the grain a fair bit). Despite a few nit-picky things these films have never looked better and overall are a decent presentation from Paramount.
Audio
All three films include English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 2.0 surround and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 surround tracks. For the purposes of the review I chose to view the films with their 5.1 track. These are new and updated sound mixes and they all sound really good. Solid dialogue ensures no distortion, surround effects are present and well rendered throughout the sound space on all three films. The action scenes explode off the screen and the classic score soars through the space as well. The tracks on all three films exhibit great balance between the softer more ambient scenes to the booming action set pieces and make those transitions flawlessly. Optional subtitles are included in English, French and Spanish.
Extras
Paramount has issues this set with some all new extras that include a series of introductions, 6 featurettes, 3 storyboard sequences, image galleries, bonus trailers and a game demo. Below is a closer look at these supplements broken down per disc. DISC ONE: "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" (1981) First up is "Raiders of the Lost Ark: An Introduction" which runs for 7 minutes 47 seconds, in this introduction Spielberg talks about the original motivation to make a globe-trotting adventure and partnering with Lucas. They comment about working with each other, conveying the themes of the film and influences that they fell in love with as kids from early adventure serials. They also talk about casting Ford and share memories from the production. Next up is "Indiana Jones: An Appreciation" featurette which runs for 11 minutes 40 seconds. In this clip the cast and crew of the latest Indy film look back at the original three films and share their thoughts about the films, their success and impact on pop culture as well as comment on their involvement in the films as they talk about their favorite scenes. Following that is "The Melting Face!" featurette which runs for 8 minutes 49 seconds, this takes a closer look at how ILM achieved the landmark effect of melting Toht's face. We are taken through the process almost step-by-step as the actor's face is cast, the gelatin used to create the layers of skin and flesh as well as finally getting a look at the melting process. Also on the disc is "Storyboards: The Well of Souls" which is a storyboard comparison that runs for 4 minutes 16 seconds, we get a look at both the boards and the final scene together for your reference, this clip cold have used some kind of commentary. There are 4 galleries that include: - "Illustrations & Props" features 110 images of concept art, storyboards and a few props from the film. - "Production Photographs & Portraits" features 190 images of photos taken during the film's production. - "Effects/ILM" features 93 images of the ILM effects team prepping and shooting various effects shots for the film. - "Marketing" features 46 images of posters concepts and final poster designs. You also get the "Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure" trailer which runs for 1 minute 19 seconds. The "Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure" game demo which you can play on your PC. Finally the disc is rounded off with a start-up bonus trailer for the latest film in the series "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" which runs for 1 minute 55 seconds. DISC TWO: "Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom" (1984) First up is "The Temple of Doom: An Introduction" which runs for 5 minutes 59 seconds, here Spielberg talks about the deal to make three films, on setting the story, dealing with darker tones, the action scenes especially the mine cart chase and also glosses over the reaction to the film. Next up is "The Creepy Crawlies" featurette which runs for 11 minutes 54 seconds, this clip can be viewed with optional pop-up trivia track that features facts about the filming process with various bugs, snakes and rats and also provides some information about the creepy crawlies. The cast and crew look at the various crawlies used in the three films, on working with them and the logistics of filming with them on set as the cast had to deal with quite a lot when it came to shooting scenes with these creatures. Following that is "Travel with Indy: Locations" featurette that runs for 10 minutes 30 seconds and also includes an optional pop-up trivia track that features more information about the various locations. This clip takes a look at the far off and exotic locales used in the film, Executive producer Robert Watts talks about scouting the locations, the logistics of shooting on location as well as shares some interesting trivia from the productions. Like the other disc we also get "Storyboards: The Mine Cart Chase" a storyboard comparison that runs for 2 minutes 31 seconds and takes a look at the scene with it's original boards. There are 4 galleries that include: - "Illustrations & Props" features 52 images of concept art, storyboards and a few props from the film. - "Production Photographs & Portraits" features 118 images of photos taken during the film's production. - "Effects/ILM" features 40 images of the ILM effects team prepping and shooting various effects shots for the film. - "Marketing" features 34 images of posters concepts and final poster designs. You also get the "Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure" trailer which runs for 1 minute 19 seconds. The "Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure" game demo which you can play on your PC. Finally the disc is rounded off with a start-up bonus trailer for the latest film in the series "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" which runs for 1 minute 55 seconds. DISC THREE: "Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade" (1989) "The Last Crusade: An Introduction" runs for 6 minutes 13 seconds, in this introduction Lucas and Spielberg talk about developing the story for the third film, on casting Connery and establishing their relationship and the themes that determined the story as well as comment on audience reaction. Next up is "Indy's Women: An American Film Institute Tribute" featurette that runs for 9 minutes 23 seconds, recorded in 2003 for the original DVD launch the three actresses Karen Allen, Kate Capshaw and Alison Doody are interviewed about their characters and comment on their performances among other things. Next is "Indy's Friends and Enemies" featurette which runs for 10 minutes 46 seconds, this clip takes a closer look at the supporting players in the trilogy and delves into their character traits and what makes them all so interesting and memorable, plus a get a very brief peek at some behind-the-scenes from the fourth film. Also featured is "Storyboards: The Opening Scene" and runs for 3 minutes 40 seconds, this storyboard comparison provides a look at how the scene was planned and the final scene itself. There are 4 galleries that include: - "Illustrations & Props" features 53 images of concept art, storyboards and a few props from the film. - "Production Photographs & Portraits" features 122 images of photos taken during the film's production. - "Effects/ILM" features 52 images of the ILM effects team prepping and shooting various effects shots for the film. - "Marketing" features 16 images of posters concepts and final poster designs. You also get the "Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure" trailer which runs for 1 minute 19 seconds. The "Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure" game demo which you can play on your PC. Finally the disc is rounded off with a start-up bonus trailer for the latest film in the series "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" which runs for 1 minute 55 seconds.
Packaging
Packaged in 3 slim-cases housed in a deluxe cardboard slip-case.
Overall
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