The long wait is finally over as the Indiana Jones series has arrived on DVD. The lavish four-disc set contains the original three movies, “Raiders of the Lost Ark, “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” The fourth disc is an impressive collection of behind the scenes, interviews, artwork and much more from all three films and is a collectors dream come true.
The classic original film still shines after all of these years, and it is as thrilling as ever to follow Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), on his action and humor filled quests that take him to all manner of exotic locations.
Filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas combined the style of the old serial cliffhangers with modern action humor and FX to create a series that has become part of the popular culture and a cinematic legend.
Due to the superior transfer, the picture and sound quality of the film surpasses the quality of the original theatrical prints and brings the films to lavish life.
The classic original film follows Professor Indiana Jones as he travels to Nepal, Cairo, and other points of the globe in order to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis do and use it for evil.
Temple of Doom is a prequel that tells the story of Indy’s quest for the lost Sankara Stones that can give Indy fame and restore a crippled village to prominence. Indy must battle an evil cult who are enslaving local children and preparing to unleash evil on the land. It is also interesting to note that this film is one that was largely responsible for the creation of the PG-13 rating as it was often cited as a reason for a rating stronger than PG but less than an R.
Last Crusade is a sequel to the original film and follows Indiana as he travels to Europe to save his father (Sean Connery), and recover the Holy Grail from those who would use it for evil.
While the original film is still the best, the two-follow ups are well-crafted and entertaining films. With a 4th film in pre-production, you may find yourself humming the familiar theme with a smile as you watch these classic gems. The film sets come in both standard and wide screen formats and I highly suggest the wide screen version so you may experience the images as they were meant to be seen and not have portions of the scenes cropped to fit on a television screen.
5 stars out of 5
