The Adventures of Indiana Jones

In 1981, Steven Spielberg cemented his reputation as Hollywood's premiere fabulist with Raiders of the Lost Ark, his masterful ode to the Saturday morning serials of the 1930s and ‘40s, and by the time adventurer-archaeologist Henry Jones Jr. rode off into the sunset at the end of 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, character actor Harrison Ford had been transformed into one of the world's biggest movie stars, composer John Williams had given us iconic theme music that has come to signify swashbuckling incarnate, and a new generation had fallen in love with the magic of movies. Along with 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom--a darker and grimmer film than its companions--all three have arrived on DVD, restored and remastered, with new 5.1 digital surround sound. Gloriously fun globetrotting romps through ancient folklore and exotic locales in search of mysterious artifacts and something more enticing for dessert than chilled monkey brains, the trilogy offers up some of the best escapist adventures ever made, a luminous synthesis of humor, drama, fantasy, and action. Spielberg doesn't do director commentaries, alas, but the extras take up a whole disc of their own: more than three hours of all-new documentaries created specifically for this package, including the only full-length “making of” feature about the films. "You call this archaeology?!" Dr. Henry Jones Sr. exclaims to Indy after a particularly perilous moment of excitement. We sure do. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (M. Johanson)[DVD Review—May 13, 2008—Paramount, 3 discs, 359 min., PG/PG-13, DVD: $59.98—Making their second appearance on DVD, 1981's Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade all feature excellent digital transfers and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. DVD extras on Raiders of the Lost Ark include an eight-minute intro by director Steven Spielberg and executive producer George Lucas, the production featurettes “An Appreciation” (12 min.) and “The Melting Face!” (9 min.), the storyboard featurette “The Well of Souls” (4 min.), photo galleries, and trailers. DVD extras on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom include a six-minute intro by Spielberg and Lucas, “The Creepie Crawlies” featurette on the bug props (12 min.), “Travel with Indy” location featurette (11 min.), “The Mine Cart Chase” storyboard segment (2 min.), photo galleries, and trailers. DVD extras on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade include a six-minute intro by Spielberg and Lucas, featurettes on “Indy's Friends and Enemies” (11 min.) and “Indy's Women: An American Film Institute Tribute” (10 min.), a four-minute segment on “The Opening Sequence” storyboards, photo galleries, a “LEGO Indiana Jones” video game demo, and trailers. Bottom line: released to tie-in with the latest Indiana Jones film in theaters, all of the extras here are new—but all of the excellent extras on the previously released boxed set are absent (notably the feature-length documentary on the series). Pick this one up only if you don't own the earlier set (which actually still retails for $10 less).]