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The Adventures of Indiana Jones (Raiders of the Lost Ark/The Temple of Doom/The Last Crusade) - Widescreen Customer Reviews (82 - 84 of 140 Reviews)

This Collection Will Keep You "Jones"in For More!!!
From the very first moment in the jungles of a dense jungle in "Raiders of the Lost Ark," to the serene image of Indiana Jones and his entourage riding off into the sunset at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", the Indiana Jones trilogy is a collection of adventures that date back to the glory days of Hollywood filmmaking.

All three films, each under the direction of Steven Spielberg, and produced by George Lucas, (whose combined film credits account for most of the highest grossing movies ever made,) are masterfully crafted tales of renouned archeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones. This fedora wearing, bull-whip toting college professor by day/treasure hunter by night was brilliantly brought to life by Hollywood legend, Harrison Ford.

Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first in the trilogy of films, introduces us for the first time to Indiana Jones, who is hired by the United States military to locate and recover the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazi's do. Set in the height of the second World War, the story is an out and out adventure and a race against time to uncover the secret hiding place where the Ark was hidden 2000 years before. His adventures will take him to Syberia and Egypt, and place him in peril as he fights his way to the ark and rescues it from the hands of the Nazi's, who believe its powers will give Hitler an undefeatable strength that will lead him to world domination. With a strong supporting cast, incredible special effects, intense action sequences, great music by John Williams, and a strong story, this is arguably the best of the series.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the second film in the series, is a darker, more convulted adventure than the first. This time, Indiana Jones and his entourage, having narrowly escaped a band of powerful crime lords in China, finds themselves in India, after the plane they were travelling in crashes. While there, they discover a small village that has fallen into despair after three magical stones that protected and blessed the Indian community were stolen from them. When a villager returns from his captivity in the "temple of doom" and tells of the horrors that are being performed there, Jones decides to go after the stones to save the village. Of the three films, this is considered by many critics to be the weakest in the series, though avid fans of the movies support it and embrace it.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the third and final installment of the film, finds Jones paired up with his father, Henry Jones (brilliantly portrayed by Sean Connery). Connery, who has had a life long passion to discover the Holy Grail, the cup that caught the blood of Christ at his crucifixtion, is kidnapped, presumably by the infamous Nazi's, who once more are in pursuit of powers that will give Hitler ultimate power. Jones, angered by his father's kidnapping, goes after him, travelling first to Venice, Italy, where he stumbles upon clues that will ultimately re-unite him with his father, and set him on a quest to discover the whereabouts of the Holy Grail. This final film of the trilogy is probably the most fun, with many memorable moments between Sean Connery and Harrison Ford that are very entertaining.

Though this DVD set does not contain many extras, the quality of picture and sound is top notch. The picture has been restored and greatly enhanced, giving the movies the feeling of being brand new, though the newest of the three is more than ten years old already.

Each film is an experience the whole family can enjoy (though some viewer discretion should be advised when viewing Temple of Doom.) This collection is wonderful, and a must have for any Indiana Jones enthusiast.

Scott Kolecki

Complete & Satisfying
George Lucas produced something other than Star Wars? The younger crowd may not be aware of this, but anyone like me growing up in the 70's -80's would. The answer: Absolutely! (We can forget & forgive his mid-80's mistake "Howard the Duck.")

This collaborative effort from Steven Spielberg & George Lucas brought new life into the action genre. It is equally important to remember that the films also propelled Harrison Ford from Star Wars's loveable "scoundrel" to a silver screen staple. Here is my take on the series so far (barring Indiana Jones 4 which is on & off...hopefully off due to Ford's age and the closure in "Last Crusade.")

Raiders of the Lost Ark:
From the intro Paramount logo shifting into a real mountain, to the mishaps in recovering the golden idol from the temple, "Raiders" pretty much set a tone for what was to come -action. What it brought in after the opening sequence is something not often seen in action movies -story. Not just story, mind you, but intelligent story (dispelling the myth that audiences are stupid.) It is an awkward sight to see Jones transformed from the adventurer to the lecturer, until he is told of The Ark of the Covenant -supposedly holding The Ten Commandments and a source of ultimate power -and chases after it. The rest & former are long embedded in film history. The Nazi's are after it as well and Jones has the fight of his life.

Interesting points:
The beautiful Karen Allen (Starman) portrays Marion (who I personally would like to have seen resurface in later films) and the rolling boulder (reminiscent of the asteroid thundering through a starship in 1979's B-movie "The Black Hole.")

Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom:
For me, this was the oddball movie. Jones saves child-slaves from an evil cult. That's about as well as I can sum it up. It fails its predecessor and succumbs to mediocre "sequel fever." I don't expect everyone to share my view, nor do I want you to. All-in-all, it's a high action flick and will pass some time well, even with the miscast future Mrs. Spielberg -Kate Capshaw (Space Camp).

Interesting points:
The chase through the mine is an exciting thrill-ride and the tension of bridge scene afterwards makes up for the lower points of this movie.

Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade:
To place this movie alongside the first would be justice served. Here is the return of the intelligent story and type of action/drama mix that resurged the Jones Saga. It opens with young Indiana Jones (River Phoenix, "The Mosquito Coast") stealing a lost artifact from a band of robbers. Ultimately, he is too young to thwart them; however it reveals the character of Jones from an early age and introduces his father, Henry (Sean Connery). Now, fast forward to the Jones we have come to know and Jones is trying to find his father who went searching for the Holy Grail. The movie is a whirlwind trip through Biblical History and pure adrenaline pumped action. The chemistry between Ford & Connery shines throughout the exotic locations and explosions providing comic relief as much as back-story. I can't say enough about this film, so I will stop here.

Interesting points:
So much is revealed in this movie, from the origin of the name "Indiana," to the deepest parts of each character (something rarely seen in films -character depth.)

DVD Extras:
Fortunate enough to have seen it (and I admit I'm not that much of a fan of these DVD revelations on the making's of the movie because it oftentimes destroys the fantasy of it all) I have to bend and tell you it is worth it. The original trailers are laughable (they weren't at the time the movie came out and I mean that in no disrespectful way) and a trip down Nostalgia Lane. One thing that sets this apart is that the documentary is not boring. Most are in DVD Extra-discs (probably because new movies have no real history -save maybe for The Matrix.)

Final Note:
For the cost, quality (remastered, et al.,) this is one box set that I am happy to comment on and also, one that I believe was done right and released right. (Check out other trilogy box-sets, which I won't name here, and you'll find so many versions and "Director's Cuts" that you'll be baffled at what to buy. This set is complete...plain & simple. Enjoy

Great set.
There have been several one star reviews here claiming a variety of falsehoods about the "Indiana Jones" DVDs, including ridiculous exxagerations and downright falsehoods.

(1 - "Missing Scene") This reviewer claimed that an entire scene was missing from "Raiders of the Lost Ark", that being the scene in which Indy finds out that Miriam was not killed. This is completely false and I can offer no other refutation than to state that I just viewed it with my own eyes. This reviewer also chose to accuse the producers of this DVD of intentionally leaving out the scene so they can sell a "special" edition later.

(2 - "No full screen") One reviewer claimed that the "Indiana Jones" series is not available in full screen. It is, unlesss I am hallucinating the dozens of copies I saw at a local store or the listing for it right here on Amazon.com. Please do some simple research before you write a one star review falsely claiming this.

(3 - "Not enhanced for 16x9") One reviewer claimed that since it is supposed to be enhanced for 16x9 televisions that there should be no black bars on widescreen TVs. Nonsense! The "Jones" movies were filmed in 2.35:1, which means that the film is wider than a film that would completely fill up a 16x9 TV. Therefore, there are black bars on the top of bottom of your widescreen TV.

(4 - "Little extras") This is absurd. A two hour documentary (divided into three parts, one for each movie), four bonus featurettes and 8 trailers is a small amount of extras? Ridiculous. A commentary would have been nice but after watching the documentaries I think they pretty much covered most everything. My only problem is the lack of deleted scenes. People have come to expect so much extras from DVDs but the reality is that most so-called "special features" on DVDs are uninteresting garbage added to beef up its' "resume".

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