Product Description
-------------------
Raiders Of The Lost Ark ( B/set Disc 1)-Archeologist-adventurer
Indiana Jones masterfully vanquishes all manner of foe while in
search for the Ark of the Covenant in this a ction packed
adventure. Nom; Indy & Temple Of Doom ( Boxset Disc 2)-In this
box office smash, Indiana Jones must rescue some missing children
kipped by religious terrorists in the Orient who happen to
possess some stolen, sac; Indy & The Last Crusade (B/set Disc
3)-After settling down to a quieter life, Indy is thrust back
into action when his her mysteriously disappears while on a
quest for the Holy Grail.
.co.uk Review
-------------
As with George Lucas's other movie franchise, there's a vein of
mysticism running through the Indiana Jones Trilogy. Watching all
three back-to-back it's possible to unravel the chronology and
chart the spiritual journey of our hero: the idealistic Young
Indy ("It belongs in a museum", implores River Phoenix in the
opening escapade of The Last Crusade) grows up to become a
cynical fortune-hunter seen trading archaeological treasures with
Chinese gangsters at club "Obi-Wan" in The Temple of Doom. From
there we follow his path to redemption via three mystical
religious objects: respectively Hindu (the Shankara stones in
Temple of Doom), Jewish (the Ark of the Covenant in Raiders), and
Christian (the Holy Grail itself in Last Crusade).
But that's just the subtext. Along the way, this knight-errant
archaeologist undertakes improbable adventures (featuring
spiders, snakes, rats, insects and Nazis galore), rescues damsels
in distress (even when they really don't want to be rescued, such
as Kate Capshaw in Temple of Doom), and still finds time to bond
with his dad (Sean Connery, in one of cinema's great cameo roles
as Dr Jones Sr.)
Steven Spielberg revels in Lucas's recreation of 1930s
cliff-hanger serials, infusing every scene with kinetic energy
and infectious enthusiasm and creating any number of iconic
sequences that have become touchstones of cinematic history.
Director and producer are more than ably assisted by regular
composer John Williams ( /exec/obidos/tg/feature/-/59460/${0} ),
whose swashbuckling Korngold ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005UW3Z/${0}
)-inspired "Raiders" theme casts Harrison Ford as a modern-day
Errol Flynn. Although a fourth movie is promised, this trilogy
plays like a self-contained whole that leaves nothing wanting:
from the witty dialogue and breathtaking action choreography to
the near-perfect casting, this is popular movie-making at its
very peak.
On the DVD: The Indiana Jones Trilogy four-disc box set, as has
been widely noted, contains the slightly edited version of The
Temple of Doom--1 min 6 seconds of cuts according to the
BBFC--though this is exactly the same version that was originally
shown in UK cinemas and released on video (missing is a bit of
extra blood and gore during the heart-ripping scene). By way of
compensation, the digitally remastered anamorphic 2.35:1 picture
and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound for all three movies are joyfully
impressive, the screen crammed full of colour and rich detail
accompanied by one of Hollywood's most glorious soundtracks. The
fourth bonus disc contains about three hours of additional
material, most of which can be found in the new 127-minute
documentary that takes the viewer chronologically through the
making of the series and includes plenty of interviews and
fascinating nuggets of background information. There are also
independent featurettes "From the Lucasfilm Archives" on John
Williams's music, the sound design, stuntwork and the special
effects. There are subtitles in various European languages.
--Mark Walker