The Adventures of Indiana Jones
The inspirations for the Indiana Jones features were the old movie serials, works with simplistic plots and no character development whatsoever. The Jones features were always intended to be fun, lighthearted romps, something twelve-year olds can watch over and over again, and adults can enjoy as well, though perhaps not with quite the same level of repetition. The constant presence of John Williams' music can have a dulling effect on the excitements of each movie, and his comical underscores feel a little heavy handed after a bit, too, but like so many films created by producer George Lucas and director Steven Spielberg, the movies are put together so well and exhibit so much potential that any slight detriment or misstep can seem overly disheartening if one isn't just sitting back and having a good time. The films, which have been released only as a Paramount boxed set, entitled The Adventures of Indiana Jones, and star Harrison Ford, are grand fun They are not perfect, but viewers who become impatient can always scan to the next big moment, and between the three movies, there is a treasure vault of demo-worthy action scenes and other delights. And if enough time passes to clear one's memory palate, the movies are far richer in narrative, character psychology and spiritual reflection than the serials they are emulating.
Each of the three films comes in a separate jacket, along with a fourth platter that contains some retrospective documentaries. The films themselves have no special features. The letterboxing on the Widescreen release (06125, $70) has an aspect ratio of about 2.35:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The box set is also available as a Full Screen edition (056594, $70), but the films aren't nearly as much fun when half the picture is missing. The color transfers are immaculate and the films have been well preserved. The 5.1-channel Dolby Digital sound is generally super, with lots of unique separations and plenty of energy. Once in a while the surround channels do not seem to be quite as strong as they could be, but there's plenty of activity everywhere. There are alternate French and Spanish audio tracks in standard stereo and optional English, French and Spanish subtitles ("Es una pieza histórica. Debería estar en un museo.").
The first film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, or as it has been re-titled for the set, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (the film itself retains the original title), was created in 1981. The opening sequence is a perennial demo segment and the gunfight in the Nepalese tavern has some rousing separations, yet by then, the 115-minute movie is only just getting underway. During the lengthy truck chase and fight, the music seems to dominate the audio mix more than it ought to, but that doesn't diminish its basic thrills.
Spielberg says that the 1984 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is his least favorite of the three, though any movie that has an opening musical number in Mandarin and a scene where people eat monkey brains for dessert can't be all bad. Again, if you analyze the 118-minute movie too closely, its annoying aspects can become magnified, but if you hold it to the same set of standards you would hold a film made forty years previously and in black-and-white, it is too enjoyable to get all that upset over.
Sean Connery was cast as the hero's father in the 1989 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and his interaction with Ford provides a strong bridge between each action sequence. Connery also exhibits a flair for comedy, playing a somewhat befuddled professor unused to his son's proactive methods. The 126-minute film has the best subwoofer activity of the three, and the tank sequence is free of music, at least for a while.
The primary documentary on the fourth platter is a 126-minute piece on all three films, though the segments on each movie can also be accessed individually. It is loaded with marvelous behind-the-scenes footage, and also contains screen tests and other great materials. Spielberg, Lucas and Ford all sit for new interviews, and some of the shortcomings of the films are also broached. The production footage one gets glimpses of in the documentaries seems so engaging that the DVD supplement can feel inadequate for not having included more of it, but what is there is terrific. The platter also contains a 12-minute segment on the music, a 12-minute segment on the special effects, a good 13-minute segment on the sound mix, a good 11-minute segment on the stunts, and six trailers. One final note. In discussing the fallout from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Spielberg claims that he himself called MPAA head Jack Valenti, out of concern, and urged an alteration to the rating system that eventually led to the creation of the 'PG-13' rating. That's great, but if he was really so conscientious about it, how come Temple of Doom is still rated just 'PG?
- November 17, 2003
