Indiana Jones: The Adventure Collection | Jacquie Kubin saw, Christian Toto saw | ENTERTAINMENT
Indiana Jones: The Adventure Collection
May/12/08 11:02 PM Filed in: Jacquie Kubin
saw | Christian Toto
saw
Face it, we know that, if not this Christmas, surely by next, they will release a Blu-ray box set of all four films, fully remastered and filled to the brim with lots of pretty eye candy and extras galore!
That being said, the movies are fun to watch and give viewers a healthy dose of Dr. Henry Jones Jr. and his archeological exploits.
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A film with a well defined hero, evil defined bad guys and a pretty girl will always stand the test of time, and "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981) does just that. But is it an action flick or a chick flick?
With the release of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” in sight, it was with great anticipation that I removed the cellophane from the Indiana Jones: Adventure Collection DVD Box set containing the first three films. My memory was not dim on favorite scenes from the first movie.
Karen Allen, as Marion Ravenwood, the daughter of Dr. Jone’s mentor, Abner Ravenwood is perfectly paired with Harrison Ford. The lovely Marion, whom seems very young now, previously fell under Indy’s devil-may-care smile and roguish spell, leaving her heart broken.
So with broken heart well soaked in alcohol, we first meet Marion in her Nepalese Bar where she is at the end of a drinking contest with a behemoth at least three times her petite size. You can almost taste the whiskey she so deftly wipes from her chin.
And from here I was captivated, being a whiskey-drinking woman myself.
Watching the film again, I was struck by things I might not have noticed before. Marion’s look upon seeing Indiana’s unmistakable, and larger than life, shadow on the wall, tells us instantly how she feels about his return.
The fact that he is returning to her in the snow-locked, desolate Himalayan Mountains just adds to immediate sense that, beneath it all, Indy is a bit of a jerk.
From the Himalayas to the Sahara Desert, Indiana and the former Nepalese Bar owner (the bar of course is destroyed by the Nazi bad guys who are following Indy to find what he has gone to Marion for) travel in search of the Lost Ark of the Covenant.
The action picks up in an ancient Egyptian city’s Tomb of Lost Souls as Indy and Marion battle Nazis, Arab henchmen and rugged terrain doing what they do so well – harrowing chases, heart wrenching captures and narrow escapes.
— Jacquie Kubin
In “Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom” or is it "am I Doomed to Watch it Again?,” Kate Capshaw as Willie Scott screams a lot. Jonathan Ke Quan as Short Round annoys a lot. Harrison Ford as Indy winces a lot.
There is more to The Temple of Doom and if asked why it is the least loved of the three films, I couldn’t say. There are some excellent action scenes, such as the perilous mine care ride. Short Round delivers some pretty good lines in Chinese Pidgin English, one of the most memorable being “you listen to me more, you live longer!”
And Capshaw is pretty. She did become Mrs. Spielberg.
It may be that the movie just has too much formula to be unique. It has the prissy blonde (Capshaw) because strong heroines are not as much fun; It has the “kids in danger” story line to show that Indy has a heart after all and then it has the action.
But really, Monkey Brains and a coma inducing jewel, even with a very young hunky Harrison Ford flying about the screen in various states of shirtlessness just don’t make up for a film that seems to have been made to carry on the franchise, not create the next great adventure film.
Hopefully we can expect great things from "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." I would hate to think Indy has an even number film curse – of course that could lead to “Indiana Jones and The Odd Curse of the Even Number” in which Indiana finds himself rendered unable to crack his whip on days that are divisible by two.
— Jacquie Kubin
The third of the series, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" bore the signs of a tiring franchise - stunt casting, sillier gags and less goose bump-raising action than the first two installments.
Yet the film quickly endeared itself with Indy fans based primarily on Sean Connery's presence as the elder Jones. Viewing "The Last Crusade" with fresh eyes reveals a still potent actioner, but one that showed Indy could use a break. Who knew that break would last nearly two decades?
"The Last Crusade" follows Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford, still his era's premier action hero) trying to beat the Nazis to the Holy Grail. We get the usual assortment of chase sequences, a new, impotent love interest (Allison Doody) and the first series appearance by Dr. Henry Jones (Connery).
The opening sequence featuring River Phoenix as the young archaeologist shoehorns in every Indy legend too neatly. Oh, that's why he hates snakes, uses a whip, wears that hat, etc. It's one thing to tip your hat to a cinematic legend. It's another to gush.
Director Steven Spielberg's Midas touch showed a sampling of copper here. Some "Crusade" punch lines would have fit nicely on a mid-80s sitcom.
Even the dialogue creaks like an artifact for which Indy would risk life and limb. No one, not even Ford, can breathe life into lines like "Nazis, I hate those guys."
But when we get scenes like Indy taking on a German tank all by himself, those concerns blissfully melt away.
The wonder of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was that it took those old-school cliffhangers and re-imagined them with the best modern moviemaking tools.
"The Last Crusade" hearkens back to the franchise's inspiration in ways both inspired and exasperating.
— Christian Toto
The Goods: Each of the three discs includes Spielberg and Lucas looking back at each of the movies with part a bit of nostalgia and hindsight. They acknowledge that “Temple of Doom” wasn’t so hot and that they almost didn’t give Indy the whip and fedora.
The Mandatory Extras: From "Raiders of The Lost Ark," the Melting Face featurette that reproduces the famous Nazi Melting Face from the climatic final scenes of the movie is great fun.
"Storyboards: The Well of Souls" provides watchers with a storyboard-to-film comparison of the movies final dramatic scene. It is interesting to note that the staging in the storyboards does not mirror the final film.
"Galleries," another DVD feature, is split into four sections: "Illustrations & Props" (110 stills), "Production Photographs & Portraits" (190 stills), "Effects/ILM" (94 stills), and "Marketing" (46 stills). There are plenty of fun and informative images to see however the interface is a little bulky requiring the viewer to toggle through each photo.
"Last Crusade" gives us "Indy's Women Reminisce: An AFI Tribute" that brings Karen Allen, Kate Capshaw, and Alison Doody together to discuss their roles and reminisce about their part in the trilogy. A bit of occasion archival footage helps keep this interesting. The three women continued the discussion in the "Friends and Enemies" segment, joined by Spielberg, Lucas and the movie’s screenwriters.
Above and beyond: What no Blu-ray release? I know Paramount took a hit with the whole HD-DVD debacle but Spielberg was obviously aboard the high-def band wagon when he managed to release “Close Encounters” in Blu-ray. Let's get with the high-tech program folks!
