Indiana Jones: 4-Movie Collection is a great and near-perfect set that includes excellent video and audio transfers now in 4K and Atmos tracks for each film.
Indiana Jones: 4-Movie Collection
(1981-2008)
Genre(s): Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
Paramount | NR – 483 min. – $99.95 | June 8, 2021
Date Published: 06/10/2021 | Author: The Movieman
|
|
|||||||||||
Paramount provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 4/5 |
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) — Archeologist Indiana Jones (HARRISON FORD) and his feisty ex-flame Marion Ravenwood (KAREN ALLEN) dodge booby-traps, fight Nazis and stare down snakes in their incredible worldwide quest for the mystical Ark of the Covenant. 4½/5
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1983) — Indiana, his sidekick Short Round (KE HUY QUAN), and nightclub singer Willie Scott (KATE CAPSHAW) go from high-flying action above the Himalayas to a nail-biting runaway mine car chase and finally a spine-tingling escape from a fortress-like mine in India. 3½/5
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) — Indiana’s Nazi enemies are back and have kidnapped his father, Professor Henry Jones Sr. (SEAN CONNERY), to get help in their search for the Holy Grail. Following a trail from America to Venice to the deserts of the Middle East, it’s up to Indy to save his father, save the Grail and save the day. 4½/5
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) — The latest outing finds Indy trying to outrace a brilliant and beautiful agent (CATE BLANCHETT) for the mystical, all-powerful crystal skull of Akator. Teaming up with a rebellious young biker (SHIA LABEOUF) and his spirited original love Marion (KAREN ALLEN), Indy takes you on an action-packed adventure. 3/5 Quick Hit Review: I’ve seen the first three Indiana Jones films several times over the years and very likely watched The Last Crusade in theaters back in 1989. These films are filled with a mixture of action, adventure and comedy with a fun cast headlined by Harrison Ford, born for the part (cannot imagine Tom Selleck in the part, but his commitment to Magnum P.I. didn’t allow him to take the role). Even Temple of Doom, which was clearly darker in tone compared to Raiders before it and Crusade after it, was plenty of fun if not a tad disturbing in the end. Now, what some might consider the black sheep of the franchise with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull had a fun idea behind it and was in keeping with the previous installments set in the 1950s with the Russian scare and UFOs/aliens, however the script itself had much to be desired like Shia LaBeouf’s Mutt character, a few too many nostalgia scenes (mostly dealing with the return of Karen Allen as Marion) and some rather silly sequences that, even for this series, was laughably bad (Mutt swinging with monkeys in the trees immediately comes to mind, not to mention the whole ‘nuke the fridge’ scenes as well). In the end, what Steven Spielberg and George Lucas put together was pretty fantastic. These are a call back to the pulp entertainment from their youths and although a couple of the entries aren’t flawless, they still hold up so well and have garnered support across the generations. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 4½/5 |
|
This 5-disc set comes housed in a digipak which side-slides into a slip case. Each film is contained on its own disc and come with the film’s Theatrical Trailers. BONUS DISC: Under Making the Films are 5 featurettes:
Each of these has some interesting behind-the-scenes footage intermixed with cast/crew interviews. Nice thing is, none of them are mere filler. The Behind the Scenes section contains 12 featurettes:
While a bit shorter, they still expand more on the four movies with updated interviews. The featurettes marked with an asterisk (*) have optional pop-up trivia tracks. |
VIDEO – 5/5 |
| Paramount releases all four Indiana Jones films onto 4K Ultra HD presented in the original 2.35 widescreen aspect ratios and each getting new 2160p high-definition transfers. From what I recall the original Blu-rays released in 2012 already looks pretty good, however this one takes it to the next level. Examining each film, the picture on each was downright stunning. Detail was incredibly sharp and very nicely defined with the natural film grain and noise is still there giving it very much a theatrical-like experience. Colors meanwhile appear nicely balanced and completely rich and black levels stark without seeming crushed, as evidenced by Indiana Jones’s introduction in Raiders with the great shadows showing up so properly. |
AUDIO – 5/5 |
| Every movie has received a new Dolby Atmos track (previous Blu-rays were DTS-HD MA 5.1). Just like the video, these Atmos tracks sounded absolutely fantastic, well rounded and with incredible depth. Dialogue comes through with fine clarity but where this comes to life is through the front and rear channels, showcasing John Williams’s amazing and iconic score alongside the action-packed sequences that pours out of every speaker with excellent clarity. |
OVERALL – 4½/5 |
|
Indiana Jones: 4-Movie Collection is a great and near-perfect set that includes excellent video and audio transfers now in 4K and Atmos tracks for each film. On the slight downside, not all of the features from the individual release of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (still). |