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- DVD: Indiana Jones the Adventure Collection
- Rating: PG-13
- Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Denholm Elliott, John Rhys-Davies, Sean Connery
- Written By: George Lucas, Lawrence Kasdan, Willar Huyck
- Directed By: Steven Spielberg
- Distributor: Paramount Home Entertainment
- Original Years of Release: 1981, 1984 & 1989
- Extras: 12 Bonus Features
DVD Review of Indiana Jones the Adventure Collection
Tim's thoughts on the new Indy Adventure Collection. By
Tim Janson
May 19, 2008
Indy (Harrison Ford) and Henry Sr.(Sean Connery) star in INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE.
© Paramount
To coincide with the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Paramount has release the three original Indiana Jones film in a new, boxed set with a host of new features. You can hear fans grumbling about Paramount and George Lucas just trying to capitalize on the new film. Well Duh! Of course they are! As the old saying goes you have to strike when the iron is hot and right now the Indiana Jones iron is red hot and Paramount wants to make every last buck off the series. It’s called capitalism, if you don’t like it move to Cuba! No one is forcing fans to buy the new set. If you have the original four DVD set that came out in 2003 then you should not feel compelled to buy the new set. Yes, the new set does have numerous brand new features and the films are in true widescreen, enhanced for 16:9 TVs. But don’t blame Paramount if you’re a completist and can’t live without the new 90 minutes of extras.
Everyone has seen the Indiana Jones films, or at least you should have. It should be a prerequisite for visiting Mania! So instead of reviewing the actual films, and everyone has their favorite, we will instead take a look at the new bonus features that are on each of the three discs.
Disc 1 Raiders of the Lost Ark

Indy (Harrison Ford) confronts a competitor in INDIANA JONES AND THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
© Paramount Home Entertainment
Raiders of the Lost Ark: An Introduction. 7:45. This feature includes archival footage and present-day comments from Lucas and Spielberg about the genesis of the series. Lucas at first did not want Harrison Ford to play Indy as he felt it would detract from his role as Han Solo in the Star Wars films.
Indiana Jones: An Appreciation. 11:40. Cast and crewmembers from all four films reminisce about the series and relate their favorite scenes and lines.
The Melting Face. 8:48. Special Effects artist Chris Walas talks about how Toht’s melting face sequence was designed in Raiders of the Lost art and even recreates the process so fans can see, step-by-step, how he effect was created.
Storyboard sequence: Well of Souls. 4:17. Storyboards are shown along side the actual film for this sequence. Each disc has a different storyboard sequence, one from each film.
Disc 2 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Temple of Doom: An Introduction. 7:45. In this featurette, Lucas and Spielberg comment on the second, and least financially successful film of the series. Lucas purposefully made the film darker than the others, just as The Empire Strikes Back was darker in tone than the other Star Wars films.
Creepy Crawlies. 12:00. One of the best featurettes in the set. This one looks at each of the films and their squirmy pests: the snakes in “Raiders”, the bugs in “Temple”, and the rats in “Crusade” and examines the various problems encountered while working with the critters. The biggest problem was that each day many of them would end up escaping into God knows where!
Travel With Indy: Locations. 10:30. Another excellent featurette. Explores the actual locations used, often substituting for the real life locations in order to keep the films under budget. The canyon in Raiders where Indy threatens to blow up the Ark is the same canyon used in Star Wars during the Jawa sequence.
Storyboards: The Mine Cart Chase. 2:30.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Indy (Harrison Ford) is amazed at his father in INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE.
© Paramount Home Entertainment
Last Crusade: An Introduction. 6:11 Lucas and Spielberg talk about casing Sean Connery as Henry Jones, Sr. Spielberg was actually opposed as he felt fans would identify with him too much as James Bond.
Indy’s Women. 9:20 Karen Allen, Kate Capshaw, and Alison Doody reunited with the American Film Institute’s Joan Firstenberg for a discussion about each of their roles. To her benefit, Capshaw admits she knows her character was unpopular and scene as annoying by fans. Doody basically whines because her character had to play second fiddle to Connery’s character.
Indy’s Friends and Enemies. 10:47. The last featurette is a look at Indy’s various allies and enemies throughout the series.
Storyboard sequence: The Opening 3:40.
Each disc also includes photo galleries and demo of the Lego Indiana Jones game.
Bottom line? With the 2003 boxed set and this one, we still probably don’t get as many extras as this popular series deserves. No additional scenes, no commentary tracks. If you don’t own either and you have a widescreen TV, the new set is definitely the way to go. Great entertainment no matter what!