Let’s get this out of the way right at the start – this is not actually The Complete Adventures. For that to happen, we would need to include the television series “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” – this box set would be better off being named Indiana Jones: The Complete Film Adventures. It’s a small, but important, distinction.
I don’t want to waste your time with reviewing each of the four films. They can be found here and here. My opinions on each film have not changed over the last few years. Rewatching them all again only reinforced the opinions I already have. These are fun and entertaining stories, a throwback to the Saturday matinee.
Whatever your opinion is of the movies, if they are favorable, you’re wondering whether or not to upgrade to this Blu-ray box set. My knee-jerk initial reaction is to go ahead and do do. First off, the original film gets a complete restoration. I’ve never seen it look so good. It’s a shame, in a way, the other two earlier films couldn’t get the same treatment, but they aren’t the “all-time classic” that first film is, and as a result get less attention.
Having all four films in one convenient package is great, but something went wrong. Not all of the special features made the trip to high definition. Most people won’t notice or care, but there are some of us who wind up having two copies of a film for this reason, and while it is worth upgrading to Blu-ray, this set doesn’t completely replace the earlier releases.
Much of the earlier special features, at least those associated with the original trilogy, are presented in standard definition. This just doesn’t make sense. It’s almost as if Paramount and Lucasfilm are daring you to buy this and then buy it again in 5 years (or 9 for the original film’s 40th anniversary) in a deluxe package that will actually include everything, and as it should be. It was jarring watching these special features going back and forth between standard and high definition. This was on top of the disappointment of not having everything included.
Missing? From the first three films, cut are the introductory segments with Lucas and Spielberg, storyboard sequences, image galleries, and more. These aren’t insignificant exclusions. On the fourth film there was a great “timeline” feature which was actually very worthwhile, and would have been a great inclusion for all four films. Sadly, it’s just gone, as are several featurettes and image galleries.
To add insult to injury, the fourth film included a solid production diary – and while it is presented here again, it is edited down in length. Why?
But, we do get a couple of great treasures added in. An hour long vintage marketing documentary that is fun to watch (really). It’s a wonder this wasn’t included in a previous DVD. Then there is the new documentary which again runs an hour that looks at the making of Raiders Of The Lost Ark. In two parts (naturally a half hour each) these have behind the scenes footage, deleted scenes, outtakes, and more. I wish there were more of these for each of the other films.
Indiana Jones is an iconic film character, and taken for what they are, the films are flawed but enjoyable, especially in light of the sheer perfection of the first. It’s just a shame we won’t be getting a complete package anytime soon.