review: INDIANA JONES: THE ADVENTURE COLLECTION

Paramount  //  Buy from Amazon.com The Raiders Of The Lost Ark: Archeologist and university professor Indiana Jones must retrieve the mythic Lost Ark of the Covenant before the it gets into the hands of Adolf Hitler who plans on using its power to guarantee his global conquest. The Temple Of Doom: Indiana Jones finds himself on a new adventure trekking across Asia with a gold-digging woman and a young child to rescue a village's missing children and find a magic stone. But along the way he must contend with an evil cult. The Last Crusade: Renowned archeologist and expert in the occult Dr. Indiana Jones returns for the 3rd and final Indy film. Teaming up with his father Indiana sets out to try and find the Holy Grail. Once again the Nazis are after the same prize and try to foil Indiana's plans. What's not to love about the Indiana Jones movies? Truly, they're in the upper echelon of famous movie series or trilogies - perhaps only "Star Wars" and maybe the "Toxic Avenger" films rate as popular or as highly rewatchable as the famous adventures of one Mr. Indiana Jones. While the series was previously released onto DVD back in 2003, we get a new (and more affordable) trilogy collector's set here, with what appears to be the same (excellent) transfers, and a whole whack o' new features and featurettes to enjoy... (really, to whet your appetites for "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" opening in just a few days - Indiana Jones IV - whoda thunk it?!) I won't go through and rehash all 3 films, as if you haven't already seen them, then not only are you a sad, sad spectacle of a human being, but you are cordially uninvited to spend time on the mighty DVDschlock.com (scram, get outta here, ya bother me, ya bother me.) What I will tell you is just how much I love the films - while "Last Crusade" was my favorite for the longest time, with a few years on my belt and a few grey hairs in my whiskers, I have gained a far greater appreciation for the first film and now count that one as my favorite. Indy vs. the Nazis, with the Ark of the Covenant at stake... and a dude's face melting... tell me that's not the epitome of bad-ass. Admittedly, I wasn't thinking I was going to venture into the theaters to see Part IV, but after sitting through the trilogy again over a marathon weekend session, my Indiana Jones appetite is yet satiated, so I'll battle the fanboys this weekend to go enjoy the new entry in the series. Score one for Paramount. Video Each film is presented in a gorgeous 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, and each is THX certified (no surprise given George Lucas owns THX.) They all look great, with superb picture quality and rich coloring... the best we're going to get until the Blu-ray versions are released (possibly when Part IV hits home video?) Audio Each film gets a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround mix that is excellent from start to finish. Not only do each look great, but they sound damn good as well. Extras Raiders: intro by Spielberg & Lucas; "Indiana Jones: An Appreciation" featurette; "The Melting Face!" featurette; "The Wells of Souls" storyboards; photo galleries; Indiana Jones LEGO game promo Temple of Doom: intro by Spielberg & Lucas; "Creepy Crawlers" featurette w/ trivia notes; "Travel with Indy: Locations" featurette w/ trivia; "Hold Onto Your Hat!" mine cart chase storyboards; photo galleries; Indiana Jones LEGO game preview Last Crusade: intro by Spielberg & Lucas; "Indy's Women Reminisce" featurette; "Indy's Friends and Enemies" featurette; "The Birth of an Action Hero!" featurette; photo galleries; Indiana Jones LEGO game promo Closing Thoughts Truly epic trilogy + boatloads of (new) extras = excellent, affordable, top-notch collector's set