Movie News
Indiana Jones and the DVD Trilogy Re-Release!
Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on March 3, 2008
In the interest of maintaining a capitalist society, we must accept the fact that sometimes we will make purchases that are frivolous, almost against our will, under the guise that it is for our own good. One continually frivolous purchase for movie geeks is the seemingly unending amount of “Special Editions” and “Collector’s Sets” that are released year in and year out by movie studios, forcing us to own 7 versions of King Kong (Peter Jackson’s version) and at least 3 copies of Michael Bay’s Transformers (okay, maybe that is just me).
These releases are usually scheduled around some sort of release that is closely related to the films in question — every time another Lord of the Rings film hit theaters, we got another 7 hours of bonus features for the previous film — it was as if they went back and shot more special features, just for the sake of selling DVDs.
In this vain, the folks at Paramount Home Video have announced that the original Indiana Jones trilogy is going to be re-released on DVD in new, special feature-laden fashion on May 13, a week before the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on May 22. For losers like me who do not yet own the original trilogy, this is a good thing. For everyone else, it is just another DVD Box Set that they will feel obligated to buy — and for good reason — I mean, it is Indiana Jones.
The brand new Special Editions will include the following:
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark Special Edition DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, French 2.0 Surround and Spanish 2.0 Surround and English, French and Spanish subtitles. The disc includes the following special features:
- Raiders of the Lost Ark: An Introduction by Steven Spielberg & George Lucas
- Indiana Jones: An Appreciation — The cast and crew of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull pay tribute to the original trilogy.
- The Melting Face — A recreation of the amazing physical effect of the villain’s melting face in Raiders of the Lost Ark, including Steven Spielberg and George Lucas commenting on the evolution of visual effects and CGI.
- Storyboard Sequence — The Well of Souls
Galleries:
- Illustrations & Props
- Production Photographs & Portraits
- Effects/ILM
- Marketing
- Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures Game Demo and Trailer
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Special Edition DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, French 2.0 Surround and Spanish 2.0 Surround and English, French and Spanish subtitles. The disc includes the following special features:
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: An Introduction by Steven Spielberg & George Lucas
- Creepy Crawlies - Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Frank Marshall reminisce about snakes, bugs and rats.
- Locations — Travel across the world to discover where the films take place and where they were shot.
- Storyboard Sequence — The Mine Cart Chase
Galleries:
- Illustrations & Props
- Production Photographs & Portraits
- Effects/ILM
- Marketing
- Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures Game Demo and Trailer
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Special Edition DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, French 2.0 Surround and Spanish 2.0 Surround and English, French and Spanish subtitles. The disc includes the following special features:
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: An Introduction by Steven Spielberg & George Lucas
- The Women: The American Film Institute Tribute — The three Indiana Jones women (Karen Allen, Kate Capshaw and Alison Doody) reunite for a discussion.
- Friends and Enemies — Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Indiana Jones writers discuss how they created the most iconic characters in film history, including a look at new faces in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
- Storyboard Sequence — The Opening Sequence
Galleries:
- Illustrations & Props
- Production Photographs & Portraits
- Effects/ILM
- Marketing
- Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures Game Demo and Trailer
So as you can see, it is a pretty full boat for bonus features — and right in time for you to get all caught up on your Indiana Jones lore right before the release of the fourth installment. How thoughtful of them… Now if only they would release this set on Blu-ray — that would be something.
Sound Off: What do you think? Are you ready to buy another Indiana Jones box set?
Read more articles by Neil Miller
4 Comments
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:25 pm
“What do you think? Are you ready to buy another Indiana Jones box set?”
No. I already have a set, I don’t bloody well need another one.
God, I *hate* this double-dipping DVD shit.
Vic
March 4th, 2008 at 3:25 am
Whatever. Hollywood needs to make some new movies for me to buy rather than wasting money.
March 5th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Well, I own the original trilogy on DVD and VHS and you know what? I am still buying that new dvd release of Indiana Jones….let me explain why all of us (who own the trilogy on dvd) should still buy it…NEW BONUS FEATURES and I saw the new box art and it is Kick-A! So trade in your original dvds but KEEP YOUR BONUS DISC (it was a 4 disc set)…and purchase the new dvds….you will then have a COMPLETE Indiana Jones experience….and that’s what life is all about.
I cant wait for May 22 to come…
May 20th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
To be honest, I don’t care about special features. The only big difference I see between this set and the previous release is that the new release is 16:9, where the old was cinematic widescreen (2.40:1 or something close to it).
I won’t be buying this new release. However, I will buy them again if they come out on Blu-ray.