Movie Review: Indiana Jones - The Original Trilogy DVD

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Lots of fun action

Cons: Temple of Doom almost misses the mark.

The Bottom Line:

Three wonderful films

That will keep you glued to screen

Full of great action

Find Out Why Indiana Jones Means Adventure

NOTE: Yes, this is a review of the DVD set that predates the last movie.  While I have the new Blu-Ray set, I haven't watched it yet.  A review of that might come…eventually.  For now, here's my take on the last series release.

Time is not always good to movies. Some popular movies of days gone by don't interest today's audiences. That's not the case with the Indiana Jones trilogy. These movies are just as popular now as they were when they were first released in the 1980's. And it's easy to see why. They have lots of action and humor with a hero every man dreams he could be and every woman dreams of finding. For years, this set has been the only way to buy the movies on DVD. Not that that's a bad thing by any means.

The trilogy opens with Raiders of the Lost Ark. In it, we meet archeology professor and part time treasure hunter Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford). Indy has just returned from one trip when a new clue sends him off again on the trail of the lost Jewish Ark of the Covenant. Unfortunately, the Nazis are also on the trail, and it becomes a race around to world to see who will get it first.

This film is so much fun from start to finish. There are too many dangerous situations to keep track. Yet the story holds together well. The action really is larger then life, but Harrison Ford and the rest of the cast keep it believable by making their characters seem real. In fact, it is all too easy to get sucked into the movie and believe every second of it.

Things take a bit of a down turn with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. This film is set a couple years before the first and finds Indiana stranded in India after an attempt to sell his latest find goes south. The remote village Indy stumbles upon agrees to help him if he will return their sacred stone. It was stolen by raiders and taken to a nearby temple. But what Indy finds there may be too much for him to handle.

In my mind, this is the weakest entry in the series. While it does have plenty of great action and some genuine laughs, it is much darker then the other two. In fact, there are some truly disturbing scenes in the temple. The action does save the film in the end. Still, I certainly wouldn't recommend this one for kids.

The final movie in this set is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This time around, Indiana is trying to find his father (Sean Connery) who vanished while tracking down the Holy Grail. Once again, the Nazis are hot on their tail trying to use the famous cup for their evil purposes. Who will find it first?

This movie is, in many ways, a return to the fun of the first film. Sean Connery makes a strong addition to the cast, and he and Harrison Ford have some truly funny scenes together. This one does tend to drag a bit in the second half as we get one chase too many. But that's a minor point. The series really did end with a bang.

The series was designed to pay homage to the old movie serials, and it does a good job. As I mentioned earlier, the action really is over the top. Yet the movie plays it straight enough that you ignore that fact and get pulled along for the ride. All three films are set in the 1930's, and they do a good job of maintaining the era. And the actors are all top notch. Some people pick on this or that actor, but I felt they all did a great job of bringing their characters to life. The special effects, while not up to today's standards, still hold their own. Most of the time, you believe everything on the screen. And all these elements are held together with a good dose of fun and several great laughs.

Keep in mind that this series does contain some gruesome images and plenty of creepy crawlies like bugs and snakes. It may be too much for some kids, so use your best judgement.

The series came to DVD in 2003, and the only way to get them was to buy the entire set. I got the widescreen set (it was also available in full frame), and the picture on all the movies was sharp. The sound was excellent as well. The first three discs of the set are the movies themselves. Each movie gets its own disc. But the movie discs have no bonus features.

All the bonus features are reserved for the final disc. The center piece of this disc is a new two hour documentary on the making of the trilogy. You can skip straight to a specific movie or watch all of it at once. It truly is fascinating. We get interviews with all the major actors and crew members, including producer George Lucas and director Steven Spielberg. I was a little disappointed at how little Harrison Ford contributed to it, but he does throw his two cents in occasionally. The feature combines clips from the films with footage shots on the set and the interviews to really give you a feel for how these films came to be. Additionally, we get four featurettes. These 10 to 15 minutes clips talk about the music, special effects, sound effects, and stunts for the series. Since they each say a little something about the entire series, they aren't too in depth. Yet there are some nuggets in each of them.

Well over twenty years later, the Indiana Jones trilogy still hold up with their action and charm.