Indiana Jones! The Complete Saga Review!
Hello, my friends! Thanks for coming! Today I am going to talk about nostalgic movies! Indiana Jones Trilogy and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Lucas and Spielberg released the first movie, The Lost Ark, in 1981. The adventure took place in 1936. Indiana Jones is hired to find the Ark of the Covenant which, according to the scriptures, would contain The Ten Commandments received by Moses. But as the legend says that who owns it will be invincible, the archaeologist has like adversary in the search for the lost ark the Nazi army, in mission directed by the own Adolf Hitler. The feature was a five-time Oscar-winner, including Special Effects and Art Direction. Considered one of the best films ever made and, to this day, remains one of the highest-grossing. The action is fantastic, great stunt sequences and the wholly unexpected finale that blends religious mythology with gothic horror is incredible.
The sequence came three years later. In Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the story takes place before the first film, as George did not want the Nazis to be the villains once again. This time the archaeologist goes to India, where the population of a village desperately asks him to find a magic stone. He accepts and eventually comes across a secret cult that makes terrible plans, involving child slavery, black magic, and human sacrifice rituals, in the catacombs of an ancient palace. Once again, the feature stayed with the statuette for its visual effects. The escape from a nosediving airplane by rubber dingy is genius action material. The roller coaster chase through the mines and the ultimate rope bridge showdown make up some of the best action set-pieces in any of the films.
In 1989 comes the third film, Indiana Jones, and the Last Crusade. This episode is marked by more than special appearances: Sean Connery as Henry's father and River Phoenix playing Indy when younger. This time he has to follow in the footsteps of his father, who disappears suddenly as he tries to find the Holy Grail. Together, they have to stop the Nazis from reaching the Sacred Chalice. For a change, it took the Oscar for Special Effects and was still the most profitable film of the year. Beautiful locations in Venice, Spain, and the American West to fill the screen with colorful, fascinating images. We see how he acquired his legendary hat, and we learn when he started using a whip.
Indiana Jones Theme
Almost 20 years later, George Lucas, Spielberg and Harrison Ford decided to revive the character. Time also passes in history, but not for the role. He continues to face the same challenges and pitfalls. In Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), Henry is living quietly teaching, until he is drawn once more to an adventure. He races against agents of the Soviet Union to find before the crystal skull, a mysterious artifact discovered in South America. Indy makes a journey through Peru and the Amazonian forest in Brazil. Pre-Columbian civilizations and the mythical city of El Dorado. Wild improbabilities linked by speed and rhythm.
The movies managed to create a formula and add new surprises at the same time. It's impossible not to stick around and watch.
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1/4 Scale Premium Format Mola Ram Figure |
For Indy's second adventure, Lucas and Spielberg decided to slightly alter their recipe. INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, which premiered in 1984. It is a prequel event of The Raiders of the Lost Ark. Also, they undertook a darker and more violent adventure, despite introducing, this time, children in relevant roles (given the controversy created, Spielberg was able to add a new age group into American censorship, the now known “PG-13”). With this resulted in a weaker film of the original trilogy, a fact admitted by Spielberg himself. Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz's screenplay is inferior to that of The Raiders, and the secondary cast cannot compensate for the limitations with which the characters were written. Kate Capshaw suffers the most - comparing her wife Willie Scott to Marion Ravenwood is cowardly. Still, the final third of the movie is an action roller coaster, and John Williams's score, if not as good as the previous movie, is undoubtedly varied and inspired. Pay attention to the themes created for Indy's novel and Willie the Short Round boy, the heroes' journey through the Indian jungle, the unholy temple ceremony and the scene of the mine chase, all memorable. 1984 Oscar winner in the Visual Effects category.
It took Lucas and Spielberg time to make the film that would end the initially planned trilogy, indeed to ensure that the problems of The Temple of doom did not recur. Therefore, INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE premiere only in 1989, maintaining a structure very similar to that of the LOST ARK. The Nazis are again the villains, and the coveted object is once yet a Jewish / Christian artifact (the Sacred chalice). Still, the movie presents its innovations. In the initial sequence, we saw an adventure of Indy as a teenager (played by River Phoenix). Which shows the origin of the character, his snake phobia, the hat, etc. Introduces the relationship between father and son, one of Spielberg's favorite themes. Considered by many to be the best in the series, there's no doubt that The Last Crusade is the most sophisticated. Whose plot is enriched by Indy's (Ford) reunion with his father, Dr. Henry Jones (Sean Connery). Connery's impeccable portrayal of his father, Jones and his perfect interaction with Ford give the film a unique human warmth. A special spice is added by the fact that both father and son knew, in the "biblical" sense, the heroine/villain Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody). It's still a great job - just check out the themes for Indy's relationship with his father, and the one dedicated to the Holy Grail. And they ride into the sun in what could be a poetic and perfect ending to the adventures of the adventurous archaeologist.
But from 2000, Ford, Spielberg, and Lucas began to seriously discuss the possibility of a new adventure, and finally in 2008 INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF CRYSTAL SKULL came to the screen. As you might expect, the age of everyone involved, including even older fans, has taken its toll. To make matters worse, David Koepp's screenplay misses Lawrence Kasdan's hand, and as a result, the film, for the most part, feels like sameness or recycling. This fourth title seeks inspiration from the 1950s science fiction movies B. Where the alien threat is a Cold War metaphor and the Russians instead of the Nazi. But the plot gets lost in silly moments. And as much as we try to figure it out by thinking “ok, it's an Indiana Jones movie and shouldn't be. Taken seriously, ”it is tough to accept, for example, that Russian soldiers and agents, at the height of McCarthyism and anti-Communist paranoia, act so freely on American soil - and always speaking English with that strong accent. That has already become cliché. At least then 66, Harrison Ford achieved the feat of still being an acceptable Indiana Jones. And Shia LaBeouf's James Dean character manages to refresh a little the plot. On balance, among things that look out of place in an Indiana Jones movie (CGI insects, aliens, and flying saucers). This movie is an excellent adventure, but one that disappoints those who witnessed the glorious times of the original trilogy.
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| Indiana Jones The Complete Adventures (Limited Edition Collectors Set) Blu-ray  |
If the DVD release of the original Indiana Jones trilogy was a milestone due to the careful restoration/remastering of the films, the arrival of the Blu-ray series. Now including the latest INDIANA JONES and the KINGDOM OF CRYSTAL SKULL. LOST ARK was the only one of the films that, in addition to new high definition transfer and digital color correction. Also received a new restoration, involving both Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. The original 35mm negatives were scanned at 4K resolution, and the damage digitally removed frame by frame. There is no evidence of DNR (or Edge Enhancement) application, and the original moderate film grain was preserved. Despite being 31 years old, the image has excellent detail, especially impressive in close-ups. The black level is stable, and the color palette is vibrant. Some controversy has arisen here because compared to the DVD, it is noted that the color correction attenuated the original bluish tones. However, the colors are accurate, and the skin tones natural.
Moreover, some shortcomings, such as specific sequences that seem a little softened or out of focus, date back to the lenses employed in the original footage. The composition of ILM's visual effects, particularly in its conclusion, withstands high definition. Of the four films, the first is the one that provides the best visual presentation.
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| Sankara Stone, Translucent Crystal Clear |
For the Blu-ray release, INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM has received a new high definition transfer with digital color correction - without, however, causing a general change of tone as in HUNTERS. Most of the time the colors are vibrant, especially in the scenes set in the forests of India. The original graininess of the film is present even in the dark stages within the temple. Blacks are strong, and visual effects also resist high definition - though in some cases not as well as those of HUNTERS. We have a visual presentation that is not as impressive as the original movie, but when it comes to a catalog title, it comes close to excellence.
Respecting the original visual design, we have the moderate unique film grain and always vibrant colors. Blacks are still active, and skin tones are accurate. The level of detail is high, which helps enhance image cropping in the composition of visual effects in air chase scenes. Also here, because it is a catalog film, its presentation can be considered above average.
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Of the four films, INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF CRYSTAL SKULL received no special treatment, which would be unnecessary as it is a very recent production. For the only title in the series so far available on Blu-ray, the same high-definition transfer from the dual BD apparently launched in 2008 was allegedly used. In the very high-definition digital cameras, like the others, the film was shot at 35mm. But the “modern” color palette, tending to greenish-yellow, was the one that pleased me least of them all. The natural graininess of the film is present, the blacks are reliable, and the colors sharp and stable. The level of detail is very high, and the CGI visual effects have no flaws that can be highlighted.
Using the sound effects initially recorded in stereo, but for the DVD release were mixed in mono. Also, the bass channel has been redone, and the center channel volume has been rectified. The resulting lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 track, compared to modern mixes, obviously cannot be considered reference, but for a movie over thirty it sounds spectacular. And the soundtrack of John Williams has never been heard with such quality.
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| Indiana Jones: Henry Jones ArtFX Statue |
Both INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM as INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, as it turns out, received no audio restoration but only remastering. Either way, it was enough to feature DTS-HD MA 5.1 tracks that match those of LOST ARK. Music, sound effects and dialogue are all exemplarily reproduced, with the surround channels providing high involvement in both calmer and mind-blowing action scenes. The bass is powerful, and the music of John Williams, once again, is beautifully reproduced. If on the 2008 Blu-ray the lossless track was Dolby TrueHD 5.1, here (probably for standardization purposes) it was replaced by the equally impressive DTS-HD MA codec. Compared to other films, we notice the more aggressive bass and superior sound ambiance here. Always clear dialogues are never hampered by effects or music (which again has excellent reproduction).
Indiana Jones 5 will be released somewhere in 2021. Until then Let's enjoy the Saga!
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External Links:
・ Indiana_Jones_(franchise)
・ Indiana Jones - IMDb
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