One of the best trilogies of all time...

I've been a fan of the Indiana Jones films for as long as I can remember! I remember seeing The Last Crusade in the theaters and being wowed. I've lived through the first releases of all three, but I don't think I saw the first two in the theaters. But I've viewed all three various times on TV and video!

And now, finally, the DVD collection has arrived!

Raiders of the Lost Ark was an amazing film. The idea of finding the ark of the covenant was brilliant. In my opinion, the story was perfect.

The Temple of Doom wasn't as good, but I've always liked it. It's just Capshaw's character got too annoying and girly.

The Last Crusade was excellent. It's either as good or right below "Raiders." I'm not sure where they got the idea that the cup of Christ would give eternal life, since it's not in the bible. But it was a cool idea, and made for a great film.

The DVD extras are pretty cool. We get a behind the scenes look at each of the films. They're pretty long too, which is great. I can't remember everything that's on the disc, but I remember that I enjoyed what I watched.

Great movies, great DVDs.

The Man With The Hat Is Back

What do you get when the creator of Star Wars, and the man behind Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, decide to make a series of films together? One of the most inventive and entertaining action adventure trilogies of all time. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg fashioned the The Adventures Of Indiana Jones like the movie serials from the 30's and 40's.The action comes fast and furious, as a globe trotting archeologist Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), goes in search of "fortune and glory", getting in and out of trouble along the way.

The 4 DVD box set features all three films, directed by Spielberg, and a disc's worth of bonus material. Each movie has been digitally remasterd with improved picture and 5.1 sound. Here is how the set breaks down:

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK-Indy is lured by the U.S. Government to find the lost ark of the covenant. Hitler and his Nazi followers want the ark too and plan to use its power to help them rule the world. As he tries to stay one step ahead of them, he comes face to face with a rival named Belloq (Paul Freeman), who is aiding the enemy. His travels also reunite Indy with a lover out of the past. Spunky Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) holds important clues on how to find the ark.

THE TEMPLE OF DOOM-The film helped coin the word "prequel" and eventually led to the MPAA coming up with the PG-13 rating. After escaping some trouble in Shanghi, Indy, his pint sized pal Short Round (Jonathan Ke Quan), and whiney nightclub singer Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) find themselves put in peril by a cult. The leader, Mola Ram (Amrish Puri), has enslaved children to help him find ancient and poweful artifacts.

THE LAST CRUSADE-In an exciting and clever prologue, viewers get to see a young Indy (River Phoenix), in an early adventure. When the action picks up with Indy as an adult, he learns that while searching for the holy grail, his father Henry Jones (Sean Connery) has been kidnapped by Nazis ("I hate those guys") and their cohorts. With pals Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliot) and Sallah (John Ryhs-Davies) in tow, Indy must rescue dad and once again stop Hitler's evil plans. This time around, enemies and allies, are not as easy to spot.

THE BONUS MATERIAL DISC-despite the fact that none of the features have an audio commentary track, A new, 126 minute feature-length documentary of the making of the trilogy is the next best thing. Produced by long time Spielberg and Hitchcock documentarian Laurent Bouzereau, is an in depth look at how the films came about. All of the principals are here-even Connery sat down for an interview!!--I was amazed at how much behind the scenes footage there is. The disc also includes 4 additional featurettes from the Lucasfilm Archives Each one examines key ingredients of the trilogy's successful recipe The Stunts of Indiana Jones, The Sound of Indiana Jones, The Music of Indiana Jones composed by John Williams, and The Light and Magic of Indiana Jones (special effects) do the trick and are good to have for posterity. The original theatical trailers and each disc has a DVD-ROM weblink with a neat looking interface, that takes you to exclusive online content.

Is the set perfect? No. I still would have liked to hear a commentary and/or isolated music track for each film, had a few deleted scenes to look at, and maybe a storyboard or two to study. Still you can't help but be a bit giddy over the box set. The films are put together quite well and save TEMPLE's Willie Scott, who is downright annoying at times, they rarely misfire. Ford is super as our hero. And teaming him with Connery for CRUSADE was a stroke of genius. RAIDERS paved the way though, it's the one that started it all, and will always be my favorite flm from the trilogy. The almost 5 star set is a must and was worth the wait. **** and a half stars.

Finally! Harrison Ford is an Icon.

These films represent Hollywood at its old-fashioned best! Harrison Ford's portrayal of Indy re-defines the hero. Finally they are given the DVD attention they deserve. Great movies presented in a great collection! Don't miss out...