ROTTEN TOMATOES: Indiana Jones and the Special Edition DVDs

Indiana Jones and the Special Edition DVDs

Surprise!

by Jeff Giles | March 04, 2008

If you were one of the many Indiana Jones fans who purchased the four-DVD Adventures Of box when it was released in 2003, prepare to wish you hadn't.

In a move surprising exactly no one, Lucasfilm has announced plans to release an all-new Indiana Jones box on May 13, containing Special Edition versions of the first three Indy films. Lucasfilm veep Howard Roffman is very excited:

"An entire generation of movie lovers will get to see these classic films in a digital format that makes them even more amazing than when they were first in theaters. These new, individual DVDs are a fantastic way to introduce young audiences to the unforgettable, action-packed adventures of the most daring archaeologist in the world."

All of the movies will be presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs, with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, as well as a boatload of special features. Which special features, you ask? Read on:

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark:
"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:
"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:
"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

The fourth Indy film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, hits theaters on May 22. Great timing, huh?

Related Items

Movie:	Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
	Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
	Raiders of the Lost Ark
	Indiana Jones - The Adventure Collection

(1-20 of 64 posts) | Reply

Gimy writes:
on Mar 04 2008 05:50 AM

reason #2,404 why i dislike Lucas. he's like a bad comedian, he takes his best material and milks it to death where you almost go..."urgh, i'm starting to hate this". i know alot of people do this but jesus christ...just come up with one frikkin thing. I love LOTR but even they Lucas'd the crap out of that series, how many different boxed sets/single dvd's/extended edition/ultimate edition/frodo mini-disc edition collections did they put out for that? i just laugh at all these marketing ideas Lucas and co seem to have though. seriously, is he REALLY not rich enough? or god help us...is he so delusional that he ACTUALLY wants to have enough money to build a Death Star?

(Reply to this)

Vortex&Vertigo writes:
on Mar 04 2008 06:07 AM

A replica of the death star... where we can tour around ...priceless.

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SuperJerkmo writes:
on Mar 04 2008 06:19 AM

This doesn't bother me. In no way does it make me want to "re-buy" the DVD's again. The only things close to interesting would be the Indy 4 extras, which I could wait for.....oh say until the Indy 4 DVD/Blu-Ray comes out.

(Reply to this)

chaoss3 writes:
on Mar 04 2008 06:22 AM

ARE these Blu-Ray? It doesn't say that they are, so I'm assuming they're not? In which case...you've gotta be kidding me!

(Reply to this)

Weicher writes:
on Mar 04 2008 06:26 AM

Actually, I think that the extras on the original dvd set were much more interesting... that 3 hours documentary... priceless.

TOM SELLECH AND SEAN YOUNG!!!

(Reply to this)

Elixor writes:
on Mar 04 2008 06:30 AM

As long as people buy the stuff so fervently, they'll continue to re-release special edition DVDs of everything that sells. I can't blame Lucas, LucasFilm, or any of the other studios for this. It's not so different from fast food places slapping another patty of beef or another slice of bacon to create a new burger that they market the crap out of.

I'll wait until the next movie comes to DVD and they release a four DVD box set.

(Reply to this)

OperaGhost21 writes:
on Mar 04 2008 06:44 AM

Once they release these movies in Blu-Ray, then I'll be interested.

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xenogears writes:
on Mar 04 2008 06:45 AM

In reply to this comment (#1615611)
True, I'm absolutely with you on the milking it (I like Lucas though) even though LOTR did it more than he did because they came out with damn near 5 different editions of the same damn movie within a year of each movies release. But I can't blame him for doing this because everyone does it. Die hard, Rambo, Rush Hour, Spiderman, Preditor, Alien(just to name a few), all re-released there movies when the new ones hit theaters. And you can bet money that Transporter will do the same when this third one comes out. It's pretty much S.O.P. for franchise movies to do so now.

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xenogears writes:
on Mar 04 2008 06:47 AM

In reply to this comment (#1615611)
What are the other 2,403 reasons? :)

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TombstoneLawDog writes:
on Mar 04 2008 07:05 AM

I generally agree with all y'all about this- "Who is the greater as#hole- the as#hole who markets the same merchandise six times or the as#hole who [angrily] rushes out and grumbles while he purchases it for the sixth time?"
-Ben Kenobi

Is it me, or does the 'enthusiasm' of Howard Roffman's sales pitch make you spasmodically gag?

(Reply to this)

Warheart1188 writes:
on Mar 04 2008 07:37 AM

I'm still trying to get every boxset of Star Wars before the inevitable Saga set comes out. I haven't watched the Indy boxset yet since I got back in '03

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phoenixphire24 writes:
on Mar 04 2008 07:41 AM

Until they're out in high-def, I'll stick with my 03' box set.

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ck100 writes:
on Mar 04 2008 08:12 AM

Did you know that "Lucas" and "Greed" both have five letters? :P

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thereign writes:
on Mar 04 2008 08:15 AM

It's actually almost expected that Lucas and co. would do something like this...and now he's obviously infected Spielberg, for him to go along with this. My biggest problem is that I hate that clunky title: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. It just doesn't make any sense; not EVERY aspect of the franchise has to be retro-fitted. I miss the original title, which will never grace the box of any re-release ever again: Raiders of the Lost Ark.

And also, if Lucas really wants to re-release all the classics, why not finally give us an extended 12-disc extras-packed box set of Howard the Duck? Everyone knows that's a more culturally important film than Star Wars or Indy any day of the week. :-P

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Gimy writes:
on Mar 04 2008 08:16 AM

tombstone...i don't remember that Kenobi line, then 'gain...i never saw The Lebowski Strikes Back...which is what that qoute sounds like it'd be from. the only thing i've "ultimate edition" purchased was LOTR and Star Wars on vhs. i'm poor, i'm not shelling out squat for an extra interview or a "this is how we did THIS!" tutorial. i'm perfectly content RENTING that stuff...

other reasons i dislike Lucas? he can't QUIT with a classic. the trilogy was great, yet he just keeps on messing with it, retuning...REDOING...and its better left alone. he has EVERY right to do the stuff i hate that he does but good lord, he's like a crack addict or something. he's the posterchild for the saying "just because you can...doesn't mean you should". gotta have it, gotta sell it, gotta give these fans more reasons to like my stuff! and i go to the store and see these action figures and i'm like, what the h3ll is that? oh right, when you hit pause, zoom in 12 times...you can see "Storm Trooper 2343" in the background of Empire Strikes Back in this particular pose...hmm...i think i'll get THAT action figure! oh wait, but 2344 Stormtrooper is with a limited edition blaster rifle...hmm, what to choose...what to choose!

and honestly, i know this is stupid but...i REALLY feel sorry for some of the people who do these action figures and you dont know them, its just some regular person's face. the RANDOM Death Star guy with a random regular guy's face on it...and he NEVER EVER sells cuz NOBODY cares about Death Star whateverdude. these are editions from like years ago, yet...still there! i'm sure the guy is all "yeah! i'm an action figure" at first but after 5 years...he's gotta be thinking "why the h3ll doesn't anybody buy ME?! i'm THEEEE regular death star worker!"

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mssk8erboy writes:
on Mar 04 2008 08:23 AM

The only Re-release im anxiously waiting for is Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair. Of course this is also the only one that they won't release... it pisses me off so much, every time they put out a new release date i'm at the stores that day and online looking for it... and nothing... i'm not even sure it exists, who knows what that picture on amazon is really of.

-MIKE

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sunsaz writes:
on Mar 04 2008 09:10 AM

As long as they don't do to Indy what they did to Star Wars and ET. Redoing the special effects is fine just as long as they keep it in the extras and out of the movie.

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minderbinder writes:
on Mar 04 2008 09:12 AM

I don't see anything here that would make anyone but a completist buy them again, it doesn't seem like much more than what they had the first time, especially since they still don't have commentaries on any of the movies.

And LOTR didn't have five versions, they had two, the bare bones theatrical cut and the extended version with a ton of extras. One for the casual fan, one for the die hard fan. Sure, they bundled them into box sets when they were done, but it was just the three movies, without any extra "exclusive" that would make people want to buy again.

I think they also did a version that had the extended and theatrical cuts on the same disk (with branching?), but again, that's really just a repackaging of what they already sold and didn't have more special features held back to try and entice people to buy it again.

Honestly, I wish more companies would do DVD releases like LOTR did - quick, cheap, barebones release of the theatrical cut out quickly, with a deluxe version out a bit after. And with both versions announced together, so people only buy twice if they really want both.

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opTIMus Nerd writes:
on Mar 04 2008 09:26 AM

I think Lucas' genius is not the original Star Wars films, not the Indy films, not his production, somewhat his contributions to sound and special effects...Primarily though...He is the man who created the marketing/merchandised/event film tie-in. Spielberg got on board with this kind of thinking back when, not recently. Spielberg did Jaws and the summer event film was born and Lucas did Star Wars then we had action figures...The rest is history. I am a victim of this; my apartment is full of plastic things all shaped like that one Stormtrooper who was in that one pose in the back of frame # 175398 0:45 minutes into reel 3 and an army of that death star guy.

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nathanpoitras writes:
on Mar 04 2008 09:47 AM

I wouldn't be surprised if the Blu-ray versions of these films come out this Christmas with The Crystal Skull. I'm not counting on it, but wouldn't be surprised.

(Reply to this)

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