Indiana Jones 4K UHDs Don’t Nuke the Fridge!

Two years ago, the Indiana Jones movies came to 4K just before I got my upgrade. Now I’m grateful Dial of Destiny warrants these single disc reissues. If you didn’t want last year’s steelbooks, these come with the original theatrical artwork.

These movies really emphasis shadow work in 4K. The way Spielberg loved to introduce Indy shrouded in shadow, he really emerges from total darkness now.

Jungles are full of shadow patches to make it even more ominous. Caves make you appreciate just how subtle the designs of these ancient temples are. They’re not just dark caves. There are light beams that highlight production design and also hide some subtle delights.

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These 4Ks really let you rediscover the classic adventures. Red fire glows on the faces in Marion’s bar, or the Thuggee temple.

I read Crystal Skull got new color grading to match the other three better. That’s a little above my pay grade but there’s no hiding it still looks like a movie made decades later.

Still, Crystal Skull doesn’t deserve quite the extreme hate. It gave our sister site the name Nuke the Fridge.

DVD and Blu-Ray releases probably generated the 5.1 mixes (maybe even laserdisc) so the John Williams score fills the room. Bullet whiz by, chimes ring behind you, snakes hiss, thunder cracks and every vehicle zooms around. That goes for jeeps, boats, planes, blimps and everything. The best punch sound in cinema history remains in the front.

When Dial comes home we’ll have to reconcile the Paramount sets and singles, but we’ll worry about that later. Extras were on the Blu-rays but the 4Ks do include trailers. It is great to see that Last Crusade behind the scenes teaser in high definition with all the film grain.

INDIANA JONES and the RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK Steelbook Hits 4K Ultra HD!

INDIANA JONES and the RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK Steelbook Hits 4K Ultra HD!

Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark 4K Steelbook

The Movie

Synopsis

An epic tale in which an intrepid archaeologist tries to beat a band of Nazis to a unique religious relic that is central to their plans for world domination. Battling against a snake phobia and a vengeful ex-girlfriend, Indiana Jones is in constant peril, making hair’s-breadth escapes at every turn in this celebration of the innocent adventure movies of an earlier era.

Directed By: Steven Spielberg

Written By: Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas, & Phillip Kaufman

Starring: Harrison Ford, Karren Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliot, Alfred Molina, Wolf Kahler, and much more.

Genre: Action and Adventure

Rating: PG

Runtime: 1 hour 55 minutes

4K/Blu-ray Details

Audio

  • English: Dolby Atmos
  • Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
  • Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
  • Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
  • French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
  • Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
  • Italian: Dolby Digital 2.0 (224 kbps)
  • Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1
  • Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0
  • Russian: Dolby Digital 2.0

Video

  • Codec: HEVC / H.265
  • Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
  • HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
  • Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
  • Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
  • Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Cantonese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Russian, Swedish, & Tha

 

Catch Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark 4K Steelbook on June 14th!

INDIANA JONES: 4 Movie Collection Hits 4K!

INDIANA JONES: 4 Movie Collection Hits 4K!

Indiana Jones 4 Movie Collection 4K

The Movies

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

Synopsis

An epic tale in which an intrepid archaeologist tries to beat a band of Nazis to a unique religious relic that is central to their plans for world domination. Battling against a snake phobia and a vengeful ex-girlfriend, Indiana Jones is in constant peril, making hair’s-breadth escapes at every turn in this celebration of the innocent adventure movies of an earlier era.

Directed By: Steven Spielberg

Written By: Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas, & Philip Kaufman

Starring: Harrison Ford (Indy), Karen Allen (Marion), Paul Freeman (Belloq), Ronal Lacey (Toht), John Rhys-Davies (Sallah), Denholm Elliott (Brody), and much more.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Synopsis

Adventure sequel. Intrepid archaeologist Indiana Jones, on the trail of fortune and glory in Old Shanghai, is ricocheted into a dangerous adventure in India. With his faithful companion Short Round and nightclub singer Willie Scott, Indie goes in search of the magical Sankara stone and uncovers an ancient evil that threatens all who come into contact with it.

Directed By: Steven Spielberg

Written By: Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz, & George Lucas

Starring: Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones), Kate Capshaw (Willie Scott), Ke Huy Quan (Short Round), Amrish Puri (Mola Ram), Roshan Seth (Chattar Lal), Phillip Stone (Captain Blumburtt), Roy Chiao (Loa Che), David Yip (Wu Han), and much more.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Synopsis

The intrepid explorer Indiana Jones sets out to rescue his father, a medievalist who has vanished while searching for the Holy Grail. Following clues in the old man’s notebook, Indy arrives in Venice, where he enlists the help of a beautiful academic, but they are not the only ones who are on the trail, and some sinister old enemies soon come out of the woodwork.

Directed By: Steven Spielberg

Written By: Jeffrey Boam, George Lucas, Menno Meyjes, & Phillip Kaufman

Starring: Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones), Sean Connery (Professor Henry Jones), Denholm Elliott (Marcus Brody), Alison Doody (Elsa), John Rhys-Davies (Sallah), Julian Glover (Walter Donovan), River Phoenix (Young Indy), and much more.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Synopsis

t’s the height of the Cold War, and famous archaeologist Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), returning from his latest adventure, finds out his job at Marshall College is in jeopardy. He meets Mutt (Shia La Beouf), a young man who wants Indy to help him find the legendary Crystal Skull of Akator, and the pair set out for Peru. However, the deadly agent Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) is searching for the powerful artifact, too, because the Soviets believe it can help them conquer the world.

Directed By: Steven Spielberg

Written By: David Koepp, George Lucas, Jeff Nathanson, & Phillip Kaufman

Starring: Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones), Cate Blanchett (Irina Spalko), Karen Allen (Marion Ravenwood), Shia LaBeouf (Mutt Williams), Ray Winstone (Mac George Michale), John Hurt (Professor Oxley), and much more.

Genre: Action and Adventure

Rating: Raiders: PG; Temple of Doom: PG; The Last Crusade: PG-13, & Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: PG-13

Runtime: Approx. 482 Minutes

4K/Blu-ray Details

Audio

  • Codec: HEVC / H.265
  • Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
  • HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
  • Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
  • Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Video

  • English: Dolby Atmos
  • English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
  • French: Dolby Digital 5.1
  • Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
  • Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Cantonese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Russian, Swedish, & Thai

Special Features

  • On Set with Raiders of the Lost Ark
  • The Making of All 4 Indiana Jones Films
  • Cast & Creator Interviews
  • Behind-the-Scenes Peeks

Catch Indiana Jones: 4 Movie Collection out on 4K, Blu-ray, & Digital on June 8th!

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

 

 

King Solomon’s Mines Blu-ray Review: Raiders Of The More Successful Franchise

Cannon’s adaptation of King Solomon’s Mines was my favorite Indiana Jones rip off. Yes, it’s a ripoff of Indy even though the classic adventure novel long predates it. They only made this after the success of Raiders and Temple of Doom. I’m surprised there weren’t more in the ‘80s. I guess it’s not easy to travel the world for exotic adventure. Back then they couldn’t fake it on green screen.

From set piece to set piece, the serialized adventure moves at a brisk pace and thrills with melodramatic perils like a giant cannibal crock pot and booby trapped diamond caves. When they run into a hostile tribe, it’s really hundreds of extras with spears and war paint.

This Blu-ray looks crisp and sharp, with film grain in the widescreen frame. The colors are bright in the jungles, marketplace and Sharon Stone’s yellow shirt. The production values hold up. Just by virtue of shooting on film on location, a cheap Cannon movie may pale in comparison to Spielberg, but it wipes the floor with today’s CGI reels.

Freditorial: Franchises’ Worst Kept Secrets

Spoilers ahead for the worst kept secrets in the history of spoilers. Filmmakers have become so seduced by the glory of pulling off a surprise that they’ve lost sight of the true value of surprise in storytelling. We laugh about Star Trek Into Darkness and Spectre, but it’s time for the good surprises to take a stand and say, “You don’t belong here.”

The big picture problem with both of these attempted surprises is that neither added anything to the story. No matter how good the surprise is, a surprise only lasts for the instant its revealed. Every moment after that, it’s still got to work for the story. Good surprises are the ones that change a story for the better, or perhaps even re-contextualize the story (The Sixth Sense, Planet of the Apes, Citizen Kane).

scream2If all you’ve got is a secret you’re keeping, then the reveal is just a “gotcha!” Ha, it was Khan all along! And the guy dressed like Blofeld in the first movie since we got the rights to Blofeld back is actually Blofeld! The goal isn’t to try harder to surprise us. The goal is to give the story more depth than the quick surprise. Every single Saw movie did it. You’d think by 6 and 7 I’d be onto them, but even the worst sequels had a meaningful twist.

In some cases it can even cost the franchise dearly. Scream 2 killed an unexpected character, which was quite a shock, but the series never recovered from losing that character. And before you say it raised the stakes so anyone could die, let’s be real. Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette have lived to be in four Screams now.

In the cases of Khan and Blofeld, I loved the new versions of classic characters, though I think Spectre handled it imminently better, true to books at least. What amuses me is how both tried to make the characters a surprise. They went so far as to give them aliases and pretend they were new characters. This only made audiences resent when they were revealed. The lesson is: if you’re reinventing a classic character, tell the fans that’s what you’re doing. They’ll be excited to see it. Let us celebrate Blofeld and Khan in the year leading up to the release of the movie!

Dark_knight_rises_posterIt got me thinking, what if other major franchises did their famous characters and pretended they weren’t? These are two villains. Actually The Dark Knight Rises kept a heroic character a good surprise, but their film also wasn’t predicated entirely on the identity of that character. Anyway, I’m not distinguishing between heroes and villains. I’m going to speculate what if other franchises tried to keep secrets as badly as Spectre and Star Trek Into Darkness. I liked both those movies but the poor execution of those surprises can only lead to future epic spoiler fails unless filmmakers learn to value more than just “surprise.”

raidersIndiana Jones – If they do indeed reboot Indiana Jones with a younger actor, they can portray some of his pre-Raiders of the Lost Ark adventures. And he’ll have to have a nemesis, a rival archaeologist, right? Imagine if they cast Jean DuJardin played this new character who always had a plan to steal Indy’s thunder. Call him Jacques DeCartes or Francois Renard, but then reveal that his real name is Belloq!

Transformers – The upcoming shared universe Transformers films are going to have a lot of new characters to introduce to populate these worlds. Perfect opportunity to have a very familiar looking robot show up with red and blue paint insisting to be a brand new character, but really it’s Optimus Prime all along.

ghostbustersGhostbusters – The original cast has already shot cameos under different names. Watch, they reveal it really was Venkman looking out for the girls all along. Or what if it’s just Manvenk?

Planet of the Apes – You know Dr. Zaius is coming, and with realistic apes now they can call him anything and then reveal his real name is Zaius.

Jared-Leto-Joker-Tattoos-TeethBatman – If the Ben Affleck Batman movies are going to be tied in with Suicide Squad then I guess this won’t work. But imagine a Batman movie where they pretended the villain wasn’t The Joker, but it’s actually The Joker. Good luck explaining that clown makeup some other way. Alas, the secret’s out. It’s Jared Leto.

Police Academy – What if they did reboot the Police Academy film with all new characters, only at the end we learn that the troublemaking prankster hero is actually Mahoney! Or Zed. Would Zed be more surprising?

Mad_max_beyond_thunderdomeMad Max – What if they cast Rihanna in Mad Max: The Wasteland, as a “new character” but later we find out she’s really Aunty Entity. She’s been ousted from Barter Town and tried to set up camp elsewhere when the raggedy man shows up again.

Robocop – If they ever try Robocop again, go ahead and try Dick Jones and Clarence Boddicker again. I don’t even care if they pull a fake surprise on this, I just want more Robocop.

X-Men – When Hugh Jackman retires Wolverine, they’re going to have to focus on new heroes, in the present at least. When they decide who will be the star of the next team X-Men film, watch it turn out to be Logan all along.

Die_Hard_Year_One_logoDie Hard: Year One – If they’re going to go back into McClane’s past, how about they have Michael Fassbender play the villain? Then in the end they can reveal he’s actually Hans Gruber. You know they’re thinking about this. Or at least Karl. That might not be so bad. So they’d have more beef than just killing Karl’s brother in Die Hard.

Pirates of the Caribbean – Johnny Depp can’t do this forever. Eventually they’ll introduce another flamboyant pirate hero, and then tell us he was Jack Sparrow all along.

If any of these happen, I called it.

JJ ABRAMS And KATHLEEN KENNEDY Panel Overview From STAR WARS CELEBRATION And Commentary

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD!

For those that were at the opening panel at Star Wars Celebration 2015, they would agree that the word of the morning was “lines”; some waited in line from the night before, not knowing they’d be blessed with free pizza compliments of JJ Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy. Most waited at least 2 hours, hopefully to acquire the elusive orange wristband that would take them into the Celebration Stage, home of the opening panel. Latecomers got either a green or blue wristband, which directed them to other stages where the panel would be simulcast.

 

Here’s the coverage of the Star Wars opening panel:

Breznican

Host Anthony Breznican, Senior Writer for Entertainment Weekly starts off the show by having some guy shooting off shirts into the audience. After asking if the guys that waited since last night enjoyed their complimentary pizza, Anthony brings out JJ Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy, director of Star Wars: Force Awakens and President of Lucasfilm, respectively.

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JJ starts by talking about his early Star Wars memories, he mentions that he saw the movie when he was 11 and that he dressed up as a Jawa on an unspecified year.

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He starts to talk about shooting for the film. While talking he did go into mentioning that the desert planet we thought was Tatooine is actually a new planet called Jakku. Fans get excited.

 

Kathleen then starts talking about the time when George Lucas asked her to take over Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise, she mentions she was thinking he had someone else in mind, but Lucas suggests Kathleen to take over. Of course she takes it. She then talks about her experience with working with George through the Indiana Jones films and mentions how honored she was to take the role.

Both of them then go into a conversation about going to a prior Star Wars Celebration (Germany?) and that they were impressed with the life sized, functioning droid displays. They went on to hire on two of the designers for droid work.

 

Then BB8 comes out.

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I’ll admit I was really skeptical about Droid-Ball. It looked corny…kind of hastily put together, obviously computer generated. But what comes out on to the stage was something I wasn’t expecting; a live prop of BB8. It literally was a droid head on a ball….and it was pretty freakin’ adorable.

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I’m sold.

 

JJ and Kathleen start to talk about Harrison Ford and that he really wanted to be there. Kathleen mentions how only he can land his plane on a golf course next to two doctors.

 

She’s got a point. Harrison’s legitimately a badass.

 

Here’s where is gets…spoiler-y. The dynamic duo then start describing the movie in not-so-subtle ways using the previous trailer as a reference as they bring out the 3 lead characters of the movie. The female shown speeding away in the oversize Fudgsicle is introduced as Daisy Ridley, who plays a character named Rey. They mention that Rey meets Finn, played by the second actor John Boyega, who was the black guy in the stormtrooper outfit at the opening of the trailer. The third actor, Oscar Isaac, plays Poe Dameron, the pilot of the X-Wing with the black, red, and grey helmet. He is apparently being sent on a mission by a very familiar “princess” to meet up with Finn. When asked by Anthony if Finn was actually a stormtrooper or if he was in disguise, John mysteriously forgot.

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Anthony starts moving onto the next segment, audience questions. He’s even taken some from the people that stood in line for the panel since the night before.

 

How does it feel to be a part of the Star Wars universe? Boyega goes into a story about how he asked Harrison Ford to sign his doll. Harrison replies, “This is weird”

 

Where would you find yourself in the Star Wars universe? No real answer is given, though Kathleen mentions that when she looked to (the original) Star Wars, there was only 1 real woman she could emulate. She continues on to say that there will be really strong women in the upcoming movie and that there will be a lot of women to look up to as she has 2 girls of her own.

 

On asked about using old vs. new technology (tech from the prequels as opposed to tech from the original trilogy), JJ said he loves the sense of real and weathered things, how the story is about going up against an enemy that’s bigger and larger. “Anything but brand new” is what JJ emphasized and reiterated that the movie will be decades after Return of the Jedi.

 

About whether he was afraid he would disappoint, JJ jokingly says, “we just will”. He continues to say that he’s never had more fun doing this project and that the fun that he’s having far outweighs the risk of disappointment.

 

How much does the fan perspective take into effect? Kathleen takes over and mentions they are fans too. With a thankful demeanor, she says they can’t do it without the fans. Everyone has a Star Wars story and that the fans energize them in their work.

 

The simplest question was advice for a budding filmmaker. JJ explains that technology is amazing, filmmaking is democratized and everyone with a computer and a camera can be a filmmaker since much of what we can do today wasn’t available when he was learning about film. The ability to make a story is real and encourages the asker to just do it. He’s amazed at the quality of the fan films that have come out as a result of the modern age.

 

Who was more excited about being in the movie, the originals or the newbies? Daisy is excited and she said she “can’t wait to show you”, but it was mentioned that the older actors were coming back to something familiar, so there’s that. Oscar talked about how he prepared for the role by playing lightsaber in the shower and John kept it secret until it was actually announced, though he did mention he lied and said he was “still” working on the TV show 24.

 

Anthony takes control and brings out a squadron of stormtroopers in their new uniforms. Along with the stormtroopers, he delivers the second punch by bringing out Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamil, and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca).

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Daniels was praised for being the only actor on stage to appear in all 6 Star Wars films. Daniels mentions he didn’t realize it would become this big and was grateful to the fans for their dedication.

 

Mayhew talks about how he’s the only one that can “go anywhere and still be comfortable”, but he did refer to the suit as a “walking carpet”.

 

Fisher was asked if her character would return to her famous hair buns. She replies that the buns are tired and that’s there’s a new alternative style…and no return of the bikini.

 

The audience laughs.

 

She did like being the only girl at 19, but in this day and age, she needs a little backup.

 

Hamil talks about how Star Wars was the “most expensive low budget film ever made”. He thanks the fans and they never cease to amaze him. He goes on to say he’s felt so much love and that they were more than fans…they were family.

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Fisher said the fans grew up with them and mentioned loved being a toy, thanking the fans again for playing with her.

 

Audience gets the joke.

 

Anthony wraps up the panel and then brings out everyone for a final group photo op.

 

Then the new trailer is revealed. It was amazing. It has such a pop that they played it again.

 

And then it was over.