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Official Indiana Jones DVD Release

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Just looking for opinions on this release...

The movies are all great and are exactly as I remember them. The packaging is really nice and all, but I have a gripe with Raiders. Why did they rename it Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark? I know it's just the packaging and they didn't change anything in the actual title sequence in the film, but it's kinda silly, IMHO.

The other thing that bugs me was the lack of vintage documentaries. I've seen a few of them back in the day for Raiders and I've gotten them through the awesome preservationists here on this site, but it would have been nice to have seen them included with this set.

It's nothing major and I'm certainly not getting all bunched up about it...you just wonder why they make these silly little changes. At least the films are the same.....

...but wasn't there an issue with Raiders on the sound or something?
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It's all about alphebetizing on the storeroom shelves.

Meanwhile, I keep looking both under "I" and under "Y" for "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" but nothing. Lucas is sitting on 22 more Indy films (or 45 TV episodes for the purists) and I for one want to see them for the first time. The way I see it, the IJ boxed set is FAR from complete.

Meanwhile, we're twiddling our thumbs waiting for a screenplay for a new Harrison Ford Action Film: Indiana Jones and the Magical Hand of Plot Device.

Edit: Oh, and to actually answer your question, I think the release is stellar. Lowry did a much better job on IJ than on SW. The only bone of contention with some fans that I'm aware of is the digital removal of the cobra's reflection. It doesn't bother me in the slightest. Greedo shooting first, it ain't.
I am fluent in over six million forms of procrastination.
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The thing I'm interested in about the Young Indy series is how is that going to come out? Is it going to be 22 separate or will it be combined into some kind of set or sets?

Frankly...I could give a damn less about all the freakin' documentaries. I already know the show is full of historical inaccuracies and other error. It snow during an episode that takes place in August for crying out loud.....

Just give me the episodes in some kind of order and I'm happy. The other thing about that show is the bookends. I'd rather see the Old Indy stuff although I know he was kinda silly. If you've seen the VHS releases from a few years back, the new bookends are all totall CG. Even Indy is CGed quite a bit. There's this one part where Indy sits in a chair and it looks SO fake that really ruins it bad.....

It seems to be the mantra of LFL....if we own it, screw with it. Silly cuz there's nothing wrong with this series in the first place.
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Originally posted by: ADigitalMan
It's all about alphebetizing on the storeroom shelves.

Meanwhile, I keep looking both under "I" and under "Y" for "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" but nothing. Lucas is sitting on 22 more Indy films (or 45 TV episodes for the purists) and I for one want to see them for the first time. The way I see it, the IJ boxed set is FAR from complete.


Unfortunately, the site I used to frequent for Indy news, The Raider, has recently renovated so I lost the original article. However, the last time I looked on the site they had news that the Young Indy chronicles are in DVD process. They're dedicating a lot of time to these as they want them to be "correct". Now, that word coming from LFL (if it did) should send a chill down our backs, but, take it with a grain of salt. I have heard 2nd or 3rd quarter 07.

Edit: Oh, and to actually answer your question, I think the release is stellar. Lowry did a much better job on IJ than on SW. The only bone of contention with some fans that I'm aware of is the digital removal of the cobra's reflection. It doesn't bother me in the slightest. Greedo shooting first, it ain't.


When the set was first released, I did hear that they made a change during the rolling boulder scene in the beginning of Raiders to eliminate some equipment that was visible during the theatrical cuts. Not sure if it's true, but as you say it ain't Greedo.
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I've also heard that they took out a part where you can see the track briefly that the boulder rolls down. I personally haven't looked for it, but I think its something you have to really be looking hard and slow the film down to see it. Nothing that was that big of a deal.
As for the documentaries, I don't know why they didn't include them. But thanks to some people on this board, they are available. I've always thought that the classic documentaries were better than the new documentary in the DVD set.
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Originally posted by: Cable-X1
Just looking for opinions on this release...

The movies are all great and are exactly as I remember them. The packaging is really nice and all, but I have a gripe with Raiders. Why did they rename it Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark? I know it's just the packaging and they didn't change anything in the actual title sequence in the film, but it's kinda silly, IMHO.

The other thing that bugs me was the lack of vintage documentaries. I've seen a few of them back in the day for Raiders and I've gotten them through the awesome preservationists here on this site, but it would have been nice to have seen them included with this set.

It's nothing major and I'm certainly not getting all bunched up about it...you just wonder why they make these silly little changes. At least the films are the same.....

...but wasn't there an issue with Raiders on the sound or something?

Raiders has some minor changes, nothing as severe as the SEs, mercifully. A few wires were removed and mikes in shots were clean up, that sort of thing. I don't like it, but I don't really expect a new release just because of those minor things, so I can live with it. It's much better than what was done to the Original Trilogy and THX 1138. It's what the OT boxed set should have been, and hopefully will be come the 30th Anniversary box next year.

The only bone of contention with some fans that I'm aware of is the digital removal of the cobra's reflection. It doesn't bother me in the slightest. Greedo shooting first, it ain't.


Indeed. I don't like it and wish that it hadn't been done, but it would be inane to expect a re-release just for that.

“What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.”

Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death

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Relax Cable - they only changed the packaging title, not on the actual film.

As for the "alterations" there are numerous threads on the subject in the other preservation thread...but for the purists, there is a copy of the original unaltered picture available in high definition, but the sound is the re-mixed 80's TV broadcast - ie: no swearing.
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Originally posted by: TheCassidy
Relax Cable - they only changed the packaging title, not on the actual film.


I know....I checked that out when I got it on release day. You would never believe the sigh of relief I had after seeing it wasn't changed.

I know it's just the packaging, but it's still a dumb thing to do.

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I don't mind the little changes they made. If they were just stuff like microphones and reflections, that's no big deal. I see nothing bad about fixing silly mistakes like that.

But some mistakes are good though....like the stormtrooper in SW who bumps his head on the door. Those kind of mistakes should stay!!!
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Honestly, I still wish they hadn't touched a frame.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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I think the Indiana Jones movies are a close to a perfect DVD release that Lucasfilm is ever going to put out. If not for Steven S getting involved I doubt Indiana Jones would have ended up being a pure as it is.
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I agree that they only changed nit-picky things, and comparing it to Star Wars or THX-1138, it's a masterpiece, and, in general, it's a masterpiece. But those little things still just annoy me slightly.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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Young Indy DVD IS planned. Look HERE for cover art. I don't know when it's coming out, but a set IS planned.
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Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
I agree that they only changed nit-picky things, and comparing it to Star Wars or THX-1138, it's a masterpiece, and, in general, it's a masterpiece. But those little things still just annoy me slightly.

Me too, but I wouldn't expect a re-release like I would SW or THX. But it's be nice if they didn't do that.

Young Indy DVD IS planned. Look HERE for cover art. I don't know when it's coming out, but a set IS planned.


That's nice. If it comes out after a proper OOT DVD release, I'll buy.

“What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.”

Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death

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Found this on Wikipedia.

The DVDs for Chapters 1-22 are expected to be released sometime in 2007, according to a statement by series producer, Rick McCallum of Lucasfilm. The company has already put in two years of work on creating these DVDs, so as to have bonus features for each movie.

McCallum expects there to be 22 Young Indiana Jones Chronicles DVDs in all, 3 of which have been completed. The discs will include some 66 historical featurettes, now in production. Work has been ongoing for about 18 months on the Young Indy DVDs, with about another 18 months worth of work yet to be done. If all goes well, the plan is to tie the DVD release to the theatrical debut of Indy IV.



So it looks like they're putting a lot of effort into the release, which is good. But we won't get it for a while, which I'm fine with, as long as the quality is good.

Of course, it does (sadly...) look like they're putting more effort into this then they did for the trilogy DVD set. The trilogy set was great, but there were lots more bonus features we could have had. I'm perfectly content with just the films though, and Lowry did a great job on the remastering. If only Star Wars looked like that...
Watch DarthEvil's Who Framed Darth Vader? video on YouTube!

You can also access the entire Horriffic Violence Theater Series from my Channel Page.
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Originally posted by: Darth_Evil
Young Indy DVD IS planned. Look HERE for cover art. I don't know when it's coming out, but a set IS planned.


That's just a scan of the old VHS cover.

Look, I'm about as big of an Indiana Jones fan as it gets. If I could watch one movie for the rest of my life, it would be 'Raiders,' not anything to do with Star Wars. I'd take a bullet for Indiana Jones, but not Han Solo.

I don't care how much time, effort, digital polish and care into creating DVD's of the YIJC. They sucked. You can't make a turd into a diamond. The Curse of the Jackal was OK, and the Mystery of The Blue was good just because Ford was in it briefly, but this series should be buried in the Nevada Desert on top of all of the copies of ET for the 2600.

This is coming from a huge fan. The Chronicles bit.
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I've never seen the Young Indy chronicles; I was just posting the info. for anyone that wanted it.
Watch DarthEvil's Who Framed Darth Vader? video on YouTube!

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Originally posted by: TheCassidy
I'd take a bullet for Indiana Jones, but not Han Solo.

But what about a laser bolt?
I am fluent in over six million forms of procrastination.
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Refresh my memory, didn't they alter some of the shots of the ghosts in the opening of the Ark scene? I'm almost certain I heard that something there was changed, though I can't see anything different about it.

Look, I'm about as big of an Indiana Jones fan as it gets. If I could watch one movie for the rest of my life, it would be 'Raiders,' not anything to do with Star Wars. I'd take a bullet for Indiana Jones, but not Han Solo


Right on.
“We like to think that we are very particular, because we’ve done about a hundred movies now, and we strive to make our output pristine. So to work with a guy like Lucas is fabulous because he’s got his head in the same place, pristine.”
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Originally posted by: Obiwampa
Refresh my memory, didn't they alter some of the shots of the ghosts in the opening of the Ark scene? I'm almost certain I heard that something there was changed, though I can't see anything different about it.


I haven't heard that, but that doesn't mean that they didn't change something about them. If they redid anything, it wasn't much.
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I bought my set at Best Buy when it first came out, and it came with a fifth disc that featured a 20 minute preview/making of documentary for "Raiders" that was aired on TV soon before its theatrical run. It was ok, but nothing too special.

http://i.imgur.com/7N84TM8.jpg

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Originally posted by: Nanner Split
I bought my set at Best Buy when it first came out, and it came with a fifth disc that featured a 20 minute preview/making of documentary for "Raiders" that was aired on TV soon before its theatrical run. It was ok, but nothing too special.


FWIW: I think that the Best Buy exclusive DVD was taken from one of the two Raiders documentaries, either Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark or Great Movie Stunts: Raiders of the Lost Ark.
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If you can't notice changes to a movie, then why bother trying to find them? If you can't notice them, they don't matter. They won't interrupt your viewing. If you get on forums and try to find out details on little tiny things that MIGHT have been changed....well, suffice to say, that's kind of sad.

For instance, the crawl on the GOUT dvd's isn't the absolute original crawl, but you'd have to take screenshots, analyze it closely, watch it over and over, and if you do find something different, you're bothered by it. That's why if you don't notice any changes while just watching it, then there's no reason to worry.

Watch DarthEvil's Who Framed Darth Vader? video on YouTube!

You can also access the entire Horriffic Violence Theater Series from my Channel Page.
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Originally posted by: Darth_Evil
If you can't notice changes to a movie, then why bother trying to find them? If you can't notice them, they don't matter. They won't interrupt your viewing. If you get on forums and try to find out details on little tiny things that MIGHT have been changed....well, suffice to say, that's kind of sad.

For instance, the crawl on the GOUT dvd's isn't the absolute original crawl, but you'd have to take screenshots, analyze it closely, watch it over and over, and if you do find something different, you're bothered by it. That's why if you don't notice any changes while just watching it, then there's no reason to worry.


That's apples and oranges, really. You're talking altering an original film image, versus digitally re-creating something and tacking it on to the start of a film.

I'm not sure why, when it comes to Indiana Jones, people are far more forgiving of the fact that the original, unaltered film has not been re-released on DVD versus Star Wars.

Granted, none of the story content has been changed, but the image was manipulated. I don't think the manipulation is done to the extent that we might be thinking, as far as I know only three cosmetic changes were made (cobra reflection, boulder guide track, matte lines) to 'Raiders.'

It's so minor that it's no wonder so many people are divided on the issue. I take a bigger issue with the colour "correction" that was done than anything else. 'Raiders' used to have an almost sepia-tone quality to it, and now it looks like a technicolour nightmare.
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BTW, you guys who are new to this really have to dig through the archives and check the threads in the preservation forum, particulary the ones with DigitalFreakNYC, who sets the record straight in many cases.