Four films are complete (and with a handy Indiana Jones tag, you can read whatever you missed), and what’s left is a lonely disc in the back of the case labeled bonus features. Paramount titles the set “The Complete Adventures,” and in reference to the movies, that’s true. In terms of extras, not so much as the two-disc Kingdom of the Crystal Skull release from back in 2008 is not carried over in its entirety. If you’re the completionist type, you’ll need that stand alone issue.
Still, the focus in this set are the three ’80s classics, and most won’t bemoan the loss of Crystal Skull clips. This fifth disc opens on a substantial piece comprised entirely of behind-the-scenes footage, interviews, and anecdotes – all from the set – taken during the filming of Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s just south of one hour, split into two parts for convenience and covering nearly every scene with a clip or two, if not more.
The disc shifts to a section labeled Making the Films, this split into five parts, beginning with yet another hour of Raiders footage, all culled from a piece completed in 1981. A fresh look at Raiders (as if the vintage stuff wasn’t enough) runs 51-minutes with a retrospective style. Temple’s BTS material soaks up 41-minutes, Last Crusade comes in at 35, and Crystal Skull whimpers ahead with 29.
Behind-the-scenes is the disc’s final segment, coming together in 15 parts, all with an average time of 10-minutes or so, with a few exceptions. Most come from previous DVD editions, and cover all of the films in one swoop. Stunts (10:56), Sound (13:21), and Music (12:22) are the most self-explanatory. The Light and Magic of Indiana Jones is filled with effects work at the famous studio, also 12:22.
The Melting Face peers into the process of creating a classic film effect by actually recreating the process today, step-by-step, for 8:12. Creepy Crawlers is one of two features with optional pop-up trivia, this one with a focus on critters that dominate the films for 11:46. A segment on locations throughout the series is pop-up number two, this one globe trotting at 9:58.
The AFI holds an interview with the Indy women from back in 2003, this clip pared down to 9:15. A more featurette-esque piece deals with friends and enemies, 10:10 total. Iconic Props is focused on Crystal Skull, detailing the creation process for 9:52. Effects of Indy divulges the progression of visual effects during Skull, and how they maintained the classic look. It’s the longest in this section at 22:34. Adventures in Post details editing, sound design, and other elements when working on Skull. This one, the closer, lasts 12:36.
[xrr rating=5/5 label=Extras]
One question remains, and that’s how they’re stored in the package. For that, YouTube will suffice with a video rundown of the contents. You can view a version in SD below, or hop over to DoBlu’s YouTube page for the HD version and plenty of other looks inside Blu-ray box sets:
Matt Paprocki
Matt Paprocki has critiqued home media and video games for 20 years across outlets like Washington Post, Variety, Rolling Stone, Forbes, IGN, Playboy, Polygon, Ars, and others. His current passion project is the technically minded DoBlu.com. You can read Matt's body of work via his personal WordPress blog, and follow him on Twitter @Matt_Paprocki.
Glue comes off easily with no issues. And oddly my Temple of Doom disc does fall out the side, at least half-way.
It’s not so much the glue being there as it is that it won’t do what it’s supposed to.