DVD review (region 1 & 2)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Kate Capshaw, Sean Connery, Denholm Elliot, John Rhys-Davies, Alison Doody
Release date Out now (region 2); 14 October 2008 (region 1)

The three original adventures featuring the whipcracking archaeologist…

These special editions provide the first opportunity to buy the first three Indy outings separately should you so desire. But really, you need to own all three, and if these films aren’t already in your collection, then the new box set is your best bet. The good news is that the remastered films all come with some valuable new extras that reveal the heroic struggles that went on behind the scenes.

With 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark (here irksomely retitled Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark) Steven Spielberg and George Lucas took elements of 1930s and 1940s adventure serials and reworked them with a mammoth budget and cutting-edge special effects. The result is one of the greatest crowd-pleasers ever made, an irresistible cocktail of stunts, wisecracks and simmering romance. All of this is brought to life by Harrison Ford’s effortlessly charming performance as the heroic but self-deprecating adventurer – it is enjoyable to speculate how Raiders would have turned out had it starred Tom Selleck, the original choice for Indy. It’s easy to bemoan Spielberg and Lucas sounding the death of the 70s American New Wave with their creation of the modern blockbuster, but when the result is this good, who cares?

Critics and many parents were openly hostile to the dark turn of events in The Temple of Doom back in 1984. Spielberg and Lucas explain on the movie’s intro that this darkness was intentional, but both also admit that it is their least favourite of the original trilogy. Certainly, there are some pretty scary scenes here – a sacrificial victim having his heart ripped out, Indy turning evil, pins being stuck into an Indy doll. But children like dark and scary and, with its monkey brains and tunnels of insects, Temple of Doom is the instalment many children of the 80s remember most vividly. It’s not all horror either – Temple of Doom is equally effective in its madcap screwball comedy moments, and if Kate Capshaw’s Willie isn’t the strong heroine of Marion Ravenwood then she still makes for a wonderfully old-fashioned scream queen with fine comic timing.

The great thing about the Indy movies is that each entry is so different. 1989’s The Last Crusade cuts back on the romance (Alison Doody’s semi-sympathetic Nazi babe Elsa Schneider is very much relegated to the sidelines) and instead focuses on the amusing and often rather touching relationship between Indy and his father Henry (Sean Connery – so good, you’ll soon forget he’s a mere 12 years older than Ford). While the movie arguably lays on the comedy a little thickly at times, this is still another terrific adventure crammed with one memorable set piece after another (the rat-filled chasms under the Venice church, the tank battle, Indy and his father tied to a chair in a fire-ravaged room) and some great quip-trading between Ford and Connery (“Don’t call me Junior!”).

None of the movies feature commentaries, but there are some great new extras here nonetheless. Each film comes with an introduction by a surprisingly candid Lucas and Spielberg, and there are enjoyable featurettes on the key aspects that make up the Indy movies such as locations, creepy crawlies and Indy’s women (Karen Allen, Kate Capshaw and Alison Doody are also quite open about their experiences). Best of all, FX supremo Chris Walas talks us through how he created the face melting effects in Raiders! James Skipp

VERDICT: 10/10
Three discs of popcorn perfection.

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