Much has been said about Raiders of the Lost Ark.  It’s the best adventure movie of all time, maybe the best action movie, too.  It was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won five.  The American Film Institute lists it as one of the top 100 films of all time.  The Library of Congress included it on the National Film Registry.  John Williams created one of the best soundtracks ever for the film.  And it showed what can happen when you put two creators like Steven Spielberg and George Lucas together.  It is an action-adventure, a war movie, a romance, a suspense-thriller, a roller coaster ride, and few movies will keep you glued to your seat from the first scene to the last like this movie.  Yes, much has been said about Raiders.  Now today we can say it is finally available on Blu-Ray.

Actually, the entire Indiana Jones film series is available on Blu-Ray, together in one set for the first time, as Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures.  So you might be just as excited to see Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom or Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade finally in optimal form for home viewing, completely digitally remastered, with all the THX sound and extras you could want.  Four borg.com writers have one of these movies on at least one of their genre favorites or top 10 lists.

So along with the four Indiana Jones films, including the most recent entry, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which was already released on Blu-ray, you can look forward to more than seven hours of features, including:

On Set with Raiders of the Lost Ark

• From Jungle to Desert
• From Adventure to Legend

Making the Films

• The Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981 documentary previously unavailable on DVD)
• The Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark
• The Making of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
• The Making of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
• The Making of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Behind the Scenes

• The Stunts of Indiana Jones
• The Sound of Indiana Jones
• The Music of Indiana Jones
• The Light and Magic of Indiana Jones
• Raiders: The Melting Face!
• Indiana Jones and the Creepy Crawlies (with optional pop-ups)
• Travel with Indiana Jones: Locations (with optional pop-ups)
• Indy’s Women: The American Film Institute Tribute
• Indy’s Friends and Enemies
• Iconic Props (Crystal Skull)
• The Effects of Indy (Crystal Skull)
• Adventures in Post Production (Crystal Skull)

Discount sets of Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures are available in many stores and online at Amazon.com.

You might also keep an eye out at your local theater for the limited re-release of Raiders of the Lost Ark in local theaters.  It is still out there in some cities, but will be gone soon.  And not even a great remastered Blu-ray edition can beat seeing Raiders in a full-sized movie theater.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com