Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures [Blu-ray] [1981]

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark It?s said that the original is the greatest, and there can be no more vivid proof than Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first and indisputably best of the initial three Indiana Jones adventures cooked up by the dream team of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Expectations were high for this 1981 collaboration between the two men, who essentially invented the box office blockbuster with ?70s efforts like Jaws and Star Wars, and Spielberg (who directed) and Lucas (who co-wrote the story and executive produced) didnt disappoint.

This wildly entertaining film has it all: non-stop action, exotic locations, grand spectacle, a hero for the ages, despicable villains, a beautiful love interest, humour, horror? not to mention lots of snakes. And along with all the bits that are so familiar by now–Indy (Harrison Ford) running from the giant boulder in a cave, using his pistol instead of his trusty whip to take out a scimitar-wielding bad guy, facing off with a hissing cobra, and on and on–there?s real resonance in a potent storyline that brings together a profound religious-archaeological icon (the Ark of the Covenant, nothing less than ‚a radio for speaking to God‘) and the 20th century?s most infamous criminals (the Nazis).

Now that?s entertainment. –Sam Graham Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom It?s hard to imagine that a film with worldwide box office receipts topping US$300 million worldwide could be labeled a disappointment, but some moviegoers considered Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the second installment in Steven Spielberg and George Lucas? 1980s adventure trilogy, to be just that. That doesn?t mean it?s a bad effort; any collaboration between these two cinema giants (Spielberg directed, while Lucas provided the story and was executive producer) is bound to have more than its share of terrific moments, and Temple of Doom is no exception.