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List Price: $19.99 | | Label: Paramount Pictures
Salesrank: 3633
Released: May 13, 2008 |
| Our Price: $11.98 |
| Used Price: $10.47 |
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is no ordinary archeologist. When we first see him, he is somewhere in the Peruvian jungle in 1936, running a booby-trapped gauntlet (complete with an over-sized rolling boulder) to fetch a solid-gold idol. He loses this artifact to his chief rival, a French archeologist named Belloq (Paul Freeman), who then prepares to kill our hero. In the first of many serial-like escapes, Indy eludes Belloq by hopping into a convenient plane. So, then: is Indiana Jones afraid of anything? Yes, snakes. The next time we see Jones, he's a soft-spoken, bespectacled professor. He is then summoned from his ivy-covered environs by Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) to find the long-lost Ark of the Covenant. The Nazis, it seems, are already searching for the Ark, which the mystical-minded Hitler hopes to use to make his stormtroopers invincible. But to find the Ark, Indy must first secure a medallion kept under the protection of Indy's old friend Abner Ravenwood, whose daughter, Marion (Karen Allen), evidently has a "history" with Jones. Whatever their personal differences, Indy and Marion become partners in one action-packed adventure after another, ranging from wandering the snake pits of the Well of Souls to surviving the pyrotechnic unearthing of the sacred Ark. A joint project of Hollywood prodigies George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, with a script co-written by Lawrence Kasdan and Philip Kaufman, among others, Raiders of the Lost Ark is not so much a movie as a 115-minute thrill ride. Costing 22 million dollars (nearly three times the original estimate), Raiders of the Lost Ark reaped 200 million dollars during its first run. It was followed by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1985) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), as well as a short-lived TV-series "prequel."
Description of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (Special Edition):
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) didn’t 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, humor, 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 Raiders of the Lost Ark (Special Edition) Reviews:
Not-so-Special Edition... great film, anemic extras 
2008-08-09 - "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is universally considered to be an extremely entertaining action/adventure movie, so I won't waste your time reviewing the film itself. If you've already seen it, you know it's awesome; if you haven't... well, to quote Indiana Jones himself: "Trust me." It actually does live up to the hype. What's truly important for those thinking about purchasing this "special edition," however, is a discussion of the bonus material.
The extras on this disc definitely do NOT warrant purchasing this edition if you already own the previously-released Indy Trilogy DVD set. The extras can basically be summed up in a word: "meh." Each of the handful of featurettes is around 10 minutes or less, and there are no surprises. Some brief "making-of" clips from the filming of "Raiders" are semi-interesting, but are all very short. Another featurette is just a bunch of actors from the series making bland comments about how great Indiana Jones is, set to overly-familiar clips from the various movies (Watch Indy run from the giant ball! Now watch him shoot the swordsman!). The endless repetition of clips from the movie is one of the tiresome aspects of DVD bonus material, and serves mainly to make you so sick of the film that you don't want to see it again for awhile!
The best featurette is the one about how they did the "melting face," but even this is short and, really, no great shakes. Next is the apparently mandatory "for interest to fanatics only" stuff like storyboards and a gallery of production stills. Finally, there's a brief commercial for the Lego Indiana Jones video game, which actually (and tellingly) is one of the more entertaining of the extras.
Considering the importance and success of "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and the fact that it's being sold as a stand-alone "special edition" after having long been available as part of a trilogy set, the overall paltriness of the bonus features is a letdown. The extensive, well-produced extras on George Lucas's "Star Wars" prequel DVD's, with lengthy, thoughtful featurettes and deleted scenes, should have been the model followed here. Instead, it seems like Lucas and company were more interested in cashing in on "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" hoopla (a trailer for this latest sequel plays automatically before the main menu pops up) rather than rewarding loyal fans with something definitive and satisfying.
Buy this disc for the awesome movie, if you don't already own it; otherwise, pass. Trust me.
This is the greatest movie ever! 
2008-08-01 - Dude, if you have not seen Raiders of the Lost Ark yet, you have no life. No, let me tell you this movie is perfect. Good Story, Nice Action, not a lot of gore. And who doesn't like Harrison Ford, well, after the sucess of Star Wars I'm going to say nobody. And remember, this took place in 1936, so they had a bunch of stuff you don't see now. I mean this took place before the Wizard of Oz was made. (Gasp in horror) I know that's hard to beleive but that's what you get. So, Harrison Ford starred in one of the famous movies ever! So, see it if you have it. Stick around for my next review: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom!!!
CLASSIC ACTION & ADVENTURE! FORD'S DEFINING ROLE!
2008-07-13 - I bought the original box set many months ago on sale for a bargain price. Reading all the reviews for the new Indy installment I have been wanting to watch the original 3 films before eventually seeing the new one.
Watching the original was quite fun as I haven't watched the film in years! The DVD transfer is excellent and the audio is more than adequate on the original 4 DVD box set release not the newest release. This film still holds up well and could be labeled the definitive action adventure film without any arguments.
Ford is perfectly cast as the elusive whip-cracking archeologist and Allen is great as his very capable love interest. It's a one of kind film that has been copied so much it's hard to remember when this was fresh and new! The first film is the best by a mile, but I will be reviewing all the films as I watch them!
Still good after all this time.
2008-07-04 - Well it's Saturday morning movies again. Indiana Jones is the best of the action hero's and Raiders is still the best of these movies. Even after all this time, it still holds up. Settle back with a bag of popcorn and be prepared to have a great time.
They buried the dialog! 
2008-06-29 - First off, Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of my favorite movies and I'd give the movie itself 5 stars. However, I'm upset with this DVD and I can't recommend it. The score and sound effects are very loud compared to the dialog. In fact, in many places its hard to hear what the characters are saying unless you really turn up the sound (but then the score is super loud, and that is quite irritating).
I purchased this DVD after watching Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I was a little disappointed by it (it was okay, but not as good as the previous 3), however, my girl friend really enjoyed it. Though she also admitted to me that she had not seen the previous Indiana Jones movies. So I felt like it'd be fun to do a movie night where we saw the original.
I picked this DVD up figuring it'd be the definitive version. The picture is wonderful and the movie itself is a thrill to watch. However, several times during the movie we found ourselves saying "what did that person just say?" The music and sound effects were very loud and prominent, however the dialog wasn't. We had to turn the volume way up, to the point where when the music kicked in or certain sound effects (like thunder) occurred, they were annoyingly loud.
We actually stopped the movie twice and fiddled around with the settings on her TV. At one point we even restarted the DVD and checked the options menu to see if there was some kind of setting for normal sound - there wasn't. She told me no other DVD had this problem. So I'm assuming they've mixed the sound like this on purpose, which I find to be extremely annoying. I wish they would have just left it alone or made it so someone could watch the movie with normal sound.
As it is, I'm unhappy with this purchase and can't see myself watching this version again.
