Product Description

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 10/14/2008 Run time: 122 minutes Rating: Pg13

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3198 in DVD
• Brand: PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2008-10-14
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Widescreen
• Original language: English, French, Spanish
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 122 minutes

Amazon.com
Nearly 20 years after riding his last Crusade, Harrison Ford makes a welcome return as archaeologist/relic hunter Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, an action-packed fourth installment that's, in a nutshell, less memorable than the first three but great nostalgia for fans of the series. Producer George Lucas and screenwriter David Koepp (War of the Worlds) set the film during the cold war, as the Soviets--replacing Nazis as Indy's villains of choice and led by a sword-wielding Cate Blanchett with black bob and sunglasses--are in pursuit of a crystal skull, which has mystical powers related to a city of gold. After escaping from them in a spectacular opening action sequence, Indy is coerced to head to Peru at the behest of a young greaser (Shia LaBeouf) whose friend--and Indy's colleague--Professor Oxley (John Hurt) has been captured for his knowledge of the skull's whereabouts. Whatever secrets the skull holds are tertiary; its reveal is the weakest part of the movie, as the CGI effects that inevitably accompany it feel jarring next to the boulder-rolling world of Indy audiences knew and loved. There's plenty of comedy, delightful stunts--ants play a deadly role here--and the return of Raiders love interest Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood, once shrill but now softened, giving her ex-love bemused glances and eye-rolls as he huffs his way to save the day. Which brings us to Ford: bullwhip still in hand, he's a little creakier, a lot grayer, but still twice the action hero of anyone in film today. With all the anticipation and hype leading up to the film's release, perhaps no reunion is sweeter than that of Ford with the role that fits him as snugly as that fedora hat. --Ellen A. Kim




Stills from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Click for larger image)

Customer Reviews

So much time, so little result.
I love the first three Indy films. Like so many others I was greatly looking forward to seeing a new one. I thought (or hoped) that the very long time they took to come up with a script meant they were polishing it to a brilliant shine. After seeing the movie, I conclude it was really a long negotiation between Lucas, Spielberg, and Ford, with some of them eager to make a crappy movie, and some of them not, with the end result being crappy, but perhaps not as crappy as it might have been.

The movie started with a bit of promise (other than the infantile CGI prairie dog). I'm not as offended by the nuclear fridge scene as many are, because I know those mock towns weren't built at Ground Zero (or they would have been vaporized). They were built at a distance to judge the effect of the blast on places some miles from the explosion. So while it's not credible for Indy to survive being tossed around that much, he didn't exactly survive a nuclear explosion. Some of the other early scenes, such as those where Indy is actually discovering something, are also good.

Still...

About halfway through the movie, despite my fervent desire to like it, I realized it just wasn't working for me. No suspense. No real sense of urgency or danger. Low stakes. Too many marginal or pointless characters. Too much cartoon nonsense going on, far less believable than anything from the previous films (the stupid monkey vine swinging, Marian's idiotic tree-driving stunt, the multiple waterfall drops...none of it scary, none of it remotely convincing, or even fun). Marian's long-awaited big reveal was one of the biggest, flattest duds in film history. She shows up and spends most of the rest of the movie just tagging along with a dazed grin on her face like she was just grateful to be there, a flaccid dishrag compared to the character from the first film. Not Karen Allen's fault...she was just thrown in for nostalgia's sake, and was poorly written. Mutt was actually not a bad character, but I don't need or want him to be Indy's son. Is there any worse cliche in fiction than the Son He Never Knew He Had? I realize Spielberg and Lucas are fascinated by father issues, but I'm not. And then there's the whole point of the movie...the skull and the aliens...ehhhh. Who cares? The finale was a muddled jumble of flashing lights and wind that meant nothing and evoked nothing but tedium. Remember at the end of the previous films, where the characters actually seem to notice that something extraordinary has happened, were even scared, or traumatized just a little bit (okay, not so much in Crusade, where they quickly shake off any aftereffects and devolve into slapstick and lose all interest in their surroundings). Not this time. The giant flying saucer takes off, and Indy and his massive crew of sidekicks start cracking jokes.

I'm inclined to blame Lucas for most of this mess. He's made a habit of lapses of taste and judgement since...hmm..."Howard the Duck"?

I don't want to see this movie again, and I don't want to own it. I hope they don't make another, because these guys have proven they no longer have what it takes.

Details for the Two-disc Set! Not Really a Review.
This review is for; Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Two-Disc Special Edition)

It seems fans either hated or loved the latest Indiana Jones film as noted by the numerous other reviews, but I was moderatley satisfied with the effort. Rather than do an honest review of a DVD that I do not have yet, I just wanted to point out the new features for the upcoming two-disc edition of "The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". For collector geeks like me, Best Buy is offering a replica Crystal Skull with the two disc set as a special Best Buy exclusive collector set. Also Target is packing their 2-Disc Sets with a collectible hardcover book (the two DVD's are actuallly stored in the book).

Note when the DVD will be available there will be a single disc and two disc editions. Here are the details for the two-disc set.

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL two-disc Special Edition DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with THX Certified Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround and English, French and Spanish subtitles.

Disc 1:
* The Return of a Legend--The evolution of the new film and a tribute to the legendary hero and his creators.

* Pre-Production--Follows Steven Spielberg as he creates animatic sequences, Shia LaBeouf as he learns to swordfight and captures the reunion of filmmakers and cast on the soundstage.

Disc 2:
* Production Diary: Making Kingdom of the Crystal Skull--Join filmmakers, cast and crew for a complete look at the making of the film.
Shooting Begins: New Mexico
Back To School: New Haven , Connecticut
Welcome to the Jungle: Hilo , Hawaii
On-Set Action
Exploring Akator
Wrapping Up!

* Warrior Makeup
* The Crystal Skulls
* Iconic Props
* The Effects of Indy
* Adventures in Post Production
* Closing: Team Indy

* Pre-Visualization Sequences
Area 51 Escape
Jungle Chase
Ants Attack

Galleries
* The Art Department
The Adventure Begins
Cemetery and Jungle
Akator

* Stan Winston Studio
Corpses, Skeletons & Mummies
Aliens & Crystal Skulls

* Production Photographs
* Portraits
* Behind-the-Scenes Photographs
* Lego INDIANA JONES: THE ORIGINAL ADVENTURES XBox 360 Game Demo
* Trailers

Indiana Jones and the temple of bad scripts
What a mess this movie was. Good to see Indy again but you can tell from the start that Lucas had approval over this script after rumors he threw out so many better scripts out the window (Frank Durapont anyone?).
Indy surviving nuclear blasts, Rodents coming up from the ground and grinning at the camera, Shia LaBouf swinging from vines in a jungle with Monkeys and hardly any Marion. She barely has anything to say.
Then you get the ending which comes out of a different movie.
Suspending Disbelief is one thing but you gotta check your brain and taste at the door for this one.
Lets hope they don't make any spinoffs with Indy's kid.