Product Description

Movie DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4577 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, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• 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)

On the DVD
Regardless of one’s opinion of the movie, you can’t help but be impressed by the copious special features accompanying this two-disc edition of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Weighing in at well over three hours (occupying part of Disc One and all of Disc Two), the bonus material is considerably longer than the film itself, and is certainly among the most comprehensive of its kind. In "The Return of a Legend," director Steven Spielberg and other principals discuss the decision to make another Indiana Jones movie after an 18-year gap (Spielberg was reluctant, but star Harrison Ford lobbied for it, even though he’d be in his mid-60s when shooting began in ’07) and the development of the story and script. There are also featurettes of varying lengths about pre-production; post-production (including sound, music, and editing); the incredibly detailed makeup created for the warriors in the lost city of Akator sequence; the development of the iconic crystal skulls sought by bad and good guys alike; special effects (featuring the mastery of Industrial Light and Magic); and props (there were 30 copies each of Indy’s signature hat and leather jacket, to say nothing of the work that went into making authentic Peruvian stamps from the 1950s and other minutiae). Oh, and then there’s the centerpiece: an 80-minute "making of" film that covers absolutely everything, from the first day of shooting (in New Mexico) to the last (in the California desert), with stops in between in Hawaii and Connecticut and on some of the most amazing Hollywood sound stage sets you’ll ever see. In the end, what’s perhaps most impressive is Spielberg’s knowledge of and involvement in every last detail of the production, no matter how small; there’s a reason this guy is the most successful filmmaker of all time. --Sam Graham

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.

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.

I'd Rather Keep Waiting....It was More Fun
When I heard this movie was being made, and that Harrison Ford had agreed to once again portray the sexiest archeologist EVER, I was very excited and waited with great anticipation for it's release. Granted, I know that he's aged, but so have I, so I didn't find an aged Indiana Jones daunting. Then I started hearing rumors - whisperings about how the movie was going to disappoint. Then Spielberg and Lucas started spreading their own rumors -

"It's 100% faithful to the franchise".... "It's absolutely Indiana Jones".. etc., etc.. Optimism, for certain, but why?

My anticipation lifted once again, but I decided not to view any commercials or previews for the movie, nor to read any articles reviewing it, until I had a chance to see it for myself, untainted by the opinions of others. And, I have to say, when I finally saw the movie, I was very disappointed. National Treasures 2 was what this movie should have been - in fact, I kept finding aspects of National Treasures 2 in this movie, which made me wonder if the sets and action sequences were directed and produced by the same people. It's that similiar, and sadly, Nat'l Treasures 2 (being the true ripoff of Indy) was better.

Cate Blanchett is a fine actress, but her performance as a USSR secret agent left me pining for that Nazi woman in the third Indy movie. At least she had screen presence with Harrison Ford. And Shia LaBouf - I don't get it. He's okay - he's not great - but his character was too predictably intertwined (and seemingly uninterested) with Harrison Ford's, and Shia seemed unnecessary. If you cut him out, you could make the movie without him, and though it would still be a stinker of a film, at least Mr. LaBouf wouldn't be forever tainted by it.

The treatment of Indy's dead father was understandable (as Sean Connery refused to do the movie), but the colleague who's statue is defiled (can't recall his name) was unnecessary. Why dishonor that character in such a way? And no explanation as to why he, too, was dead?

Karen Allen's part was vague, with very little development, as though Spielberg sprinkled a little Karen Allen in the soup for some added flavor. She should have had more to do, better lines, a deeper character, such as her original role in the first Indy movie. Here, sadly, she was simply screen filler. Even her relationship with Harrison Ford seemed forced; no spark as with the original movie. Sadly, she, too, could have been written out and the movie would not have suffered for it. Neither would our memories of Karen Allen's performance in the original movie.

And I'm sorry, but aliens DO NOT belong in an Indiana Jones movie. Yes, I get it - he's aged and we need to see him in situations decades after his last adventure - but why aliens? Couldn't the Soviet spies be doing something else? Couldn't the crystal skull have meant something more? What about the existing legends surrounding the skulls? Where was that? Archeology nearly didn't exist in this movie - there was no true Soviet nemesis to antagonize Indy - Cate Blanchett's character was more like that Nazi-guy from the first movie - the guy who's face melted? Her character was more like his; he was not the antagonist in the first movie, nor should she have been the antagonist in this movie. An 'evil' archeologist would have added more to the story than a leather-clad, bondage-queen Russian who can somehow speak to aliens with her mind.

To sum it up, this movie was bad. It saddens me to say that, too, because I've been a Harrison Ford and Indiana Jones fan for a long time. I loved all three of the movies made twenty years ago. I've seen them each dozens of times, more times than I can count. And I honestly could care less if I ever see this one again. I ordered the DVD for my husband, who wants to complete his collection, but I don't think either of us will be viewing it more than once.