4.4 Stars (out of 5) - Rated PG & PG-13

This review is only of the first three movies, since Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was previously released on Blu-ray.

Synopsis

Raiders of the Lost Ark

When Dr. Indiana Jones -- the tweed-suited professor who just happens to be a celebrated archaeologist and adventurer -- is hired by the government to locate the legendary Ark of the Covenant, he finds himself up against the entire Nazi regime.

Temple of Doom

The second film in the Indiana Jones series takes Indy, young sidekick Short Round and spoiled songbird Willie Scott to a remote fortress in India to find a missing magical stone. In the process, the trio stumbles upon a pagan cult.

The Last Crusade

Fedora and whip at the ready, Indiana Jones sets off on his third cinematic outing accompanied by none other than his father, Henry, to explore the cradle of civilization on a perilous hunt for the Holy Grail -- which the Nazis are also after.

Starring:

Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Kate Capshaw, Sean Connery, Jonathan Ke Quan, John Rhys-Davies, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, Amrish Puri, Alison Doody, Denholm Elliott

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Blu-ray Release Date:

September 18, 2012

Subtitles:

English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese

Rating

Overall rating weighted as follows:

Audio 40%, Video 40%, Special Features 20%, Movie - its just our opinion so take it with a grain of salt

Audio 4.1 Stars (out of 5)

Dolby and DTS Demo Discs used as basis for comparison

Subwoofer - 4.0 Stars

Dialog - 4.5 Stars

Surround Effects - 3.5 Stars

Dynamic Range - 4.5 Stars

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0, Portuguese: Dolby Digital 2.0

Indy sounds good on Blu-ray. Sometimes the bass is overkill for certain effects like punches and gunshots, and it almost makes the action cartoon like. The low end does a good job with rumbles of rolling ball, airplane propellers, explosions, deep humming of the Ark, and heavy drums in the temple of doom. It's easy to tell surround effects were added to the sound track, they don't sound unnatural, there just not many off them. The iconic John Williams score fills the back channels often, wind, whizzing bullets, wide explosions, sounds of crowds are also heard. A few scenes loose some lines of dialog, but for the most part dialog sounds great. It was a real treat to hear the old THX trademark sound at the beginning, my wife and I smiled, and our kids just thought it sounded cool.

Video 4.6 Stars (out of 5)

Spears & Munsil Benchmark Blu-ray Edition used as basis for comparison

Color Accuracy - 4.5 Stars

Shadow detail - 4.0 Stars

Clarity - 4.5 Stars

Skin tones - 5.0 Stars

Compression - 5.0 Stars

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC, Resolution: 1080p, Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1, Original Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

The Indiana Jones series looks great on Blu-ray. The original negative was scanned at 4K and then examined frame-by-frame so that any damage could be repaired. There's light film grain, dark scenes loose lots of details in the shadows, but no compression issues were noticeable. Clarity was good enough to see detail in fake spider webs, Indiana's heroic beard stubble, fur on rats, wrinkled clothing, melted faces, and the leather grain on Indy's jacket. Colors are warm and make the gold ark shine extra bright, forests appear deep green, and the vivid colors of the outfits during the dance sequence all show what Blu-ray was made for.

Bonus Features 4.5 Stars (out of 5)

On Set with Raiders of the Lost Ark

• From Jungle to Desert

• From Adventure to Legend

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 (HD)

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) (HD)

• The Effects of Indy (Crystal Skull) (HD)

• Adventures in Post Production (Crystal Skull) (HD).

Movie - 4.0 Stars (out of 5)

Review

As a whole Indiana Jones is one the best adventure series of all time. The way they're directed and the style of action make them timeless. They're movies I share with my kids, and I don't have to force them to watch. These movies are part of the American texture. If I see a kid pretending to use a whip, they aren't a lion tamer, they're Indiana Jones. Looking at the movies with a critical eye, they aren't perfect. They have several plot holes, sometimes the action is over the top, but the excitement, mystery, and fun is what make the movies a joy to watch. Everyone loves the Raiders of the Lost Ark, some consider it to be the perfect adventure movie, I find it hard to disagree. Lots of people don't care for the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I think it's a bit silly, but it's a fun film that fits right into the overall storyline. If they make another Indiana Jones, I'll be inline with my kids eager for adventure.