Why So Blu?

Indiana Jones: 4-Movie Collection (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

Low and behold, for the 40th anniversary of Raiders of the Lost Ark, we are gifted all the of the Indiana Jones film on the glorious 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray format. Sure, there will be a future set with the not yet as of now named Indiana Jones 5 filming for release in the summer of 2022. This new set is essentially what we were given for standard Blu-ray, with new transfers, audio and packaging providing the appeal. All previous bonus materials have been ported over. And if you’re thinking, “well, that’s not enough new or bonus for me”, then you haven’t had a look at these stunning new transfers (Along with the updated color timing and revamped image for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). The set was releases on June 8th, but had some replication delays and has slowly been being dispersed around. So its very possible you’ve had this in your hands and watched it 3 times over before I could get this review up. And if not, please use the paid Amazon Associates link below to land yourself a copy.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

An epic tale in which an intrepid archaeologist tries to beat a band of Nazis to a unique religious relic which is central to their plans for world domination. Battling against a snake phobia and a vengeful ex-girlfriend (Karen Allen), Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is in constant peril, making hair’s-breadth escapes at every turn in this celebration of the innocent adventure movies of an earlier era.

After an impeccable 40 years legacy, I’m not sure I can add much more to the praise and wonder that is Raiders of the Lost Ark. The George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford collaboration is the most seminal cinematic adventure movie of all time. If you only see one Indiana Jones film (Even though my heart may rest with The Last Crusade), make it this one. If you only see one adventure film in your lifetime, make it this one. From script, to casting, to production, to post-production, to presentation, the result is one of the most perfected spectacles of the lifetime of movies.

In my youth, I was thrilled by the characters, the thrills and everything that was happening in front of me as I gazed at my television screen. Now, in my older age, I’ve relished in just aweing over the precision and mastery that was the production of the film. Everything from the cinematography, the choreography, the sets, actors’ performance choices…all the way to the editing and the sound design. Its a sheer marvel and a wonderful follow up to cinematic magic to that of Star Wars. The fun and enjoyment has also been a joy to pass on to generations as I’ve had a fondness in showing these to my son and look forward to letting my daughter peer into this world in the near future.

Video

Disclaimer: Screen captures used in the review are not taken from the 4K UHD Blu-ray disc.

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

Layers: BD-66

Clarity/Detail: This will begin the consecutive video sections that can’t help but gush over the restoration and transfer of the Indiana Jones series in its debut on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray. Raiders of the Lost Ark looks absolutely marvelous, with its improved blacks, crisp image that displays a wealth of depth before your eyes. There have also been some cosmetic fixes on the image when it comes to the special effects and matting to keep them from looking revealing and becoming more at one with their intended frames.

Depth:  Depth of field is very strong here, inside and out. The sense of scale is quite impressive and the pushback and three dimensional zest inside the various caverns is impressive. Movement is fluid, cinematic and smooth featuring no issues with any sort of jitter or blur.

Black Levels: Blacks are quite natural and rich with good shading that impresses while also holding onto details in the shadows, dark surfaces and patterns. No crushing witnessed.

Color Reproduction: Raiders boasts some bolder natural browns with all different tints and looks to it. Good saturation and contrast with golds and other more regular desert colors that display throughout the film. Its point of most craziness and where HDR best comes into play happens during the “spirited” finale.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and consistent from start to finish of the film. The amount of facial detail in any given framing distance is terrific with stubble, lip texture, make-up, LOTS OF sweat beads, wrinkles freckles and more.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

Audio

Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Italian 5.1 Dolby Digital, Italian 2.0 Dolby Digital, Japanese 5.1 Dolby Digital, Japanese 2.0 Dolby Digital, Russian 2.0 Dolby Digital

Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Cantonese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Russian, Swedish, Thai

Dynamics:  Raiders of the Lost Ark starts another recurring theme in this set –  AWESOME Atmos tracks. They’ve really done a wonderful job with this new mix. While it weaves and wanders through a modern home theater setup, the soundscapes and designs feels very natural to both the film and the era. Its an engaging mix that feels right at home with the series while taking full advantage of the technologies we have today.

Height: From above, we get planes soaring overhead, engine blades whooping, cave debris falling, spirits floating above and so much more.

Low Frequency Extension: Whip cracking, engines roaring, gun shots, caves crashing, the giant boulder rolling, explosions and that wonderful Ben Burtt punch sound effect all get a nice tap from the subwoofer.

Surround Sound Presentation:  The speaker layout is provided with some wonderful rolling travel as well as unique sounds to filter in an environment. Its been well thought out for staying true to the film and also giving it an extra kick at the same time. Its quite engaging, fresh and natural for a film 40 years of age.

Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are very clear and crisp and are wonderfully woven into each environment, feeling a complete piece of it.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

Intrepid archaeologist Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), on the trail of fortune and glory in Old Shanghai, is ricocheted into a dangerous adventure in India. With his faithful companion Short Round and nightclub singer Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw), Indie goes in search of the magical Sankara stone, and uncovers an ancient evil which threatens all who come into contact with it.

Temple of Doom tends to be the one of the original three films that if you’re gonna have to put one down, it tends to be this one. Which is dumb. I’ve personally always said, if your favorite or one you think of Indiana Jones is best and its either Raiders, Temple or Crusade; then you’re not wrong! In my latter years, every time I return to this movie, I’ve tended to continually be more impressed by it. I grew up trying to be cool saying it was awesome because it was that “dark chapter” for the original trilogy. But, honestly, the film has so much more to offer than that and the filmmaking behind it is incredibly impressive to boot.

The fact that this is the follow up to Raiders is crazy. What is great is that Spielberg and Lucas try everything they can to not just do another Raiders. This originated from them wanting to do a “haunted house” movie for the second Indiana Jones film and it still is, but in a way that is very true to the character and world they set up in the original. Making it a prequel is an interesting choice and going batshit crazy with the voodoo magic stuff is another turn. The film also ups the ante in the action department with some really big and over the top yet done in a grounded way action set pieces that would lift themselves to iconic status just like Raiders. Jumping out of the plane to safety raft down a snowy mountain, the mine cart chase, the bridge sequence. Its all quite memorable as are the gross out moments. The fact that this all came together, was made, and works like gangbusters is quite a feat achieved.

Video

Disclaimer: Screen captures used in the review are not taken from the 4K UHD Blu-ray disc.

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

Layers: BD-66

Clarity/Detail:  Temple of Doom might be the dazzler overall of the set. Quite possibly this transfer may have been the most flashy and impressive of the four included. You’ll be able to see it right from the opening number in the film. Its one of the most colorful, its sharp and it still has the raw look, but with just a hair more polish than Raiders.

Depth:  Once again there are great deals of depth on display in the caverns and some impressive scale during the first act where we see mountains, villages and the outside of the palace. The bridge at the end is a treat. One thing to note is that the rear projection chases actually turn out quite well and aren’t really much revealing or separated. Perhaps some work had been done to clean them up but they look good. Movements are smooth and cinematic.

Black Levels: Blacks are deep and able to really build a nice aesthetic throughout the dark caverns as well as the nighttime jungle and palace halls. Details hold strong on fabrics, surfaces and in the night/shadows with no crushing at all.

Color Reproduction: Right from the open you get flashy reds in that of Willie’s dress, gems, and also some really nice touches on white. The palace provides many other popping colors and the caverns add some glowing reds and fire to play and relish in the HDR.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and consistent from start to finish. Facial features and textures reveal make-up, freckles, face paint finger/brush strokes, wrinkles, dried dirt, sweat, sunburn and more.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

Audio

Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Italian 5.1 Dolby Digital, Japanese 5.1 Dolby Digital, Japanese 2.0 Dolby Digital, Russian 2.0 Dolby Digital

Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Cantonese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Russian, Swedish, Thai

Dynamics: In terms of performance, I might tip my hat to Temple of Doom for best image/sound combination. This one is quite engaging right from the pressing of “Play”. It dashes between musical numbers to action shootouts to haunted house antics with such precision, layering and depth. Its quite engaging and always keeping you full invested and as a part of the screen entertainment being presented before you.

Height: From above you get some fire, planes, debris, the creaks of someone being lowered into a fiery pit, mining cares, a bridge falling, bats and plenty more.

Low Frequency Extension:  Whips cracking, cars crashing, gunfire, big band drums, roaring fire, rumbling mine carts, punches…when it comes to the subwoofer “anything goes”.

Surround Sound Presentation: All of these are quite fun tracks. This one opens up playing around your room with the big musical number which then becomes a shootout with all sorts of effects hopping around the room. This one does great in the ambience department and creating real feeling environments with unique touches.

Dialogue Reproduction:  Vocals are clear and crisp, always feeling at one with their given environment and audio no matter how loud the action gets.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

The intrepid explorer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) sets out to rescue his father (Sean Connery), a medievalist who has vanished while searching for the Holy Grail. Following clues in the old man’s notebook, Indy arrives in Venice, where he enlists the help of a beautiful academic (Alison Doody), but they are not the only ones who are on the trail, and some sinister old enemies soon come out of the woodwork.

The summer of 1989 was a monumental time in the road to becoming who I am. It was that summer that I came to love movies more, my passion and following of them growing. I started going to the theater “all the time”. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was one of those pivotal films that had my ears grow large and my heart grow fonder for cinema. It was a great adventure, one that harkened back to Raiders while becoming its own great adventure film by itself.

Indy’s relationship with his estranged father proves a strong and powerful backbone to the third adventure. There are so many factors contributing to where it all comes from, how it plays and what it all means. Ford and Connery easily have some wonderful scenery, and Connery is making every second count. You also have the original James Bond playing patriarch to the greatest character he inspired. Behind the scenes, Spielberg was working through deeply personal issues with his real life father as well. All the way around, its important and plays as such. It provides for some added weight, stakes and strength to the overall mission that if you’re not going to have Marian back, this is the place to amp it up. And after a silly, slightly clumsy opening sequence, this movie more than makes up for it and soars as one of Hollywood’s top blockbusters ever.

Video

Disclaimer: Screen captures used in the review are not taken from the 4K UHD Blu-ray disc.

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

Layers: BD-66

Clarity/Detail: Continuing on with great transfers, The Last Crusade is on par with the first two films. Its got a great, raw, filmic look for an adventure film. The one downside may be where Temple of Doom managed to impress; the rear projection footage. Particularly in the fighter pilot chase, you can clearly see the separation and strings pulled to make this effect work. Its not a deal breaker, but its a hair more obvious now in this rich 4k image.

Depth:  Depth of field is terrific again with good spacing and scaled showing throughout. Nice pushback on display in many of the sets. The aforementioned rear project thing aside, its a good view. Motion is smooth and cinematic with no distortion issues to report.

Black Levels: Black levels are natural and very terrific, showcasing darkened caverns, libraries, nighttime sequences. They also showcase good contrast to really sharpen and detail the characters and objects on screen. No crushing witnessed.

Color Reproduction: The color palette is very much the same as Raiders here, with the Nazi logo’s read really showcasing a lot of pop. Most of the HDR and flare come from fire and some fashionable outfits that show up throughout.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and stay the course from opening to closing credits. Facial features and textures like scars, dirt, make-up lines, lip texture, wrinkles, stubble, sweat and more are clear as day.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

Audio

Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Italian 5.1 Dolby Digital, Japanese 5.1 Dolby Digital, Japanese 2.0 Dolby Digital, Russian 2.0 Dolby Digital

Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Cantonese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Russian, Swedish, Thai

Dynamics:  Again, The Last Crusade treats us to an astounding performance for our ears. We gets a very dynamic and intricate mix that hones in such great balance and depth. The film has a lifelike feel to it, engaging you in every environment from the quietest caverns to the loudest desert action chase.

Height: From above you can hear footsteps on the train cars, debris falling, planes flying from above, seagulls flying into planes flying above, fire, gunshots and more!

Low Frequency Extension: Tanks rolling, gunfire, explosions, those Jones punches, plane engines, crashing and more really thump on your subwoofer.

Surround Sound Presentation: Another master design in building ambience, delivering successful impacting rolling sound and also having some fun without going overboard on speaker travel and unique sound placement. Pretty much every scene in the film is a great and could be used as a good example of how to do it in terms of designing a mix.

Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are clear and crisp, becoming one and present in every environment.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

It’s the height of the Cold War, and famous archaeologist Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), returning from his latest adventure, finds out his job at Marshall College is in jeopardy. He meets Mutt (Shia La Beouf), a young man who wants Indy to help him find the legendary Crystal Skull of Akator, and the pair set out for Peru. However, deadly agent Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) is searching for the powerful artifact, too, because the Soviets believe it can help them conquer the world.

As we cap off with the latest adventure of Henry Jones, Jr, it comes with that similar reputation as that of the Star Wars prequels. Granted, the film is a clear step down from its predecessors, I do feel it has enough going for it. There’s a moment of complete cinematic embarrassment (Shia and the monkeys) to go along with some rusty, plodding filmmaking storytelling from those who are trying to make a new entry in a series after 19 years. But, overall, instead of being “great” as we’ve come to see with the films of the 1980s, it winds up being merely “fine”.

Spielberg is on record as having not been fully invested or wanting to do this one and it definitely can show in some of the stuff he allows in and some of the pacing that happens throughout. However, there are ideas, lines and some action that I do find appreciation in. For one, I enjoy the divisive opening sequence of the film as well as the plot dealing with the extraterrestrial influence and find they both fit with the precedents set by the original 3 as well as fit the nature of the atomic age of cinema with which, given his age, Indiana would be toying in. There’s a great line from Jim Broadbent where he discusses how you get to an age where life starts giving less and starts taking away. In the nature of Indy the character, it does work. No, the film isn’t perfect, its not a classic and I’m not going to die on a hill for it, but its a solid watch overall every once in a while.

Video

Disclaimer: Screen captures used in the review are not taken from the 4K UHD Blu-ray disc.

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

Layers: BD-66

Clarity/Detail:  Quite possibly the most revelatory transfer in the boxed set winds up being Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Sure, its a crisp, highly detailed and well polished image. But, they’ve gonna a step further and re-timed the film and roughed it up to fit more in line with how the original trilogy’s aesthetic was. No, it still has a bit of glisten and very polished look to it, but its admirable in this attempt and doesn’t feel as drastic a jump when coming off The Last Crusade. I’m also certain the fifth film will do its best to try and ape what Raiders looks like, so this one will not stick out like a sore thumb.

Depth:  The film proves to be quite open and spacious in its depth of field. Right from the start, the inside of the Area 51 warehouse is quite large and deep with a good display of such well ranged pushback. Also having the camera swing by and showcasing things in the foreground passing by loosely and free of the background is a nice example. Movements are natural and smooth.

Black Levels: Blacks are deep and natural. Some really good displays and contrasts on night skies, and cavern flame to darkness lighting showcase how well its done. No issues with crushing and not problematic instances of details being masked by a shadowy, dark scene or darkened surfaces/fabrics.

Color Reproduction:  Colors are quite strong and have a nice flair to them be it a popping color or just sort of a more rustic look. Costuming and such does have a bit of a costume-y and clean look to them so they kind of have a nice primary feel to stick out.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and consistent from start to finish. Facial features are plenty clear as day with wrinkles, make-up lines, dried blood, sweat, stubble and more coming through from any given reasonable distance in the frame.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

Audio

Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Italian 5.1 Dolby Digital, Japanese 5.1 Dolby Digital, Russian 2.0 Dolby Digital

Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Cantonese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Russian, Swedish, Thai

Dynamics:  Kingdom of the Crystal Skull provides the most modern sound design of the films and easily lends itself to a cleaner approach and one that was loose and open for a speaker system upgrade. Its a very clean track, with vocals ever-present. Its sweeps you away easily and provides some good, deep and involved action for your viewing space.

Height: Planes flying over, debris falling. whips cracking and (sigh) monkeys deliver some of your tip top speaker fun.

Low Frequency Extension: This has no problem delivering the roaring engines, gunfire, explosions, magnetic humming and Indy punches with a good jolt from the subwoofer.

Surround Sound Presentation:  There are a lot of things to have fun with in this mix. Like all before them, the caverns and jungles provide for random and unique sounds from anywhere around the screen. The first tomb Indy and Mutt venture to (With the blow gun guy) features a haunted house worth of material. The finale also provides loads of powerful soundscaping to blast your system.

Dialogue Reproduction:  Vocals are clear and crisp. In the introduction of the film, just until past the interrogation scene, Ford seems to have some sort of “hero” amplification put onto his lines, making it deeper and more powerful in delivering lines than other characters. It almost makes them feel a hair separate.

Extras

Indiana Jones: 4-Movie Collection is a 5-Disc set (4 4K UHD, 1 standard Blu-ray) and comes with a digital copy for each film and a pull out poster that features the original poster artwork for the films on one side and a map/timeline on the reverse. The bonus disc is the same one that came with the standard Blu-ray set from 2012.

Disc 1 – Raiders of the Lost Ark

Teaser Trailer (HD, 1:03)

Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2:33) 

Re-Issue Trailer (HD, 1:45)

Disc 2 – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Teaser Trailer (HD, 1:00)

Theatrical Trailer (HD, 1:26)

Disc 3 – Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Teaser Trailer (HD, 1:28)

Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2:13)

Disc 4 – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Theatrical Trailer 2 (HD, 1:51)

Theatrical Trailer 3 (HD, 1:55) 

Theatrical Trailer 4 (HD, 1:40)

Disc 5 – Bonus Features

On Set with Raiders of the Lost Ark

• From Jungle To Desert (HD, 29:35)
• From Adventure To Legend (HD, 28:17)

Making The Films

• The Making of Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981) (SD, 57:48)
• The Making of Raiders Of The Lost Ark (SD, 50:52)
• The Making of Temple Of Doom (SD, 41:09)
• The Making of The Last Crusade (SD, 35:03)
• The Making of Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (HD, 28:49)

Behind the Scenes

• The Stunts of Indiana Jones (SD, 10:56)
• The Sound of Indiana Jones (SD, 13:21)
• The Music of Indiana Jones (SD, 12:22)
• The Light and Magic of Indiana Jones (SD, 12:22)
• Raiders: The Melting Face! (SD, 8:12)
• Indiana Jones and the Creepy Crawlies (SD, 11:46)
• Travel with Indiana Jones: Locations (SD, 9:58)
• Indy’s Women: The American Film Institute Tribute (SD, 9:15)
• Indy’s Friends and Enemies (SD, 10:10)
• Iconic Props (SD, 9:52)
• The Effects of Indy (SD, 22:34)
• Adventures In Post Production (SD, 12:36)

Summary

Indiana Jones remains a must-have for home video whenever it releases. Day one. The 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray set has provided us with stunning image quality and roaring Atmos tracks that have breathed continued new life into these timeless classics. This is far more important than any new bonus features that what just have people saying the same things as they did before just at an older age. One look at Raiders, Temple, Crusade and Crystal Skull will have you quite engaged and entranced by these restorations. No brainer pick up here. But, then again, you probably don’t need me or my review to tell you that.

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