 The
fourth disc in The Adventures of Indiana
Jones could easily be mistaken for a fourth
feature adventure titled Indiana Jones
and the Search for the Bonus Material,
complete with Drew Struzan-inspired cover art.
The supplements on this fourth disc are decidedly
lean and mean: a newly produced two-hour-plus
documentary divided into three segments for
the separate films, and a handful of shorter
featurettes that deal with specific issues
like music, stunts and effects in the trilogy.
As the following review will indicate, there is
very little wrong with the various items that have
been included on this disc. What we will complain
about though are the things that are so clearly missing
here: no poster gallery, no deleted scenes, no storyboard
galleries, no vintage promotional featurettes, etc.
And as richly packed with anecdotes and reminiscences
as the documentary is, there are quite a few legendary
bits of Indy lore missing: where's the story about
poor diarrhea-plaged Harrison Ford's idea to replace
the scripted fight scene with the swordfighter, and
just
to shoot
him
instead? Major absences like this make this
handsome box set somehow fall short of becoming the
ultimate Indiana Jones collection so many had hoped
for. Perhaps more material will surface once the
dreaded fourth film is finally made (currently expected
to go into production in mid-2004), but something
tells us this is as good as it's going to get. But
don't despair, as the following page will illustrate
how impressive the extras on this release still are.
Indiana
Jones: Making the Trilogy
 The collection's meatiest extra
is this 125-minute documentary, divided
into three segments that can be viewed separately
or as a single item with the 'play all' button.
Spielberg's regular DVD producer Laurent Bouzereau
has delivered an authoritative, highly comprehensive
piece that's made up of new interview material
with all major cast and crew members, combined
with an extraordinary amount of behind-the-scenes
footage and innumerable well-chosen still images.
These range from conceptual art to behind-the-scenes
photographs and promotional images, including various
international release posters that pop up briefly.
There is so much material stuffed into this documentary
that it makes you wish it had also been made accessible
in some other form elsewhere on the disc, where
it could be browsed through more leisurely, along
with the other material that failed to make the
documentary's final cut.
 The
first - and longest - segment deals with the first
film's production, starting with the idea's fabled
genesis on a tropical island where George Lucase
was on vacation, fleeing the expected disaster
of the Star Wars premiere. Both Spielberg
and Lucas make frequent appearances here, discussing
the films' inception at length and guiding the
viewer through the production process. The editing
is superb throughout, incorporating a wealth of
behind-the-scenes footage that not only illustrates
the speakers' stories and recollections, but that
also make this documentary much easier and more
entertaining to watch than the amount of talking-head
material would suggest.
 Also
included within the documentary is some brief footage
from the screen tests undertaken by initial favorite
Tom Selleck, acting opposite Marion hopeful Sean
Young, as well as a glimpse of Tim Matheson auditioning
with Karen Allen. The second segment features Kate
Capshaw's screen test, while an early audition
by Alison Doody appears in the third part. Other
rare footage reveals a scene in which Sallah is
ordered to be executed by the Nazis, but this deleted
scene is unfortunately neither explained nor included
in any other form. We also get to see fun stuff
like Harrison Ford stapling his hat to his head
for a chase scene in which he keeps losing his
famous fedora, a flirtatious on-set bit between
a still-married Spielberg and clearly interested
future wife Kate
Capshaw, continued dorky jokes between Spielberg
and his cast and crew, and Spielberg yelling 'We
need more snakes!' while shooting the Well of Souls
sequence.
All
of this combined makes the full-length documentary
a fast-moving, highly enjoyable treat for any fan
of the trilogy, sure to offer at least a few tidbits
of previously unknown information even to the most
devoted followers. Who among us knew for instance
that Danny DeVito had originally been cast as Sallah,
but was forced to bow out because of a scheduling
conflict with his long-running sitcom Taxi (oddly
similar to Selleck's missing out on the lead role)?
It's a fluff-free affair, both informative and
highly entertaining, with the one caveat besides
those previously mentioned that Harrison Ford's
near-catatonic presence in his interview segments
doesn't exactly bode well for the expected fourth
film in the cycle.
Featurettes
 Besides the long documentary charting the
entire production process for all three films, four
twelve-minute featurettes on individual subjects
have also been newly produced for this release. Similarly
culled from new material footage and generous behind-the-scenes
footage, these excellent additions offer valuable
insight into production aspects that feature heavily
in all three films but are only touched upon briefly
in the longer documentary. The stunts, the sound
design, the musical score and the visual effects
are each summarized in lively, highly informative
featurettes that skip through the films' most memorable
moments, outlining the specific challenges and solutions
they encountered.
Trailers
A fairly random selection of teasers and theatrical
trailers for the three films rounds out the extras
on this disc. While by no means comprehensive,
it offers at least a taste of some of the promotional
material surrounding the trilogy.
In
conclusion
Although we may balk at the filmmakers' decision
to include only the newly produced documentary
material along with the selection of trailers in
this release, there is more than enough here to
satisfy the majority of Indy fans easily, offering
enough background material and anecdotes to fill
an entire evening's worth of home entertainment.
It's been a long wait so it's a little disappointing
that the set isn't as comprehensive as some may
have hope for, but the movies are here in amazing
video quality, and the documentaries are superlatively
produced. Kudos therefore again to Paramount for
delivering what will be without a doubt the holiday
season's top DVD release.
Indiana Jones
trilogy DVD reviews:
© 2003
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