DVD Review: Indiana Jones: The Adventure Collection

This DVD set brings us the three original Indiana Jones adventures-Indiana Jones and The Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. These films were produced by powerhouse Lucasfilm, LTD, executive-produced by George Lucas (Star Wars Saga, American Graffiti) and directed by Steven Spielberg (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws). In Raiders, set in 1936, we are introduced to Archaeology Professor Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones (Harrison Ford), as he searches for the Lost Ark of The Covenant, competing with Nazis and a French archaeologist Rene' Belloq (Paul Freeman) in a globe-trotting adventure which introduces us to his old flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), friend and colleague Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) and old friend Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) which takes him from the jungles of Peru to fictional Marshall College to the high Himalayas to the deserts of Egypt in the search for the chest used to transport the Ten Commandments. Temple of Doom introduces new characters such as Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw), Short Round (Khe We Quan) and villainous Mola Ram (Amrish Puri) in a fight to recover the Sankara Stones from the Thuggee Cult in 1935 India. Dan Ackroyd has an uncredited cameo in the film as well. In Last Crusade, set in 1938, we meet Indy's Dad, Professor Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery), who is rescued by Indy and his ally Dr. Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody) who turns out later to be a Nazi, and she joins forces with Walter Donovan (Julian Glover) and Colonel Vogel (Michael Byrne) in a quest for the Holy Grail which goes from the city of Venice to the deserts near the ancient city of Petra to a castle in Germany to Berlin, right in the heart of the Nazi stronghold, where Indy has a rather unexpected meeting with Adolf Hitler. Brody and Sallah also accompany Indy and his dad along the way, and we see the late River Phoenix portraying a young Indy in a flashback sequence. There are also great extras on this DVD set, great behind the scenes features and extra goodies. I highly recommend this set for any Indy fan or any adventure film collector.