An article written by Jim Hill, regarding the release of the Adventures of Indiana Jones DVD Collection appeared online. It explains how South Park might have contributed to the release of these films without alteration. No kidding? Click here to read this interesting article.

Thanks to Matt Speckmann and Rober from IndyEsp.net for letting us know.

Great news! Just received a new press release from Lucasfilm with as title:

Indy’s Back and Better Than Ever:
‘The Holy Grail’ of DVD is Fastest-
Selling DVD Movie Collection in History.

He’s still the ultimate hero. Indiana Jones, legendary action-adventure icon, proved to be a DVD sensation as The Adventures of Indiana Jones: The Complete DVD Movie Collection became the fastest-selling DVD movie collection of all time with more than $50 million in retail sales in the U.S. and Canada since its release on Oct. 21.
"There was significant demand for this box set across a very broad consumer base," said Thomas Lesinski, President of Paramount Pictures, Worldwide Home Entertainment. "Sales were so brisk during the first four days that many retailers had a hard time keeping the collection in stock over the weekend."
In its first week, the Indiana Jones DVD collection sold more than 1.1 million units, said Jim Ward, Vice President of Marketing and Distribution for Lucasfilm Ltd.
"This is just the beginning of what looks to be a long and very successful run for Indiana Jones at DVD retailers," Ward said. "We couldn’t be more pleased about the fantastic sales figures, but probably the best news is that we delivered a collection that lived up to the enormously high expectations that Indiana Jones fans had for this movie collection. We know that Indy is at the top of their holiday gift lists, as well, so we’re looking forward to strong results through the end of the year."

Critics had near-unanimous praise for the boxed set. "Break out the whips and
fedoras!" raved Entertainment Weekly in a "Grade: A" review. "It’s Lucas-sleek yet Spielberg-accessible." The Sacramento Bee called it "a triumphant achievement." Across the Atlantic, sentiments were just as positive. Wrote the U.K.’s Empire Magazine: "As far as DVD goes, this is the Holy Grail."
Added Ward: "Our top priority was making sure these movies looked and sounded better than ever, so a new generation of fans can discover them for the first time. The reviews are really pleased with the quality of the discs and the bonus materials."

Click here to read the full press release, and many thanks to Lucasfilm!!

Last Friday October 24th, Indiana Jones finally arrived on DVD in Mexico. And to celebrate the return of Indiana Jones, many video stores gave away different premiums while purchasing the DVD boxed set.

• Blockbuster offered a nice reproduction of Indy´s bag and a postcard valid for two free rents.
• Mix-Up gave away during the pre-sell a boxed wall clock featuring art from the Temple of Doom.
• Costco included with the boxed set a free VHS adventure of Young Indiana Jones.
• And Liverpool is currently giving away a special Indiana Jones mug.

But that is not all! Cinepremiere magazine offered (during the whole month of October) a special treat for all Indy fans. While subscribing to the magazine they included a free Indiana Jones poster.

For the first time ever in Mexico, a movie -- or in this case a series of movies -- are promoted in such a big way. So fans must choose wisely from the wide range of cool collectible options while taking Indy home finally on DVD!

The people at Film Rotation are currently giving away one juicy, delicious Adventures of Indiana Jones: The Complete DVD Movie Collection! Entering is easy! All you have to do is posting an ATB on this page between 10/23/03 and 12/01/03 and tell them in 50 words or more why you deserve this set! Click here for more information on this contest.

Also check out Film Rotation's Indiana Jones DVDs review here.

I have received information from Lucasfilm that The Adventures of Indiana Jones: The Complete DVD Movie Collection will be released on Nov. 4 in France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy. It will be released Nov. 7 in Japan.
Paramount and Lucasfilm looked at many different factors before determining what release date worked best for an individual country or territory.

Our Indy on DVD section has been updated with two Adventures of Indiana Jones DVD Collection reviews written by Aaron Higgins and Mike French. Here follows an except from Mike's review:

After two major videotape releases, two waves of laserdiscs, and an egregious waiting period, Indiana Jones has finally come to DVD in a four-disc box set. It would seem to be the brass ring that every fan and film enthusiast has been waiting for. But is it really? Let’s take a hard, close look at this new set from the packaging to the bonus material and see if measures up to the tough expectations.
This review will focus on the DVDs themselves and their technical pros and cons. Not on critiquing the films themselves. Everyone has an opinion about the films. This review is purely a DVD analysis.

Go check out our expanded Indy on DVD section.

Premiere.com has let me know that they are giving away 4 sets of the Adventures of Indiana Jones DVD Collection. Click here for more information.

Now running on the FOXNews.com website is a great article about the newly released DVDs and a teaser about the upcoming sequel (or sequels?) located at the end by Kate Capshaw-Spielberg. Here is an excerpt from the article:

Indiana Jones helped redefine popcorn adventure flicks during the 1980s, making archaeology look cool while fighting Nazis and battling snakes."I think we created a genre, the action adventure genre," producer Frank Marshall told Fox News. "You know it was old-fashioned moviemaking." Now the trilogy is coming to a DVD shelf near you, millennium style. And the makers were not about to let long-awaiting fans down. The Adventures of Indiana Jones debuted Tuesday in a four-disc boxed set that includes one of the most comprehensive behind-the-scenes documentaries ever.

Click here for the whole article.

Moishe Paskesz from New York has send me several photos of the 12x3 feet Adventures of Indiana Jones DVD Collection advertisement banner that appears on the side of some MTA busses.

These MTA bus adverts was first reported by Beau earlier this month.

Thanks to Moishe Paskesz for the photos.

Reuters reported today that The Adventures of Indiana Jones - The Complete DVD Movie Collection appears to be on the road to becoming the best-selling box set of a catalogue film franchise in DVD history.

It sold about 600,000 copies in the U.S on Tuesday -- during its first day in retail release -- according to industry estimates.

Considering the average $46 (27 pounds) price tag at most online shops and at brick-and-mortar stores, total consumer spending on the four-disc box set is estimated to have generated upwards of $28 million (14 million pounds) within the first 24 hours on store shelves.

Click here to read the full report. And thanks to Chris L. for letting me know.

Steven Awalt from Spielbergfilms.com has written a detailed review of the Best Buy bonus Raiders of the Lost Ark vintage featurette DVD. Here's an except of the review:

The documentary, produced during the film's 1980 production was obviously created to hype the film (presumably to either theatrical exhibitors or their audiences). It should be noted that this 10-minute documentary is not just an edit or extraction from the longer complimentary documentaries produced during the making of the film, Great Movie Stunts and The Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark, rather it is a completely different affair containing a majority of footage and interviews not seen in either of the other documentaries from the period.

Click here to read the full review.

The Adventures of Indiana Jones DVD Collection are now available in Finland today and will officially hit shelves in Mexico next Friday on October 24th. The Indiana Jones DVD set will arrive in Italy, Spain, Germany, and Belgium within 2 weeks, on November 4th. This date will probably also count for the other West European countries. Except the UK of course, who got their Indy DVD sets yesterday.

Many thanks to Ville-Pekka Reponen, Rober from IndyEsp.net, Federico, Holger and Emilio Lopèz for letting us know.

An other Adventures of Indiana Jones DVD Collection is online at Fulvue Drive-in.com. This one is critical but an interesting take on the Indiana Jones films and DVDs.

Click here to read it.

Okay fellow Indiana Jones fans! This is the week you have all been waiting for, the Indiana Jones trilogy on DVD! Besides the original Star Wars films, the most anticipated DVDs ever.
The Adventures of Indiana Jones DVD Collection have officially hit shelves in the UK today (Region 2 version) and the Region 1 version will be available in stores in the USA and Canada tomorrow!

You're all lucky, we Indyfans here in Belgium and likely also more countries in Europe have to wait till the week of November 3th to be able to grab our copy of the Adventures of Indiana Jones DVD Collection from the shelves!

Anyone who can tell me when the Indiana Jones DVDs are expected to arrive in The Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Mexico, etc. ?

There's short but good review of the Adventures of Indiana Jones DVD Collection set on VideoBusiness magazine's site: DVD Exclusive. Here's a part of the review:

Just as archaeologist/adventurer Indiana Jones unearthed a treasure of ancient relics, fans of the films will discover priceless gems found on the bonus materials-laden fourth disc of Paramount’s The Adventures of Indiana Jones boxed set, which contains gloriously digitized versions of the three films that comprise the George Lucas-produced, Steven Spielberg-directed trilogy.

Hit the link above to read the full review.

This 5th Indiana Jones bonus DVD rumors is true... it's a Best Buy exclusive!

Best Buy will be offering an exclusive special 5th bonus disk containing the classic Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark. This 10-minute disc contains rarely seen footage and exclusive scenes featuring the cast and crew of the beloved film.
You can receive this disk on Tuesday - tomorrow - when you purchase your copy of Adventures of Indiana Jones DVD Collection in any of the Best Buy stores. While supplies last (min. 250 per store)!

Click here for more information. And thanks to Sean Edgeworth for letting me know.

DVDdude.net currently contains positive DVD reviews of Raiders and Temple of Doom and should have Last Crusade and the special features disc reviews posted within the next couple of days.

This site also has an Indiana Jones DVD contest running to give away 1 copy of the complete set. The contest ends Monday - today! - night at 6pm (central time) and is open to the United States and Canada only.

Thanks to Robert from DVDdude.net and Peter Balaz from The Light of Indiana Jones for letting me know.

The latest Ultimate DVD issue contains a review of the eagerly awaited Indiana Jones DVD release, and a meeting with the people responsible for restoring the films for digital release, as well as the man who produces the stunning added value. Plus: Indiana Jones producer Frank Marshall gives some clues about the upcoming Indiana Jones 4, due for release in 2006!?

The Ultimate DVD site also contains an Indiana Jones Trilogy feature article on the making of this Adventures of Indiana Jones DVD Collection. Here's a part of the article:

While all three films have been available on VHS for some time, the growing home cinema market has resulted in considerable demand for their release on DVD. Prayers are answered this month, as The Adventures of Indiana Jones – The Complete DVD Movie Collection arrives in stores, featuring a bonus disc of supplementary material and stunning transfers of all three films.

The article and DVD review can be found in the November 2003, Issue #48, of Ultimate DVD magazine which can be found in stores now.

Click here to read the online Indiana Jones feature article and thanks to Sakis for letting us know.

Moviehole.net has also posted their review of the Indiana Jones DVD box and gave the set a maximum 5 star score! Here's a part of their review:

The transfers are super. From the impressive menu design to the first glimpse of that Paramount Logo you can tell Lucas and Spielberg have ordered the best treatment for the series on disc. All films are in newly recorded 5.1 – the first two films were only ever available in Mono – with over 970,000 of the frames cleaned up for the new print. There’s no extras on any of the discs containing the movies – yep, that means no audio commentaries unfortunately – but the fourth disc, a bonus disc choca-bloc with bonus features, is better than anything we could have hoped for.

Click on the link above to read this excellent Indiana Jones DVD review.

CJAD in Canada had a chat with John Lowry, the man who was responsible for the painstaking restoration of the Indiana Jones series on DVD. Here's a part of the article:

Lowry, who worked on image processing for NASA's Apollo moon pictures back in 1971, says the Indiana Jones images are now pristine.

"They are probably looking better than anybody's ever seen them," he boasts, revealing that he is not only a technical expert, but a true fan. "Raiders, I can watch that movie over and over and over and every time I look at it I find something else."

One important bit of news for diehard followers: unlike the restorations performed on Lucas' Star Wars and Spielberg's E.T. re-releases, there has been no CGI enhancement of the original special effects nor any director's cut scenes inserted. The three films are exactly as fans remember them in theatres or earlier VHS editions.

Hit the link above to read the full article.

The Digital Bits has official confirmation from Lucasfilm's Jim Ward, via the Indy DVD event they attended on Saturday, that The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles TV series is currently in production for DVD release. There's no street date yet, but late 2004 is certainly possible.

And now also R2 Project placed a review of the fourth bonus disc from the Adventures of Indiana Jones DVD Collection online. Here's a part of their review:

"There is some interesting footage included; the test footage from Raiders with Tom Selleck and Sean Young is fascinating to watch, as it is common knowledge that Selleck was first choice for the role, but was unable to take it because of contractual obligations with Magnum PI. Watching Harrison Ford breaking spontaneously into perfect readings of his lines is spell-binding. Or just cool. There is a very funny anecdote from Kate Capshaw about the time when she had to shoot the big bug scene in Temple of Doom and overcame her fear by taking..."

Thanks to Indiana Texas-girl for letting us know.

Lucasfilm and Paramount Pictures have organized a big Indiana Jones DVD launch press event held at the American Film Institute in Hollywood this past Saturday. This means that you may now expect to see many Adventures of Indiana Jones DVD Collection reviews online and in US magazines. Here follow the first:

DVDFILE.com is the first to place a Indiana Jones DVD review online. This site gives the picture quality of the films the highest rating possible, and also says that the audio is very good. All in all, they gave a long and very positive review, except for a few details here and there:

"Given the amazing box sets recently produced for such seminal series as Lord of the Rings and the Alien quadrilogy, Indiana Jones is bound to disappoint by comparison. This is certainly a great set - superb transfers sharp soundtracks and plenty of supplements - but will that be good enough for those who have waited over six years for this one? It was for me. I had a great time revisiting Indy and his bullwhip, and any grumblings about missed opportunities aside, can you really say no to this one? Fortune & glory, Dr. Jones!"

The French DVD Alliance site got their hands on a retail copy of the Indiana Jones DVD collection and have placed online several new and good quality screenshots from both the DVD menus and the films. Go check it out!

And The Digital Bits have posted their review of both the next Indiana Jones DVD set and Saturday's press event. Here's a part of their press event review:

"The event was hosted by Lucasfilm's Jim Ward, and began with demonstrations of the DVD set's remastered picture and sound quality. We also viewed some of the documentary material on the bonus disc. The afternoon session featured a Q&A with Indy producer Frank Marshall, DVD producer Laurent Bouzereau, film restoration expert Jim Lowry and Paramount's senior V.P. of DVD production, Jeff Radoycis. This was followed by a second Q&A with the three "Ladies of Indiana Jones", including Karen Allen, Kate Capshaw and Alison Doody. The highlight of the day was a surprise visitor..."

You can also check out IGN.com's review of this same Indiana Jones DVD press event.

Oh yeah, TheRaider.net was also invited to Saturday's Indiana Jones DVDs press event. Thomas Gertsch, our correspondent at the press event is currently finishing up full coverage of the press event. Thomas got a lot of audio recordings taken during the event!! You may expect to see this all online on TheRaider.net later this week. So stay tuned!

Many thanks to Ernie McHone and Underdog for letting me know about the reviews! And if you find a new Indiana Jones DVD review somewhere online or in a magazine, please contact me. Thanks!

The latest issue of my favorite UK film magazine Total Film features a very good article called "The Story Behind Raiders of the Lost Ark". The article includes brand new commentaries from the cast and crew, an in depth analysis of the classical boulder scene, and a list of films & characters which inspired or were inspired by Indiana Jones.

This same issue of Total Film also contains a review of Adventures of Indiana Jones DVD Collection that receives 5/5 stars for both film and extras! Here's a small part of the review:

"Want to see Tom Selleck's first screen test? Vintage behind-the-scenes footage? Ford clowning around on set? It's all here - plus interviews with everyone (including Denholm Elliott and River Phoenix get a look-in, and they've been dead for years)."

The article and DVD review can be found in the November 2003, Issue 82, of Total Film magazine.

Thanks to Peter Balaz from The Light of Indiana Jones for letting me know.

Amazon.com is currently holding a cool Indiana Jones contest with as grand prize a trip for 4 to visit the Smithsonian Museums in Washington D.C., where Indiana Jones' fedora and leather jacket can be worshipped.

The prizes for this Indiana Jones Sweepstakes are:

• Grand Prize: A Trip for Four to the Smithsonian Museums
  One Grand Prize winner will embark on an Indiana Jones-like archaeological expedition by receiving a trip for four to visit the Smithsonian Museums in Washington, D.C., which includes airfare, five days and four nights at the Marriott D.C. Hotel, access to all the Smithsonian Museums, and a rental car.
• 10 First Prizes: The Jack Ryan Special Edition Collection DVD Sets
  Ten first prize winners will receive The Jack Ryan Special Edition Collection DVD Set, including Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger starring Harrison Ford as Tom Clancy's hero.
• 15 Second Prizes: Smithsonian Magazine Subscription
  15 Second Prize winners will receive a subscription to Smithsonian Magazine for one year.

This contest ends on November 4! Click here for more information on this contest.

Only 12 days left until the release of the most anticipated Adventures of Indiana Jones DVD Collection. But you don't have to wait till the 24th of this month to get a glimpse of the menus of these 4 Indiana Jones DVDs.
DVD Answers posted 17 new menu shots + 1 screenshot proving that the snake's reflection in that Well of Souls scene is removed. But there's more, DVDRama provides us with 83 screenshots including menu shots, film screenshots, and Making of documentaries screenshots. Very impressive stuff!</