'Really, After the Holy Grail, There's Not Much More Worth Finding.'

via Little Round Mirrors: The Indiana Jones Trilogy:

I enjoy reading the cover of this set: “The Complete DVD Movie Collection,” because Indiana Jones Meets Aliens in the Kingdom of the Crystal Turd and the Treasure is Knowledge is not included. I can pretend it doesn’t exist, because I’m still disappointed.

Originally just called Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first film is one of the best adventure movies ever made, and easily one of Steven Spielberg’s top five best directorial efforts. Much has been written about Raiders, so I’ll skip most of the lip service. Raiders is an iconic adventure film — one that I come back to often, and one I can’t resist watching if I find it playing on television.

In my comic book collection, I have a copy of Marvel Super Special, Issue #18. While it’s not a valuable item, it means a lot to me because I’m pretty sure I snagged it from my grandma’s garage sale when I was maybe 7 or 8 years old. No idea how she got it.

I got the comic before I saw the film, so my perception of Raiders is strongly affected by that comic adaptation. In the comic, the Ark is described as having a low humming sound, like a great energy building up throughout the film. Once that energy was released in the climactic scene, the Ark went back to a lower, less intense hum. I always liked that touch, but I’ve always been disappointed to not hear the hum in the film. There were other changes, some bigger than others, and they’re detailed here.

To establish greater continuity, the creators agreed to re-title the first film Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, which is maybe the wisest change to any George Lucas or Spielberg project. I’ve never had a problem with the title change, just like I’ve never really had a problem with Lucas re-naming Star Wars to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Makes for better continuity.

Read the whole thing for a pleasant reflection on The Indiana Jones Trilogy (we don’t talk about that embarrassing fourth installment) from my friend John King, who’s blogging through his entire DVD collection in alphabetical order. He doesn’t just review the films but also talks about his personal memories of them and their connections in the culture. Fun stuff:

This is not a movie review site.

I have about 400 movies on DVD. I’m watching my collection in alphabetical order and writing through the experience. I’m also downsizing and switching stuff out in favor of Blu-Ray.

For the ground rules, read this and this.

I’m interested in the connections people have with film. When we watch movies, images and sounds bombard us, but this is not a passive activity. We bring our experiences, knowledge, and background to each film we watch, and the stuff of this transaction changes each time we re-watch a film.

This is also a tribute to physical media, especially the kind in which we can see ourselves reflected.