Digital Bits Indy DVD news: "...aliens and Hobbits still hold far more interest..." (1 Viewer)

[Carl Walker]

Personally, I absolutely DETEST LOTR... Therefore, a completely bare-bones Indy Trilogy (as long as it is anamorphic) beats an 18-DVD set of The Twin (sic) Towers hands down any day of the week.

 

[nousername]

I, for one, care more about the Indy trilogy than LOTR. I found both LOTR movies to be boring and not as good as the books. This is just MHO, so please don't flame me.

I am very much looking forward to the Indy trilogy on DVD. If there isn't much in the way of special features, I am okay with that, since I am only really interested in the movies themselves. I'm just glad that the special features will be on a separate disc, therefore not robbing the main features of precious bits.

 

[Matt Stone]

I can't wait until November when the usual suspects will start bashing the quality of these sure-to-be stellar DVD's, claiming "EE" and "halo effects"

And I suppose if there are problems with the transfers, we will all just be "making it up."

I'm as happy to see Indy finally making it's way to the format, but I feel much like Seth in that I'm not sure if this was worth waiting for. Whether you like extras or not, it's always nice to see some real effort go into your favorite films, and when the effort is average for what is definitely one of the best series of films of all time, it's a little disheartening.

Also, I think we should stop the LOTR/Indy quality comparisons. It's not really relevant here...and will probably just start a flame-war.

 

[BrettB]

Coming soon to The Onion;

Yet-To-Be-Released Indy DVD Set Sucks Big Time
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (May 6, 2003)

Paramount Home Entertainment and Lucasfilm Ltd. officially announced today that one of the most beloved movie franchises in history will finally make it's DVD debut on Nov. 4, 2003.

While the announcement was welcome news to long suffering Indiana Jones fans, many were less than enthusiastic.

"This is what we've been waiting six years for? Three hours of bonus material?" exclaimed Steven Benchly of Clearwater Idaho, adding, "What a piece of shit!"

Sarah Ratcliff of Toledo was also disturbed by the news, "The Fellowship of the Ring had four discs, FOUR DISCS, and that was just for one movie! I'm not sure but I think the Fellowship set will actually take up more room on my shelf than this Indy set! Unfrigginbelievable!"

Another concern for Indy and DVD enthusiasts is the lack of commentary tracks by Steven Spielberg, or anyone else involved with the films. "I know that he (Spielberg) has never done a commentary and has said he doesn't want to do them, but I just thought, with these being such great films and all, ya know, because their my favorite films of all time, I thought he'd do one." said Ty Winderhall of Tulsa.

 

[Andrew Bunk]

Indy on DVD will be the highlight of my collection until the OT makes its way to the format in 20 years. They are the only two trilogies for which I have actively sought *substitutes*.

 

[Will_B]

I just can't beleive I'll be forced to buy the Temple of Doom to get the good ones.

 

[Andrew Bunk]

Even later post from DigitalBits:

Well... an interesting thing's happened this afternoon. We've just gotten off the phone with Lucasfilm. They've told us that the initial announcement made today is only the beginning in terms of details on the special features to be included on the bonus disc. There are, apparently, significant extras yet to be revealed in the weeks and months ahead. In fact, they're apparently still working to finalize everything to Spielberg and Lucas' satisfaction in terms of the extras. So there is yet hope that The Adventures of Indiana Jones: The Complete DVD Movie Collection will prove an impressive special edition release. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Interesting...although they sound great to me already.

 

[WillG]

Let's hope so, but I'm still dissapointed by an apparent lack of commentary in any form by ANYONE who worked on the film. I'd listen to a track by the freaking prop master if he can give some insight. But what irks me the most is that even though there doesn't seem to be much in the way of supplemental material (that we know about so far) they sure as hell were able to get a Pan and Scan version going ughhhh. I swear, If the P&S version outsells the W/S, I've lost all faith in humanity

 

[Chris Atkins]

but Lucas is willing to do commentary and he found time to do it for 2, majority opinion, lackluster Star Wars Films.

That's half right...the "majority opinion" part. I read the AOTC review thread out of sheer joy every month or so, so take my word on it.

As to the rest of the invective...well, BrettB's brilliant Onion post says it better than I can. Some people will look for anything to bash Lucas over the head with.

 

[Galen_V]

The difference between Lord of the Rings and Indiana Jones is a simple one, and there it is basically like comparing apples to oranges. Look-Lord of the Rings was made during the era of the DVD and everything was prepared ahead of time with the INTENTION of using in for the DVD's. The format had been around for a few years and they knew that they documented every facet of their production they would blow everyone away. Indiana Jones, on the other hand, was made in the 80's, before Behind-the-Scenes were the norm at all, and so therefore there is no where near the amount of footage documenting the making movie. Have you ever wondered why you only see the same clips of the making of Star Wars over and over again? Because there just isn't that much material in the extras vault. I mean, we should be happy that these extras exist and weren't destroyed (a la Kubrick) or completely lost over time. So it isn't unfair to knock the 3 hours of extras that have been announced so far . Would it be nice to have a commentary track? Absolutely, but Spielberg obviously does not do them and Lucas is probably bogged down with pre-production of Episode III, which starts filming in a matter of months. I am sure the interviews will be just as informative as a commentary, and they are getting one of the best producers in the medium to make the documentary. So I wouldn't go that far to say it is bare bones.

 

[Matt Stone]

I don't think anyone is disputing that there are less available materials for Indy than there are for say LOTR, X-Men, Star Wars Prequels, etc. The problem is, what have they been doing for the last six years? I'd snatch the set up in a second even if it had no extras at all...but it doesn't make sense to sit on this hot property for six years. I'm only a tad angry because this set could have been produced years ago.

Compare it to the situation with Grease. The release came 5 years after DVD's introduction, and they didn't even come up with any new extras that weren't on the LD.

 

[Galen_V]

Well, the only person you can blame there is Spielberg for not doing it between SPR and AI.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Galen is correct. It is virtually impossible to put the kind of effort into an old film you can put into a new. For old films like Indy you spend 80% of your time digging for material. It's "What can we find" rather than "what can we do"

Supposedly there are 2-disc uber-SEs of each film coming, so if you're that upset wait. I'll have my nice Indy Box.

I do share Bill's anger that there isn't more. But with the new information I'm guessing the discs aren't movie-only

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I do share Bill's anger that there isn't more.

Are you actually ANGRY about this? That seems more than slightly extreme. Sure, it's a bit disappointing that the Indy flicks aren't getting the super-deluxe treatment, but to get genuinely mad over the issue doesn't make much sense to me. I mean, the sets WILL include a lot of extras - they apparently just won't be jam-packed...

 

[WillG]

They couldn't have even put on a text commentary......? I agree with people's anger. I can accept the fact that oodles of supplemental material probably never existed, but I understand that these films on DVD were sat on for years and the we have been teased with an upcoming release for the better part of a year to find out today that there isn't going to be a packed set that is why people are angry, but at least they found the resources to get P&S versions out......uhhhhhggghh

 

[Brenton]

Bill Hunt just posted a followup that says that Paramount/Lucasfilm are likely to announce many more extras. Head over to the Bits and see for yourself.

 

[Bill Hunt]

Relax guys. I don't have any anger over this. I'm certainly not gnashing my teeth about it. Believe me, I'm looking forward to having the films on DVD as much as the next guy. You guys are reading too much into my words.

But you can't tell me that these DVDs had to wait because Spielberg and Lucas are busy people. Lucas and Spielberg have huge staffs of talented people working for them, and I know several DVD producers - the best and brightest - who would have killed to be able to have free reign to work on these titles and create multi-disc special editions.

My whole point is that after a six year wait, this announcement felt like something of an anti-climax. I just think these DVDs ought to be a little more special than three movie-only discs and a bonus disc. Personally, I'm really looking forward to the Two Towers Extended DVD and the Alien: Quad, both of which promise to be truly elaborate, thoughtful and in-depth SEs worthy of the best this format can offer.

If you're completely happy with just having the films on disc, fine. But with the best films on DVD, I've come to expect a little more effort. But who knows... Lucasfilm tells me there's more to Disc Four of the Indy set than meets the eye. We'll see.

 

[Beast]

It's no suprise that Bill Hunt is more impressed with the Alien Quidoligy set. After all he's milking the release to sell his new book. No offense intended to Mr. Hunt, but he often has heavy critacism for anything that is associated with Lucas/Lucasfilm. Like his recent OT tirade.

 

[Paul_Scott]

come Nov 5- if the set were a super duper 7 disc box but the image quality of discs is lousy with EE like TPM or has the frequent lack of fine detail that i see in ATOC,
i'd be much more disappointed, than if it were a smaller more austere set, but the image ( and sound) quality was stellar state of the art.

when it comes down to it- thats all that really matters to me.
i'm not watching these on a 25" analog set anymore.
it doesn't matter how much or how little they stuff on 'em, if they don't deliver in the primary area, they will be a big disappointment.

that said, i think looking back at the end of Dec., i'll be more satisfied with my copies of X2, Robin Hood, and Alien.
-films that i haven't yet fully sucked the life and joy out of from 20 years of viewing in multiple formats.

 

[WillG]

"Lucasfilm tells me there's more to Disc Four of the Indy set than meets the eye. We'll see."

Yeah, but seriously, what more undisclosed content on "Disc 4" is really going to turn people's heads. I mean, we now pretty much know what to expect from a Speilberg DVD by now and this annoucement is pretty consistent with that. You get a bare bones movie disc and then a 2nd disc with a Laurent Bouzerau Doc. (albiet usually very good) or video snippets that could have been edited together to one piece. If it's an effects movie, you get Stan Winston segments. Plus trailer and such. It's no secret that Speilberg doesn't give us exactly everything and the Kitchen sink with many of his DVD releases. Example, he recently disclosed that he had about a half hour's worth of Deleted Footage for "Catch Me If You Can" Where is it on the DVD? I guess many thought "But this is the Indiana Jones trilogy, maybe this time we'll get more and dare we say, commentary" but no, Not this time. And it's frustrating to think that "We waited all this time" But fear not.....at least we'll get P&S as an option!