Indiana Jones: Fourth Film in Series
8 Reasons to Love Harrison Ford in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Apr 28, 2009
An assortment of recent DVD releases provides a variety of behind-the-scenes stories and collector's items for fans of the Indiana Jones action-adventure films.
The successful Indiana Jones movie franchise began in 1981 with Raiders of the Lost Ark, an exciting blend of action, adventure, special effects, comedy, and romance starring Harrison Ford as the handsome archeologist. With his substantial career boost from 1977’s Star Wars and 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back, Ford was already a household name. In addition, he had established a solid relationship with George Lucas, who produced and co-wrote Raiders of the Lost Ark, and had worked with Ford on both Stars Wars films as well as on American Graffiti (1973) and More American Graffiti (1979).
8 Reasons to Love Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
- This fourth Indiana Jones movie blends action, adventure, special effects, comedy, romance, and even aliens. With Lucas’s experience with the Star Wars series and its many spinoffs and director Steven Spielberg’s experience with E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), and War of the Worlds (2005), adding aliens seemed a natural next step.
- The third film in the series (Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade) focuses on the father-son relationship between Dr. Henry Jones and Dr. Henry Jones, Jr. (a.k.a. Indiana), but The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull returns to the original film’s romantic roots, in addition to providing the expected action and excitement.
- Despite improvements in computer-generated images since the 1981 release of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Spielberg decided to preserve the integrity of the series by keeping the same comedic tone, retaining the retro style graphics to depict scenes of travel, and using special effects on par with previous Indiana Jones films.
- Shia LaBeouf jumps onboard the Indiana Jones series with lots of enthusiasm, and stays true to the spirit of the films. One of the DVD featurettes reveals that he practiced daily with a switchblade for his role of a wannabe tough guy. LaBeouf became so skilled at performing tricks with the knife that Spielberg added these shots to the film just for fun.
- Karen Allen from the original Raiders of the Lost Ark movie returns in the fourth installment. She perfectly conveys a middle-aged woman who now lives a safe and sedentary life, although still secretly craves the excitement of her earlier treasure-hunting days.
- Even at 65, Harrison Ford still looks and moves like an action hero. His wonderful comedic timing remains intact.
- Cate Blanchett masters her Russian accent and militaristic movement so well, viewers may momentarily forget her other diverse roles in Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), I’m Not There (2007), and The Lord of the Rings; The Return of the King (2003).
- Several different DVD versions of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull are available, including Single Disc, Two-disc Special Edition, Blu-ray, Two-disc Widescreen Special Edition with Limited Edition Packaging and 80 Page Behind-the-Scenes Photo Book, The Complete Adventure Collection (with all four films), and Two-disc Widescreen Set with Limited Edition Gift Set with Mini Crystal Skull Replica and Base Plus $25 Sideshow Toys Gift Card.
The Indiana Jones Movie Series
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
- An adventurous college professor of archeology goes on a dangerous mission to find the lost Ark of the Covenant for the U.S. Government, and encounters an old girlfriend along the way.
- Starring Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliott, Alfred Molina
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Run Time: 115 minutes
- Rating: PG
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
- Indiana Jones and a temperamental singer come upon a village in India where all the children have been stolen.
- Starring Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Jonathan Ke Quan, Amrish Puri, Dan Aykroyd
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Run Time: 118 minutes
- Rating: PG
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
- Indiana’s father disappears while pursuing the Holy Grail, and Indy goes on a mission to find him while simultaneously stopping the Nazis from using the Grail for their plans to dominate the world.
- Starring Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Denholm Elliott, Alison Doody, John Rhys-Davies, River Phoenix
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Run Time: 127 minutes
- Rating: PG-13 (for violence, scary images, and mild sexual references)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
- Forced out of his job at the university, Indiana Jones and a young man go on a journey to rescue a mutual friend who has been kidnapped while searching for a rare crystal skull.
- Starring Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf, Ray Winstone, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Run Time: 122 minutes
- Rating: PG-13 (for violence and scary images)
For more information about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, visit Internet Movie Database.
The copyright of the article Indiana Jones: Fourth Film in Series in Action Films is owned by Leslie C. Halpern. Permission to republish Indiana Jones: Fourth Film in Series in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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