Report from New Hometown, June 23, 2021, or: I Definitely Could Have My Own Spielberg Film Festival!

© 2014 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

 

Greetings, Dear Reader. It’s early afternoon here in New Hometown, Florida, on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. Currently, the temperature is 86˚F (30˚C) under rainy conditions. With humidity at 63% and the wind blowing from the northwest at 6 MPH (12 KM/H), the feels-like factor is 91˚F (33˚C). Today we can expect scattered showers throughout the day and into the evening. The high will be 89˚F (32˚C); the low will be 72˚F (22˚C).

My two Indy Blu-ray sets. 4K UHD set on the left, my original 2012 Blu-ray set on the right. Photo by the author.

Well, after a delay of nearly two weeks, I finally received my Indiana Jones: 4-Movie Collection with the first four Indiana Jones films in 4K UHD Blu-rays late Monday evening. I pre-ordered it on March 16, and the original delivery window was for June 10 or 11, a few days after the five-disc set’s street release. But Paramount Home Media Distribution, ViacomCBS’ division in charge of physical media releases, did not count on the logjam in the North American disc replication plant (based in Mexico), so those of use who did not order the steelbook release and opted for the less pricey Digipack packaging had to, well, wait till supply caught up with demand.

If my Indiana Jones: 4-Movie Collection had arrived late Monday afternoon rather than at 7 PM, I probably would have tried to watch the first two films (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) back to back. I did watch Raiders all the way through, though, and boy does it look fantastic on 4K!

As I wrote yesterday in my WordPress blog post, 4K UHD Blu-ray Box Set Review: ‘Indiana Jones: 4-Movie Collection’ (2021):

On March 16, I pre-ordered my Indiana Jones: 4-Movie Collection at Amazon, well in advance of the June 8 “street release” date. However, because there is a backlog in disc production in the Mexican disc replication facility that makes all of the Blu-ray-based media (including games and movies) for the North American market, there was a delay in shipping the Digipack sets out. As a result, I received my box set with the 4K UHD discs, the Blu-ray with the bonus features, the insert with the codes for digital copies, and the fold-out map late on Monday evening.   

Indiana: Meet me at Omar’s. Be ready for me. I’m going after that truck.

Sallah: How?

Indiana: I don’t know. I’m making this up as I go.

I did, however, watch Raiders of the Lost Ark in its entirety, and I must say, this is the best home media release of this 40-year-old classic that I have seen.

Because my 4K UHD TV is not connected to the small ONN soundbar that I have in my room, I can’t vouch for the quality of the Dolby Atmos audio mix. My TV has decent speakers, but obviously they have limited audio performance compared to the home theater system out in what I call the “common room” where the family TV is set up.

However, visually, Raiders (which Lucasfilm markets in posters and promotional material as Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark) has literally never looked better.

Not on VHS.

Not on DVD.

Not even in the 2012 Blu-ray set, which was personally overseen during the remastering process by director Steven Spielberg and sound designer Ben Burtt.

From the introduction of Harrison Ford’s legendary “Man in the Hat” scholar/adventurer in the jungles of Peru to the peril-filled “raid” to find the lost Ark of the Covenant in the Sahara desert in Egypt, the sharp resolution and color balance in the 4K format gives the viewer a “you are there” vibe. You notice details (such as blades of grass or textures of the fabrics used in the costumes) that simply could not be rendered vividly in earlier formats.

Raiders has always had a beautiful color palette thanks to the talents of ace cinematographer Douglas Slocombe and director Steven Spielberg, and it looked good on DVD and high def Blu-ray, but Indiana Jones’ world is so vividly brought to life in this beautifully restored edition that the only way it can be improved is if Paramount and Lucasfilm added Smell-o-Vision to the viewing experience.  

I might try to watch Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom later this afternoon or tonight. That is if I can shake off the drowsiness I feel now. I woke up much too early again this morning, and I am sleepy, cranky, and somewhat lethargic.  I do want to enjoy my movies. I mean, what’s the point of ordering great stuff to watch, read, or listen to if you’re just going to put them away on shelves, unused and left to gather dust?

Oh, and my Blu-ray collection is about to grow today…again. I scored a sweet deal – the $100 Steven Spielberg Director’s Collection from 2014 for $19.99 at Amazon on Monday – on Prime Day, and the package, which was scheduled for a Thursday delivery, is already on its way here on an Amazon delivery vehicle.

Promotional photo for Universal's 2014 Steven Spielberg Director's Collection set. © 2014 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

This box set from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment includes 8 films directed by Steven Spielberg – Duel, The Sugarland Express, Jaws, 1941, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Always, Jurassic Park, and The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

If you want to know a bit more about how and why I bought that box set, as well as a more detailed account of my too-early-rising, you can read about it at Musings & Thoughts for Wednesday, June 23, 2021, or: The Long, Long Morning of an Unwilling Insomniac.

All in all, here’s how my Blu-ray collection has grown overall.

BLU-RAY MOVIE COLLECTION (353 MOVIES, 56 TV SEASONS, 265 SKUS) 

4K UHD BLU-RAY MOVIE COLLECTION (48 MOVIES, 0 TV SEASONS, 22 SKUS)

 

Well, I am tired and not exactly feeling at my best, so I’ll close for now. So until next time, Dear Reader, stay safe, stay healthy, and I’ll catch you on the sunny side of things.