Indiana Jones: Adventure Collection

Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, Denholm Elliott

Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriter: Lawrence Kasdan, Willard Huyck, Jeffrey Boam, Gloria Katz
Story: George Lucas, Menno Meyjes, Philip Kaufman

I don’t like to advocate television or movies as babysitters, however, if you happen to need one the INDIANA JONES collection will do the trick. I was a huge fan of the films, so I had to watch them all first with my kids. Now they watch them when I have deadlines, phone calls or just raw nerves (aren’t I ‘Mother of the Year’?)

The first three movies are included the boxed set.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
The first one is my favorite with hot young Harrison Ford, Karen Allen and the pit of snakes. This movie taught me the meaning of ‘movie star’ when I was a kid. My friends and I used to talk about how ‘Harrison was a carpenter’ and all that jazz. Just a regular handsome jo.

Notes from RottenTomatoes.com
The groundbreaking special effects and furious, never-ending pace make for a stylish whirlwind of a movie, topped off with a fabulous sense of humor. This bare-knuckled, barnstorming, pot-boiling, eye-popping bucket of Technicolor popcorn became Paramount Pictures' highest-grossing film, and deservedly so--RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is quite simple one of the most enjoyable movies ever made.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
This is the one with Kate Capshaw, Stephen Speilberg’s wife, who tries to tempt Harrison with an apple. I had to study that scene in a film class once. It has never been the same for me since! This movie has the freakiest scene where a man’s heart is pulled out of his chest. My kids thought it was cool but yours might be freaked.

Notes from RottenTomatoes.com
Exotic locales, wild chases, death-defying cliffhangers, last-minute rescues, screaming damsels, and tribal sacrifices are the order of the day as the threesome attempt to acquire the stolen stone. A few scenes originally planned for RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK showed up in INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM--most notably the mine chase sequence, which was part of the 80 percent of TEMPLE OF DOOM shot on a soundstage. Spielberg cast actress Kate Capshaw, who would later become his real-life wife, for the film.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Sean Connery plays Indiana Jones’ daddy who is in search of the Holy Grail, like father, like son. Entertaining to see James Bond bounce around with Harrison and River Phoenix.

Notes from RottenTomatoes.com
“Spielberg wanted to make the film about a father-and-son relationship, and Connery was his first choice to play Indy's dad. The selection was perfect, considering Spielberg and producer George Lucas first came up with the idea of the series as a rival to the James Bond movies in which Connery had starred. Before shooting THE LAST CRUSADE, Spielberg was planning on directing RAIN MAN with Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise but gave up the project to fulfill his contractual obligation with Lucas to make a third Indiana Jones movie.”

10 out of 10 binkies—this set rocks my world and my kids’ too.