In an early announcement to retailers, Paramount Home Entertainment has given a September 18th date for the much-anticipated releases of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. All three films, plus the already available Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, will be available in one complete Blu-ray set for the first time.
The studio is touting its restoration of Raiders of the Lost Ark, highlighting that this is a “meticulously restored version” of the 1981 classic. The other films in the series have been restored as well.
The restoration of Raiders has been supervised by director Steven Spielberg and renowned sound designer Ben Burtt, with careful attention to preserving the original look, sound and feel of the iconic film. The original negative was first scanned at 4K and then examined frame-by-frame so that any damage could be repaired.
Paramount’s press release goes on to state that the sound design was similarly preserved using Burtt’s original master mix, which had been archived and unused since 1981. New stereo surrounds were created using the original music tracks and original effects recorded in stereo but used previously only in mono. In addition, the sub bass was redone entirely up to modern specifications and care was taken to improve dialogue and correct small technical flaws to create the most complete and highest quality version of the sound possible while retaining the director’s vision. The result is an impeccable digital restoration that celebrates the film and its place in cinematic history.
All four films will be presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio accompanied by a collection of documentaries, interviews, featurettes and new bonus features.
Artwork and pre-order link below.
And here’s a nice fan-made trailer of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
