Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom

Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom is the sequel to Raiders, but was actually a prequel (it was curiously set one year prior to the events in Raiders), and finds our favorite archaeologist-adventurer (Ford) in India on a quest to locate the Sankara stones that were stolen from a village and return enslaved children to their families. (Michael Coate)

The only special features are two trailers.

Reviewed in Issue 78 as one of three motion pictures in The Complete DVD Collection, the anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 DVD picture exhibited a colorful, fully saturated, well-balanced image with generally accurate fleshtones and deep, solid blacks. The jungles of India are lush and green, while reds and golds abound in the Pankot Palace. At times, however, fleshtones can still appear a bit hot. The picture is sharp and nicely detailed, with very satisfying clarity and definition. Very few scenes appear soft or smeared. Contrast and shadow delineation are quite capable of delivering a natural visual experience in the film's many darker scenes. Viewing in a completely blackened room is recommended. Resolution is superb, especially during close-ups of facial features, hair, clothing, and object texture. Dimensional depth also is excellent. This is an iconic film that has been impressively remastered and THX® certified, which the 2.35:1 Blu-ray Disc effectively brings to life, making it the best that The Temple Of Doom has ever looked. (Gary Reber)

As with the previous DVD release with the remastered Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack, this Blu-ray features a repurposed THX-certified DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack that fully involves the listener throughout with an impressive, downright engaging soundstage presence. Also inherent to this new audio, of course, is the creative essence of the original production. This sound mix is so effective because the 5.1 palette consistently delivers that sense of being absorbed into the action, or "lost" in the movie. Atmo-spheric effects impart a notably panoramic presence across the screen, with depth into the surrounds. There's also discrete placement of effects all around the listening space. The John Williams' music score fully wraps around the listener. The surrounds frequently are prominently engaged, and there's left-right separation unlike the preponderance of the original mono surround content. The audio overall is somewhat dated but should not be objectionably so, and the dialogue sounds reasonably natural and integrated with the visuals. To a certain extent, voices and certain on-screen Foley effects are directionalized. Deep bass is distinguished, articulate, and powerful at times with very low frequencies all around, as well as prominent LFE channel engagement. Like Raiders Of The Lost Ark, this repurposed soundtrack is an absolute winner. (Gary Reber)