Raiders of the Lost Ark 4K Blu-ray delivers stunningly beautiful video and great audio in this excellent Blu-ray release
Renowned archeologist and expert in the occult, Dr. Indiana Jones, is hired by the U.S. Government to find the Ark of the Covenant, which is believed to still hold the ten commandments. Unfortunately, agents of Hitler are also after the Ark. Indy and his ex-flame Marion escape from various close scrapes in a quest that takes them from Nepal to Cairo.
For more about Raiders of the Lost Ark 4K and the Raiders of the Lost Ark 4K Blu-ray release, see Raiders of the Lost Ark 4K Blu-ray Review published by Martin Liebman on June 14, 2021 where this Blu-ray release scored 4.0 out of 5.
Paramount has released Director Steven Spielberg's seminal 1981 Adventure film 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' to the UHD format. New specifications
include 2160p/Dolby Vision video and Dolby Atmos audio. No new supplements are included. At the time of publication, this release is only available in
a four-film, five-disc boxed set with the other films in the franchise (as of 2021).
Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is a full-time professor of Archaeology and a part-time adventurer and treasure hunter. Or maybe it's the other
way
around. Needless to say he lives a fast-paced life, risking life and limb in the name of the next find and adding to the museum's extensive
collection
of rare antiquities, many of which he's unearthed himself, generating the proceeds necessary to embark on his next adventure. Following a nearly
successful
expedition in which a prized Peruvian idol was taken forcibly from him at the last moment from his chief rival, a French archaeologist working for
the
Nazis by the name of Belloq (Paul Freeman), Indy and his elder university colleague Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) are approached by Army
intelligence with news that the Nazis have ramped up their efforts to discover the legendary Ark of the Covenant, home to the original Ten
Commandments tablets inscribed by God Himself and brought down from Mount Sinai by Moses. The Ark is said to contain unbelievable powers,
making it a prized possession for Hitler's war machine. An intercepted communique reveals that Nazi diggers have unearthed the ancient city of
Tanis, supposed final resting place of the Ark and long ago buried in a yearlong sand storm. Indy accepts the Army's challenge to locate the Ark
before the Nazis. To do so, he must first turn to Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), daughter of his mentor Abner and keeper of an artifact critical in
pinpointing the Ark's precise resting place within the city of Tanis. Marion, bitter from the failings of their romantic relationship, doesn't hand over
the
artifact. The Nazis make a house call to her bar, too, and they're not quite as forgiving as Indy or willing to leave empty-handed. The ruthless
Gestapo agent Toht
(Ronald Lacey) cannot acquire it, either, but comes away with the next-best thing: one side of its image burned into the palm of his hand. Now,
with the Nazi's
nearly guaranteed to soon unearth the Ark's final resting place, Indy and Marion rush to Cairo where they meet up with the city's finest excavator
and Indy's longtime friend,
Sallah (John Rhys-Davies), in a race against time to keep the power of God out of the hands of the Devil's agents.
For a more detailed film review, please click here.
The included screenshots are sourced from the legacy 1080p Blu-ray disc.
Paramount whips Raiders of the Lost Ark into 4K shape with a terrific 2160p/Dolby Vision graded UHD presentation. This is one of the more
radical alterations between UHD and Blu-ray one will find. Comparisons reveal quite the leap for both film-like texture and sharpness as well as color
spectrum differentiation. The increase in stability, clarity, and sharpness are often striking and stunning. The UHD is much more assuredly filmic,
grainy without feeling overwhelmingly so. The picture is tack-sharp (certainly there are a few inherently softer or slightly out of focus shots here and
there) and far more so than the Blu-ray, which in practically any given point of comparison has a flat, smooth, lifeless appearance. Look at the sunny
outdoor marketplace scenes around the 38-minute mark. The newfound life and vitality almost defy description. Sharpness amplifications abound,
whether old decrepit building facades, dirt terrain, baskets, and other local flavors. This leap in sharpness carries through the whole film, from the
opening idol snatching sequence all the way to the climactic scenes with the opened Ark. The film feels absolutely brand new at this resolution, and
colors are likewise great beneficiaries.
Paramount's Dolby Vision grading takes the palette to another level. Colors are radically fuller and denser, more on-point and perfect. Whites are
brilliant and blacks are perfectly deep and dense. Flesh tones are heathier with more life and depth to them. The cave interior in the opening
sequence is
darker and more atmospheric. Shadow details are quite a bit tighter, giving the location a more intensely eerie appearance. Color density is greatly
improved even along gray and earthy accents inside. The gold statue is newly alive with tremendous brilliance that is comparatively flat and yellow on
the Blu-ray. Warm woods around the university appear radically denser and deeper (along with Indy's fedora) while the earthy whites and color
splashes around the aforementioned marketplace enjoy a significant boost to contrast and intensity. The sandy desert locales likewise have been
tightened to a significant degree. Dolby Vision radically strengthens the film's palette without betraying its natural state. It's a beautiful leap upward
from the Blu-ray. Add the complete absence of print wear and encode issues and this is a picture perfect, best case scenario presentation of a
legendary film.
Paramount gets the ball rolling – quite literally – with the Indiana Jones 4K releases with an excellent Dolby Atmos soundtrack for Raiders of
the Lost Ark. The new overhead channels demonstrate their worth almost immediately during the escape sequence when Indy has the idol and the
boulder chases after him. It rolls along the top end before audibly falling down to the floor and pursuing the archaeologist through the rest of the cave.
It's a terrific use of the overhead channels that amplifies the audio and adds to the top end where it makes sense, in this case bringing one of the
series' most iconic moments to life as never heard before. In the moments before, as Indy approaches the idol in the final few feet, a single arrow
whooshes out from the side and the barrage to follow seems to extend from the sides and zip through to the center with remarkable, immersive
precision. Granted, the combined elements of music and action here never quite feel so full bodied and perfectly blended as they might should be. In
fact, there are times when the entire thing feels a little underwhelming, lacking real aggressive push at reference volume. But for the most part it's full
bodied and fluid, particularly considering John Williams score which is almost always robustly defined and engaging across a balanced berth through
the listening area, dominant along front but wrapping around in more intense examples. Action elements are never wanting for additional space.
Gunfire erupts from all over during several key scenes, thunder cracks and rolls as the Ark chamber is opened midway through the film (not to mention
the symphony of slithering snakes along the floor), and ghastly spirits float and screech to excellent spatial effect in the film's final minutes, as do
rushing flames. Ambient din is well realized as well, whether around crowded marketplaces or through packed dig sites. Dialogue is clear and center
focused. Though the odd shortcoming is in evidence the track on the whole approaches perfection.
Raiders of the Lost Ark's UHD disc only includes a trio of trailers (the same included on the Blu-ray discs released in 2012), but the four-film set
in which this release is included does house a bonus Blu-ray special features bonus disc. Please click here for a listing of what's included on
that disc. As it ships in that boxed set, a digital copy voucher is included with purchase.
Paramount's new Indiana Jones UHD discs delight. Raiders of the Lost Ark looks amazing, sounds great, and the film is legendary. The
four-film set in which this disc is found earns my highest
recommendation.
Raiders of the Lost Ark: Other Editions
4K SteelBook
1-disc
SteelBook
2-disc set
Wal-Mart
Blu-ray
1-disc $12.43
SteelBook
1-disc
Best Buy
Blu-ray
1-disc
Target
Blu-ray
1-disc $12.43
Blu-ray Bundles/Box Sets with Raiders of the Lost Ark 4K (2 bundles)
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