RedCrystal

Raiders of the Lost Ark

When I was about 13, I was staying by myself (without my brothers, that is) at my grandparent's home in Tulsa. One afternoon, my grandmother took me to watch the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. My world changed.

Everything about that movie blew me away. The escapades. The thrills. The effects. The humor. The music.

It was at that moment I became a die-hard fan of John Williams music, and learned more about the director, Steven Spielberg, than I had ever cared to learn about directors before. Not that I'm an expert on either of the two, but whatever they do does in fact float my boat.

I have been a fan of George Lucas, too. I loved Star Wars, and was delighted when I found out that John Williams had also done the music for it. That was when I began collecting and listening to orchestral soundtracks more than just at the movies. I can still remember one late night at my grandparents house when I was listening to the Raiders music on my headphones at a rather high volume when my grandfather furiously charged into my bedroom—it seemed the tape player I was using didn't automatically shut off the speakers when I plugged in the headphones.

But George sort of tainted my admiration for him when he re-released the original Star Wars trilogy as the "Special Edition" with new special effects. I liked the original special effects because I knew (somewhat) what it took to make them, and they were very impressive. Industrial Light and Magic was born in order to make Star Wars. They have consistently produced some of the very best effects ever. Remember the days when flying objects on the screen had a little white bright edge around them? ILM is the one that found a way to eliminate that. The special effects didn't need to be re-done. The audience was fine with them. The only one who was unhappy was George.

So, now they will be releasing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (what a mouthful!) in (checking the gadget I installed from www.indianajones.com on my Windows Live page) 44 days, 15 hours, 8 minutes and 12 seconds. I am excited, even though I promised myself I wouldn't be for two reasons. First, I loved that they actually had Indiana riding off into a real sunset at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It was an absolutely perfect, fitting ending. Only now... it wasn't the end after all. These are stories, George! They are supposed to end. Life keeps going, we know, but that doesn't mean stories must! Oh, well. Second, there's always that risk that they messed it up, and that it's disappointing when compared to the original trilogy. I'll just have to wait and see on that.

But here's where I'm really worried. I know someone who's dialed into Hollywood. Apparently, George plans to release a Special Edition of the original trilogy, as well.

Boo, George!

I'm very, very thankful that Michele bought me the DVD Collector's Edition of the trilogy. Now I will have a long-lasting version of the original, un-"improved" movies.

But now I may have to buy the set all over again in order to get this fourth one.

I guess I can bring myself to do that.

If it's good, that is.

I'll let you know in (checks) 44 days, 15 hours, 1 minute, and 35 seconds.