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Raiders of the Lost Ark on DVD
• John Williams featurette • Dolby Digital 5.1 More DVD info... |
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Raiders of the Lost Ark on DVD
• John Williams featurette • Dolby Digital 5.1 More DVD info... |
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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Most of the world has reached the point where the "Raider's March" has become heard a few too many times. It's the type of enigma that everyone recognizes as great fun, but nobody can tolerate very many times because of over-exposure. The entire score for Raiders of the Lost Ark survives beyond the title march, though, because of the powerful supporting themes that work magic both in the score and film. Marion's theme functions with much of the same whimsically romantic quality of the love theme in Superman. The theme for the Covenant of the Ark is a magnificent counter-theme to the march, allowing Williams to introduce the full adult choir to add the necessary religious qualities to the film. The theme for the Nazis is pompous, yet not as blatant and overbearing as the Nazi theme in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. As a side note, though the theme for the Ark is cleverly hinted at in the underground scene of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Williams chose not to employ a variation of the Nazi theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark in that third sequel, which I felt was very unfortunate. The classic scores of Williams' career from the late 1970s to the early 1980s have been receiving incredible re-release treatment in recent years. Fifteen years after their composition, the complete original scores are finally making their way onto a digitally preserved medium. Raiders of the Lost Ark was a trend setter; after being re-released in 1995 by the DCC record label, other labels took it upon themselves to release E.T. in 1996, the Star Wars scores in 1997, Close Encounters of the Third Kind in 1998, and many others. The only remaining score in desperate need of an expanded re-release is, ironically, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, though reports (as of 1998-1999) indicate that a re-release of that score can be expected shortly after the turn of the century. This beautiful re-release of Raiders of the Lost Ark contains over 30 more minutes of previously unreleased music. Score previously missing from eight scenes was added, and numerous tracks were lengthened with additional materials. The entire score is not present, however. The original double-LP set is currently still the only way to get the entire Raiders score. Because 80 minutes of music couldn't be squeezed onto a single CD release, six minutes have been permanently sacrificed. These six minutes were chopped off of the "Well of the Souls" track, which is, in my opinion, an acceptable omission because the missing music isn't by any means interesting. Remember, and LP double set can still fit more music than a single CD. The additions to this expanded re-release are more than enough to make any Williams fan happy. I recommend that you pick up a copy of this release in favor of the original Raiders of the Lost Ark release. Like the expanded release of E.T. a year later, this expanded treatment provided many more of the interesting and dark cues of flavor from the film. Most notable are the new tracks near the end of the film, including "To the Nazi Hideout" and "Ark Trek." Having heard the main march so many times, you might discover that these smaller gems for tracks in the middle are your favorites as well. Luckily, all of the album versions contain the most stunning pieces from the score, "The Map Room: Dawn." The sound quality of this original is very good, and extensive notes appear in the booklet that comes with this CD. Previously unpublished interview material with both Williams and Spielberg are included, thanks to Film Score Monthly editor Lukas Kendall. Each track is labeled with the action sequences it can be heard with in the film. The booklet is also rich with original storyboard drawings and production photos. Make sure you purchase the entire package when looking in stores, because some places (for reasons beyond me) have stripped the outside sleeve and booklet off the CD --both in new and used forms. *****
* Previously unreleased **Contains previously unreleased material
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