Fans of Raiders of the Lost Ark might want to look away right now as what you're about to watch could cause serious damage to your soul. A brief snippet from the upcoming Raiders of the Lost Ark Special Edition DVD has leaked online and, in it, there seems to be a little update from George Lucas. I kinda like the small touches added and think fans will get used to them after awhile. Yup, don't worry ... they'll just blend into the background. I mean, really, who cares about this old flick anyway? It's so ... 1981-ish. That said, I'm sure folks are already in the process of creating an "Indy Shot First" t-shirt. Check it out up top, then let us know what you think? Should we start a petition? Has Lucas lost his mind? And how could Spielberg agree to something like this? Sound off ...

[Thanks Matthew]

If you missed any of our special Indiana Jones coverage last week, here's a recap of what went down:

Discuss: So, How was Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull?

Retro Review: Raiders of the Lost Ark
Retro Review: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Retro Review: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Cannes Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (James)
Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Scott)

Interviews: George Lucas, Shia LeBeouf and Cate Blanchett
Interviews: Harrison Ford and Karen Allen

Cinematical Sevens:

Indiana Jones Influences
Favorite Indiana Jones Moments
Indiana Jones Knock-Offs
Who Else Could've Played Indy
Watching Indy Through the Years

Special Features

The Exhibitionist: Indiana Jones and the Lost Art of the Serial
Monday Morning Poll: Your Favorite Indiana Jones Sidekick
The Geek Beat: Illumination
Discuss: The Women of Indiana Jones
Jeffrey M. Anderson's 400 Screens 400 Blows - How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Spielberg

More after the jump ...

Indiana Jones is a franchise of moments. Some die-hard fans may recall the precise steps the hero took to locate and procure the Ark of the Covenant (i.e. the plot), but damn near everyone remembers "Snakes... Why did it have to be snakes?" The series is defined and embodied by individual flourishes, images and icons that stubbornly refuse to leave fans' minds, and sometimes even get stuck in pop culture as a whole. As for which ones, well -- that may be different for different people. This is a list of moments that represent Indiana Jones for me: the moments that always evoke a knowing smile or elevate the pulse; the moments I look forward to every time I watch. Some are obvious, some are not, and some of the obvious ones are missing -- but hey, make your own list.

1. Raiders: "Start the engine!"

Oh sure, most people would probably list Indy and Satipo navigating the booby traps of ancient temple to retrieve the golden idol in Raiders' deservingly legendary opening sequence. And yes, that's cool. But what I love even more is a moment that comes a few minutes later: with Rene Belloq and the Hovitos on his tail, Indy comes barreling across a plain, hollering at his companion to "START THE ENGINE" of a waiting seaplane. It's intense, absurd, exciting, funny: everything everyone loves about the series, in the span of a few seconds.

Sometimes there are props from films. Sometimes there are super-affordable replicas. And sometimes ... well, sometimes there are expensive fan creations. This one, however, is worth at least a mention, even though it is completely and ridiculously expensive.

Virginia505 on eBay created a life-sized Indiana Jones -- coming in at a whopping 6 feet. The fake Indy has the classic apparel -- jacket, belt, and the classic fedora, as well as props like his trusty whip and bits from all three films -- Staff of Ra headpiece, sanskrit cloth, and Grail diary.

This can be yours for the super-affordable price of ... oh, fifty thousand US dollars! And, if you're worried about someone outbidding you, there's a sweet and so-affordable Buy it Now price of $70,000! But have no fear, Indy fans -- shipping will be free. (Somehow, I imagine someone who spends 50+k on something won't be worried about shipping costs.)

Still, it's an interesting bit of fandom, if you happen to have the cash. You've got until May 27 to make your bid, unless someone grabs it through the Buy it Now option.

Since it's Indiana Jones week, I wanted to do something Indy-themed for my column this week, perhaps something along the line of "Indy indies," but I kept coming back to an idea that has been gnawing at me for some time: a recently re-discovered appreciation for Steven Spielberg, flaws and all. As a kid, I was treated to Spielberg's childlike fantasies, including E.T. and Raiders of the Lost Ark, and, to a lesser extent Poltergeist and The Goonies. He, along with George Lucas, seemed to be able to tap directly into the universal fantasies of boys (and some girls, too) everywhere, thereby discovering a gold mine.

But he eventually felt the need to grow up, not because he wanted to, but because he yearned for the acclaim that goes with making more grown-up movies. His first attempt, The Color Purple, was oddly, almost uncomfortably childlike, but he eventually made the leap with Schindler's List. At least three times he has jumped back and forth between childhood and adulthood in a single year: 1993 (Jurassic Park and Schindler's List), 1997 (The Lost World and Amistad) and 2005 (War of the Worlds and Munich). It's only natural, then, that fans and critics began to see this as a kind of betrayal, or worse, inconsistency. Not to mention that his gargantuan success, both financial and critical, tends to breed contempt in others.

Well, the Prince is certainly no pauper, but some expected the latest installment in The Chronicles of Narnia to have a more auspicious debut. Prince Caspian fell about $10 million short of the opening weekend figures for 2005's The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Still, the fantasy adventure was enough to knock Iron Man down a peg after two weeks in the number one spot. Here's the top five:

1. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian: $55 million
2. Iron Man: $31.8 million
3. What Happens in Vegas: $13.8 million
4. Speed Racer: $8.1 million
5. Made of Honor: $4.7 million

Just one movie coming out this week, people, but it's going to be a doozy.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
What's It All About: Indiana who? I kid, I kid. Nearly twenty years after the last installment in the series, Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas join forces once again to regale the world with an adventure from the character who may damn well be the ass-kickingest action hero to ever grace the silver screen. Karen Allen also returns as Marion Ravenwood, a character we haven't seen since 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Indy's young sidekick is played by Shia LaBeouf.
Why It Might Do Well: The film scored 79% at Rottentomatoes.com, Cinematical's own Scott Weinberg gave the film his seal of approval, and this is Indiana Freakin' Jones, people! I don't know about you, but last weekend's Indiana Jones marathon on the Sci-Fi Channel got me pumped and I am DYING to see this one.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The Connecticut Cadre of Kate Capshaw Kibitzers are threatening to boycott the film because Ms. Capshaw will not be reprising her role from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, but aside from them I think everyone's going.
Number of Theaters: 3,900
Prediction: $105 million

Lara Croft learns the trade from a very old Indiana Jones


Most Hollywood blockbusters spawn their share of low-budget ripoffs, but only a few really successful movies are influential enough to be followed by big-budget copycats. Usually these followers get media-infused taglines such as "Die Hard on a ... " or "Aliens in a ... ", with the labels likely originating at the studio pitch stage.

Though Raiders of the Lost Ark and its sequels were already derivative and referential works, the Indiana Jones franchise also inspired derivatives of its own, some that were exploitive, some that paid homage and some that are only linked through minor elements. So, in celebration of the latest Indy movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, here's a look back at all the "Indiana Jones as a ... " knock-offs that Hollywood has delivered in the last few decades:

1. Indiana Jones as a woman: Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)

The real source of this and its 2003 sequel, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life, were the Tomb Raider video games, which were clearly inspired by the Indiana Jones films. In the movie we have an archaeologist who seeks a mystical object, which she must keep out of the hands of an evil society. There's an Asian temple, a reunion with a disappeared estranged father and a finale involving the crumbling self-destruction of an elaborate set piece. It's like all the initial three Indiana Jones films wrapped up in one, with added sex appeal in casting Angelina Jolie in the Harrison Ford role. Yet Jolie as Croft is too serious to be the female counterpart to Ford's Indy. Also, while the Indiana Jones films deal with some level of magically religious fantasy, they're at least grounded by "real" or familiar artifacts such as the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant. And they tend to remain just realistic enough to avoid things like giant six-armed statues that come to life.

Imagine this: The Paramount Pictures logo fades away into a real mountain as a fedora-topped man and his men travel through the jungle. We see this man in the shadows, from behind, and from the chest down -- all shots obscuring his face. Finally, when they get to a stream and the fedora man pulls out a map, one of his men pulls out a gun. However, before he can shoot, the gun is whipped out of the man's hand with a simple flick, and a thick, mustachioed Tom Selleck walks out of the darkness.

This is what Raiders of the Lost Ark could have been -- a Magnum PI-led adventure film -- had that same show not spirited Selleck away and forced Steven Spielberg and George Lucas to find someone else. They tested Tim Matheson, Otter from Animal House. They tested Peter Coyote -- an actor who went on to play Keys in ET. But no one compared to Harrison Ford, who came in and made Indiana Jones an ageless icon of adventure and archeology.

Raiders of the Lost Ark, of course, is the only Indiana Jones film without "Indiana Jones" in the official title. It's hard to quibble with the original decision, as Raiders' producers could hardly have been expected to guess that its whip-wielding hero would become a sensation in his own right. But it's still kind of funny to watch this original theatrical trailer for Raiders, which basically ignores Harrison Ford in favor of the fearsome, mysterious Ark of the Covenant, "protected by forces beyond imagination" and "desired above all treasures on earth." Of course, it turned out that, with Raiders as with the rest of the franchise, no one gave a damn about what exactly Indy was chasing so long as he chased it with wisecracking flair. (This alternative trailer is more on target.)

By the time Temple of Doom rolled around, Paramount had gotten the idea, with the voiceover guy intoning: "If adventure has a name, it must be Indiana Jones." Indeed. Check out the original Temple of Doom and Last Crusade trailers after the jump.

If there's one thing we've come to expect from every Indiana Jones film, it's that Indy will be joined by a sidekick (and a beautiful woman) on all his adventures. These sidekicks are there for comedic support, mostly, but also to help Jones get himself out of (and into) a jam or three. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, the large, round and cuddly Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) helped Indy search for the Ark of the Covenant -- but, really, how could you count out the tough-as-nails Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), who also acted as a sidekick (and lover) in this one.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom introduced us to Short Round (Jonathan Ke Quan), who stuck with Indy through thick and thin from start to finish and was, perhaps, Indy's most loyal sidekick. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade found our hero partnering with two old dudes: Professor Henry Jones (Sean Connery) and Dr. Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott); the latter of which finally got to leave campus and join Indy for what we all thought would be his final big-screen adventure. Which brings us to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, where, this time, Indy is once again teamed with someone much younger than he is: Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf). Oh, and there's also 'Mac' George McHale (Ray Winstone), though I don't know how big of a role he plays as sidekick because, well, I don't see Crystal Skull until tomorrow. For the purpose of this poll, though, we'll include everyone (so you can come back to vote after you see the latest installment).

After you vote in the poll, definitely tell us why you chose who you did in the comments section below.