Raiders of the Lost Ark

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio DVD reviews for Paramount Home Entertainment in 2022, including their special series “Paramount Presents … “ In two parts, reviews for “Good Burger” (1997), “Event Horizon” (1997), “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981), “Grease 2” (1982), “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” (1962), “Blue Hawaii” (1961), “Ordinary People” (1980) and the double feature package of “War of the Worlds”/“When Worlds Collide” (1953/51).

CHICAGO – When it comes to movie fandom, there are acolytes and obsessives, but few stories are better than three fanboys in 1982, who loved a certain film so much they decided to do a shot-by-shot remake. This is chronicled in the new documentary, “RAIDERS! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made.”

CHICAGO – Friday, May 1st, kicks off one of 2015 Chicago’s most special events, the Chicago Critics Film Festival (CCFF) – a film festival as programmed by the members of the Chicago Film Critics Association. The place to be is at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, and the titles included are an exciting batch of movies making their premiere here.

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Actress Sally Field toasts Steven Spielberg in the presentation speech.

CHICAGO – It was a “close encounter of the legend kind” in Chicago three weeks ago, as Steven Spielberg stopped by to pick up the 2014 Lincoln Leadership Prize, given by The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation. The director was nominated for an Oscar for his sweeping portrait of the Great Emancipator, entitled “Lincoln” (2012). The actress who portrayed Mary Todd Lincoln, Sally Field, presented the award on March 19th, 2014.

CHICAGO – A few years ago, I was asked why Blu-ray hadn’t taken off at the time and replaced DVD as so many fans of the format thought it should. The answer was simple — “Because Raiders of the Lost Ark isn’t on Blu-ray.

Warner Bros. released another one of their book editions of a catalog Blu-ray film and while some of these seem somewhat random in their timing, this one has a nice real-world tie-in as “Chariots of Fire” hits stores just in time for the 2012 Olympics. “Chariots of Fire” is a well-made epic even if my strongest memory of it is related to the stunned realization that it is the movie that beat “Raiders of the Lost Ark” for Best Picture. Yes, the Academy makes mistakes too.

CHICAGO – Fans of one of the greatest franchises in film history can start saving their money now for a Blu-Ray pack they will not want to miss. In the coming Fall of 2012, The Complete “Indiana Jones” Blu-Ray Collection will hit stores everywhere, offering the chance to see your favorite action hero/archaeologist in stunning Blu-Ray quality.

CHICAGO – We agree that it’s sometimes exploitative to re-release a hit film from long, long ago so a studio can newly bloat previously fat wallets.

CHICAGO – Director Steven Spielberg and composer John Williams have one of the most creatively impressive collaborative histories in all of film. Having worked together since “The Sugarland Express,” the two forever changed the way film scores are produced and judged with countless classics.

CHICAGO – Hollywood legend Harrison Ford of “Indiana Jones” fame posed for his hometown HollywoodChicago.com red-carpet portrait at the premiere of “Extraordinary Measures” on Jan. 12, 2009 at the AMC River East movie theater in Chicago.