To mark the 40-year anniversary of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Paramount Home Entertainment is releasing a new box set of the Indiana Jones movies, restored in 4k HD — but the updates ruin the look of the pulp adventure movies. The Steven Spielberg film series starring Harrison Ford (co-created by George Lucas) is a beloved franchise, chronicling the adventures of tomb-raiding archeologist, professor and adventurer, Indiana Jones. The restoration may update the picture, but it takes away some of the original charm, raising questions about the benefits of upgrading media versus the principle of maintaining historical integrity.
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The Indiana Jones franchise is the most recent much-loved movie series to get a visual upgrade. Although the upgrades do often make the picture more crystal clear, it can do so at the cost of the original’s classic feel and aesthetic. For example, Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings received a controversial 4K upgrade that unified the original trilogy with the later Hobbit movies. However, the upgrading look also fundamentally changed the color of the movie, robbing the picture of its warm, golden glow.
Now, Indiana Jones is the latest much-loved franchise to be subjected to this sort of revisionism, conducted as a “restoration.” The new 4k versions…
