4K/Blu-Ray Review: “Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny”

Indiana Jones’ last hurrah arrives on 4K and Blu-Ray just in time for the holiday season with the physical media release of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Offering the best in-home experience possible, the 4K/Blu-RayDigital Ultimate Collector’s Edition celebrates John Williams’ final film score with a score-only audio track, plus an hour-long making-of documentary. With a generational franchise like Indiana Jones, fans can now complete their collection.

The retirement of Dr. Henry Jones Jr. (Harrison Ford) isn’t the happy affair he was hoping for, having recently lost his son in the Vietnam War and separated from his wife, Marion. But excitement is brought back into his life when Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), the daughter of one of Indy’s colleagues, arrives to retrieve a piece of an ancient artifact he had in his archive – half of the Archimedes' Dial. With Helena pursued by Dr. Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), who seeks to complete the dial and go back in time to restore the Nazis to power, there’s no time for Indy to hesitate as he dives back into an adventure that rivals his glory days.

Full of the excitement and fun of the beloved 1980s trilogy, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny gives Harrison Ford’s legendary character a fan-service finale while reuniting him with John Rhys-Davies (Sallah) and Karen Allen (Marian). With Steven Spielberg and George Lucas serving as executive producers, and John Williams back to compose what was once planned to be his final film score, Dial of Destiny closes out the sage of everyone’s favorite adventurous archeologist.

Bonus Features

  • The Making of Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny (56:46)
    • Chapter 1: Prologue (11:20) – Harrison Ford leaps back into action as Indiana Jones! Journey to 1944 as this featurette reveals the filmmakers, characters, stunts, locations, and incredible visual effects that make up the thrilling opening of Dial of Destiny!
    • Chapter 2: New York (10:33) – Blast off to adventure as James Mangold showcases the re-creation of 1969 Manhattan for the Moon Parade chase. This featurette spotlights Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) as John Williams conducts his beautiful new theme for this compelling character.
    • Chapter 3: Morocco (10:11) – The man in the hat is back! Explore Morocco as this featurette breaks down the white-knuckle stunts of the medina tuk-tuk chase and hotel brawl. Meet Teddy (Ethann Isidore), Indy’s precocious new ally in the hunt for the dial!
    • Chapter 4: Sicily (11:22) – Meet Renaldo (Antonio Banderas) as he guides our heroes on a perilous underwater treasure hunt! Catch up with Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge on location in Sicily and explore the caverns, traps, and bugs surrounding Archimedes’ tomb!
    • Chapter 5: Finale (13:18) – This featurette breaks down the thrilling climax to the Indiana Jones series. Cast and filmmakers James Mangold, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, John Williams, Steven Spielberg, and Harrison Ford bid farewell to one of the greatest heroes of all time.
  • Score Only Version of the Movie (2:34:28) – Listen to John Williams’ iconic music on an isolated track as you watch the film.

Video

Lucasfilm’s 2.39:1 4K Ultra-HD transfer of Dial of Destiny is picture-perfect. Details are exquisite in this action-packed installment, with visual effects handled very well in this presentation. The 4K transfer adds a little extra vibrancy to the color palette compared to the included Blu-Ray.

Audio

The standard audio mix on the 4K disc is an immersive Dolby Atmos mix that fully immerses you in the action with sound effects and score traveling around the room. Speaking of the score, the music-only track is included on both the Blu-Ray (found in the Bonus Features menu) and on 4K (found in the audio options), which is a really nice way to appreciate John Williams’ masterpiece, although there are a few awkward gaps of silence. Additional audio options include a 2.0 descriptive audio mix, plus French 5.1 and Spanish (5.1 on Blu-Ray, 7.1 on 4K).

Packaging & Design

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny comes in a standard black Blu-Ray case with disc holders on both sides of the interior. Both discs contain artwork, with the 4K disc featuring the titular dial, while the Blu-Ray disc features Indy’s iconic hat. The only insert is a code for the included digital copy (redeemable through Movies Anywhere), which also earns 200 points through Disney Movie Insiders. The menu for both discs features poster artwork set to score.

Final Thoughts

If the previous four Indiana Jones films aren’t already part of your home video collection, it’s not complete without Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. There’s no better way to experience the film at home than with this spectacular 4K presentation. While the bonus features feel a bit slight, the quality and length of the making-of doc can’t be overlooked.

Packaging Options

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Alex Reif
Alex joined the Laughing Place team in 2014 and has been a lifelong Disney fan. His main beats for LP are Disney-branded movies, TV shows, books, music and toys. He recently became a member of the Television Critics Association (TCA).