This documentary begins with Steven Spielberg and Daniel Gregoire going over some of the action sequences planned for the film in pre-visualization mode, so immediately we get the feeling we are in for an in-dept behind the scenes look at the making of the film. The kind of stuff you would expect on the second disc, not as a little fluff piece that accompanies the main attraction on disc one.
However we soon move into the kind of material that was available online on the office Indiana Jones website: costume designer Bernie Pollock talks about having to recreate Indy's much imitated costume (which was originally based on Humphrey Bogarts getup in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre). Harrison Ford explains how he had to get back into practice to use his whip again and Shia LaBeouf compares a switchblade knife to a game of Tetris (this exchange seems to be in most of the Making Of's shown around the world). To show how times have changed since the making of last Indy adventure, we see Spielberg and Harrison on set discussing which picture to put online first. Ever the worrier, Spiel also expresses he 'lost sleep' worrying about how the hat will turn out and 'had to take a deep breath' when he finally saw Ford in the complete costume again.
However the overriding feeling one gets from this short (which is obviously just a small cog in a large wheel) is the sense that the entire production is one big family reunion. Producers Frank Marschall and Kathleen Kennedy met and fell in love during the making of Raiders and are still together (not to mention they carpool with the Spielberg family). Steven, George and Harrison's careers have intertwined since the mid-seventies and you get the feeling Steven would adopt Shia into his own family if only he could. No matter what people may think of the finished product, the making of the Crystal Skull looks to have been a blast for all concerned and this was apparent even in pre-production.
7 out of 10
However we soon move into the kind of material that was available online on the office Indiana Jones website: costume designer Bernie Pollock talks about having to recreate Indy's much imitated costume (which was originally based on Humphrey Bogarts getup in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre). Harrison Ford explains how he had to get back into practice to use his whip again and Shia LaBeouf compares a switchblade knife to a game of Tetris (this exchange seems to be in most of the Making Of's shown around the world). To show how times have changed since the making of last Indy adventure, we see Spielberg and Harrison on set discussing which picture to put online first. Ever the worrier, Spiel also expresses he 'lost sleep' worrying about how the hat will turn out and 'had to take a deep breath' when he finally saw Ford in the complete costume again.
However the overriding feeling one gets from this short (which is obviously just a small cog in a large wheel) is the sense that the entire production is one big family reunion. Producers Frank Marschall and Kathleen Kennedy met and fell in love during the making of Raiders and are still together (not to mention they carpool with the Spielberg family). Steven, George and Harrison's careers have intertwined since the mid-seventies and you get the feeling Steven would adopt Shia into his own family if only he could. No matter what people may think of the finished product, the making of the Crystal Skull looks to have been a blast for all concerned and this was apparent even in pre-production.
7 out of 10
