Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Paramount has released Director Steven Spielberg's 1984 sequel film 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' to the UHD format. New specifications include 2160p/Dolby Vision video and Dolby Atmos audio. No new supplements are included. At the time of publication, this release is only available in a four-film, five-disc boxed set with the other films in the franchise (as of 2021).

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from the legacy 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Like Raiders of the Lost Ark before it, Temple of Doom offers a serious upgrade over the Blu-ray, which is now approaching a decade in age. For both the 2160p resolution and the Dolby Vision color grading the presentation is exceptional in all areas. It's aggressively grainy, particularly in the opening Club Obi Wan sequence and at scattered other points throughout, but largely flattering no matter any mild variations in density. The picture is handsomely filmic in total and clearly benefits from the resolution boost. The UHD brings the film far forward from the Blu-ray, yielding endless examples of greatly improved textural clarity and detail accessibility. The UHD brings every detail to brand new life with incredibly complex clarity. Whether within the darkened depths of the underground temple or the resplendent textures within Pankot Palace, Paramount's presentation is far and away the most innately revealing and visually expressive presentation of the film yet. Major textural gains extend to faces and clothes, too, and present with the same sharpness and film-like elegance both in bright sunny exteriors and low light underground sets alike. It's a stunner.

The Dolby Vision color grading brings new life to the picture, too, adding a substantial amount of tonal depth and color accuracy to the proceedings. On the spectrum ends, whites are newly brilliant (look at the suits and accents in the opening Obi Wan sequence) and black levels depth and detail are outstanding, vital in supporting the many key low light underground areas seen throughout much of the film's second half. Inside that underground chamber, the vivid red accent lighting enjoys a substantial boost to depth as one of the main color expressions in the film. Core elements outside, such as earthy terrain, natural greenery, and blue skies present with generous color accuracy and detail, well beyond the Blu-ray, which appears washed out and dull in direct comparison. Flesh tones are lively and healthy, again with much more accuracy next to the old SDR 1080p presentation. With the film further free of any serious print blemishes or encode flubs, this is not only a major improvement over the Blu-ray but rather a beautiful filmic image in its own right and certainly the best the film has ever looked at home.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Temple of Doom's Dolby Atmos audio presentation excels in all facets. John Williams' score is aggressively spaced and wondrously detailed. The extra channels allow for a fuller presentation, never betraying the primary front end dominance but bringing a greater sense of musical immersion to the stage, particularly as the track takes advantage of the added back-middle channels and, more subtly, the overhead components. The top end channels are not used with great frequency for discrete effects but the adds to atmosphere prove vital in painting a fully developed sonic picture for some of the film's key locations, particularly in the underground temple and the mining area, the latter particularly noteworthy for the collected din and absolute immersion the Atmos configuration provides. Certainly there is no sonic reworking or reimagining at play but the film sounds brand new for the extra detail and precision. Action elements are well defined, too, whether the cracking whip, assorted gunshots, the mine carts zipping and zooming late in the film, and the like. The sense of detail, authority, stage fullness, and perfect placement fully draw the listener into the action. Dialogue is clear, well prioritized, and center positioned. There's nothing not to like here; this is Temple of Doom at its sonic best.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom's UHD disc only includes a pair of trailers (the same included on the Blu-ray discs released in 2012), but the four-film set in which this release is included does house a bonus Blu-ray special features bonus disc. Please click here for a listing of what's included on that disc. As it ships in that boxed set, a digital copy voucher is included with purchase.

• Teaser Trailer (1080p, 1:00).
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 1:26).

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Paramount's new Indiana Jones UHD discs delight. The Temple of Doom looks amazing, sounds great, and the film is fun if not in some ways flawed. The four-film set in which this disc is found earns my highest recommendation.