While watching the amazing Indiana Jones trilogy, I’ve realized that Indiana Jones and myself have a lot in common. We’re both part-time teachers, we’re both accidental lotharios, and we’re both collectors. Unfortunately for me, the similarities end there. While Indy’s weapon of choice is a well-aimed bullwhip, mine tends to be a well-timed barb in a blog somewhere. One of these things will save your life. I’ll let you figure out which is which.

With ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ coming out in just a few days, the nerd-world (or ‘nerld’, as I’ve come to call it) has gone Indy crazy. I admit, the fervor was so infectious that I found myself scooping up Indiana Jones action figures this weekend without even remembering the details of the films. Plus, who can resist ANY action figure of either Harrison Ford or Jonathan Rhys-Davies? Not me, sir. Not even if the likenesses are barely there.

To herald the arrival of the new Indy film, Paramount is re-releasing the original IJ trilogy in a handsome boxed set, including 1981’s ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’, 1984’s ‘Temple of Doom’ and 1989’s ‘Last Crusade’, all presented in Widescreen format and packaged in three space-saving slim cases. For a DVD collector, space is a premium. Those Xena : Warrior Princess sets are huge, and very necessary, because I’m a lonely guy, and Amazons are comforting.

This set, ‘The Adventure Collection’, comes with a handful of new DVD extras. All three come with unique introductions by George Lucas & Steven Spielberg, and all three include the exact same trailer for the upcoming ‘Crystal Skull’, and the same LEGO Indiana Jones video game trailer & playable demo (which is playable on PCs only, and unsuitable for my Mac). These repetitious extras could have been dropped for some deleted scenes, or at least segments of the documentaries included with the 2003 boxed set, which are absent here. It’s all about the vintage, behind-the-scenes stuff, folks. How else are we going to live vicariously?

What we DO get are all-new mini-documentaries, two of which are special effects demonstrations - my favorite. There’s a reconstruction of the ‘melting face’ scene in ROTLA, as well as original construction footage, and a whole segment about the creepy animals used in the Trilogy, from snakes to bugs to rats, explaining (of course) that most of them are completely harmless, but a bit skeevy nonetheless. We’ve seen the actors talk a million times - show me the animal handlers and guys who make jello faces that explode! That’s exactly why I watch Mythbusters, and that’s what I love about these extras.

We’re also given one set of storyboards for each film, which is like the comic that the art team draws out to map out the film - another thing that’s easy to relate to and appreciate, but probably isn’t for everyone. There are photo galleries and sketches and models used for each film, and a mini-documentary about the wide range of exotic locations used throughout. Did you know that ROTLA was filmed in the exact same place in Tunisia as Star Wars : A New Hope’s Tattooine scenes? That’s a true story. Of course, we also have the cast reminiscences, contextualized by the arrival of the new film. I’m skipping these for now, because I want my Crystal Skull experience to be spoiler-free.

I can’t say that I ever appreciated the trilogy as much as it deserved, but I’ve now become an avid fan. It’s pretty astounding how often Raiders is referenced in pop culture, from melting faces in Scrubs to about a million scenes in Family Guy, most episodes of Duck Tales, and even a notable ‘Bart steals Homer’s penny jar’ scene in The Simpsons. Anyone who’s ever run from a huge boulder, or grabbed something from under a quickly descending door, or been chopped to bits by a plane propellor. It’s all there. There’s also the inherent appeal of the dual-personality thing that pervades so many superhero comics - Indy’s an awkward, regular guy when he’s not wearing the hat, but he’s one heck of a hero when he’s got it on.

I’m primed for the new movie with all scales of action figures, a fair knowledge of the films, and a sincere hope that George Lucas won’t stupid it up with quippy lines and butt jokes. You know, pull an Episode One. The set is due out in about a week, on May 13th, and if you don’t already have ‘em, it’s a pretty iconic addition to your movie collection.

To collect is to desire, to want, the things which one collects, whether it’s bunny figurines or fine art. Therein likes the fun, of course — but too deep a desire, so clouded their judgement, and a collector may find something in their cache that they should not own.

For instance, consider Steven Spielberg. The filmmaker, who directed Indiana Jones’ demand that a stolen Inca artifact belongs in a museum, found himself in Belloq’s shoes when the caretakers of Spielberg’s Norman Rockwell collection found a stolen work in his vaults. Spielberg took the honorable step and notified the FBI, who had been looking for the painting since 2004, immediately upon finding the contraband painting. Spielberg was not the thief, but obtained the art through regular channels that apparently had some ‘loose ends’ somewhere in its history. The painting remains in his collection until proper ownership is sorted out, but he does run the risk of losing the art pending the FBI’s decision.

Museums aren’t immune from similar discoveries — with disputes going back hundreds of years regarding who got what from whom. In his interesting blog, “Illicit Cultural Property,” Derek Fincham explains how hard it can be to identify who really has the right to own a particular work, in this case a statue “made in ancient Greece, stolen by Romans and found in the Adriatic by Italian fishermen 2,000 years later.” 26 disputed artifacts in the Getty Trust archive were returned to Italy, but one, the “Statue of a Victorious Youth,” was not, on the grounds that Italy could not provide a firm enough claim to the statue. Fincham agrees that Italy’s various claims, which must prove historical relevance, quality of care, and archeological importance, were not met in this case. The various cases in Fincham’s blog show, over and over, that you needn’t sneak a statue out of a country under darkness of night to have items reclaimed from your collection. The state’s claim of ownership often supercedes a bill of sale from an antique’s dealer, regardless of the owner’s part in the illegal removal.

Modern artifacts are not immune. A North Dakota State University football player’s front yard was raided by police when it was discovered that he had removed a quartzite state border marker from its original position. in 1891, 720 of these markers were erected to distinguish North from South Dakota, but they fell into disuse and many have been damaged or destroyed. The NDSU student had the respectable intention of donating it to NDSU for display, but the authorities had to follow the letter of the law and impounded the marker. After 18 months in storage the marker was eventually turned over to its rightful owner, the Bureau of Land Management, who then let NDSU file the proper paperwork to allow the marker’s display. Charges against the student, happily, were dropped.

On the other end of the spectrum, Maine State Archivist and other government officials were surprised to see an official, original state filing appear on the Antiques Roadshow. Retired judge Bruce Chandler had an original 1976 affidavit changing James Earl Carter’s name on the presidential ballot to “Jimmy Carter.” Insignificant at the time, the Roadshow appraised the document highly…but the state was more concerned about how an original public record could end up in the hands of a private collector. The answer was simple: a copy was legal to file, so Chandler kept the original in his files, eventually framing it for display. This sort of loophole is the one exploited by dealers in the past, resulting in events like the export of the Victorious Youth, because of the ignorance of historical importance. The loophole will eventually close, but items that ’slipped through’ may remain on the market.
If you want to avoid the legal troubles posed by the same sort of cases above, you should first consider:

1. The Source. Reputable importers and dealers should have documentation showing the legality of their items. Ivory, Cuban products, Native American items, and any number of other restricted or protected items have legal channels, but a buyer has few legal protections if they unknowingly acquire an illegal item.
2. Know what you’re getting. Spielberg’s Rockwell painting was a known stolen painting, and minimal research could have turned up its status years ago. An assumption was made about the Source, and no further research was done. When buying unique or rare items, compare against records of known illegal items to avoid getting stuck in the end.
3. Know your rights. If you are willingly tugging the tiger’s tail and dealing in grey-market items, know what you can and cannot do. The current owner of the Victorious Youth and the owner of the Carter affidavit know their legal rights and are exercising them; it may not always work, like the Youth statue’s ongoing case, but it is far more likely to defend than going in blindfolded.
4. Don’t be blinded by the ‘find’. Being happy that you’ve got the first chance and deep enough pockets to acquire a rare, questionable item shouldn’t cloud your judgement. You may want to risk placing a deposit or a retainer to gurantee a hold on the item, to give yourself time to properly research it before taking ownership. Losing a deposit will be far cheaper than the cost of a lawyer to defend your ownership — even if your case is air-tight, you’ll still have legal fees, and the risk of losing the item and your money may not be worth it in the end.