Just thought I’d start a thread about the existing films so that we can discuss them without people obsessing over Ray Winstone’s magical pants.
This is partially a marketing gimmick because I just finished a 2 and a half thousand word blog on the entire series which can be found HERE.
I hadn’t seen the films since Christmas 2003, and I was shocked by how much I still liked them. I was also surprised at the amount of violence on display, it’s kinda ridiculous how bloody and nasty Raiders is, and to be honest some of the scenes in Raiders make the supposedly darker Temple of Doom look like a kids film.
I was discussing this in chat but it seems odd that the 80s had this string of Family Films which in terms of violence are up there with the latest Die Hard film.
I re-watched Temple of Doom over the weekend, and while Short Round doesn’t bother me nearly as much as he used to, I still think the film sort of falls apart once they get to India. The Club Obi Wan sequence is flat-out fantastic, but I feel the whole Thugee cult is not a very compelling threat, the Shankara Stones don’t have the same intrigue or stakes as the Ark, and the whole thing feels too insular and confined after the globe-spanning nature of Raiders.
I watched Raiders as part of our “manly movie night” at work a couple weeks back, and the turnout was really great. Everyone was surprisingly into it, and they laughed and cheered at all the big moments. Since Indy is the one franchise that has managed to hold onto my geek love through infatuations and disillusionments with Star Wars, Trek, and LOTR, I think I’ll always have that soft spot for it. Mostly because I wouldn’t be into a lot of stuff, like history or jazz, if it weren’t for the movies and the tv series. (I actually watched the tv series first, as it was “Educational” in a way that the movies weren’t, according to my old man.)
The thing that surprised me most about watching Raiders with an audience was what moment got the biggest laugh. It was “hahaha…sonofabitch.”
I just read your blog entry, Spike, good work. I think that “hahaha” moment is another one of those reasons why we love Indy like you described – because in Raiders, he has no clue whatsoever how he’s going to get out of each mess he finds himself in. The whole “I don’t know, I’m making this up as I go along” thing.
The first thing that comes to mind with these films is that as a kid I wanted to be Indiana Jones more than anything else. God, I love that series. Can’t wait for Crystal Skulls in the coming months…
Originally Posted by Spike MarshallView Post Whenever I show it to kids they always love the Sword/Gun sequence, but they love Toht’s coat hanger.
Showed Raiders to my nephew for the first time about a month ago, and he loved the coat hanger. The movie really stuck with him, and whenever I see him, he begs me to let him see Temple of Doom. I really thought it would be too much for him (hearts being ripped out and all), but maybe I should reconsider…
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spike MarshallView Post Also, what’s up with Doom being before Raiders? It just makes no sense at all.
It doesn’t make much sense. Especially referencing gags from Raiders like you said in your blog (nice write up). I’m curious as to why they did that.
Originally Posted by Spike MarshallView Post Also, what’s up with Doom being before Raiders?
Probably Lucas’ little way of seeing if it’d work for the Star Wars prequels (since he’d already made it known to the public that he’d be making em in the coming years!)
Originally Posted by Spike MarshallView Post Also, what’s up with Doom being before Raiders? It just makes no sense at all.
I always figured it was to give Indy a different love interest without implying that he and Marion broke up. But then Last Crusade came along and ruined that…
I think for kids Doom is nastier, but I think from an adult standpoint (because we’re more aware of certain things and have more empathy generally) Raiders is a more vicious film.
Indiana getting his bulletwound punched over and over again is a prime example of a scene that is actually kinda nasty.
I think it was Dickson who said something to the effect that Doom works on one level as a prequel because it’s about the “fortune and glory” Indy learning the real value of the artifacts he’s hunting for. One of the reasons he has so much contempt for Belloq in Raiders is because in Doom, he basically is Belloq.
Raiders will always be my favorite of the series, and by far one of the first movies I put in when i’m in a shitty mood… and when ever I get the chance I’m always using the line ha ha ha ha…sonofabitch.. just love it
on a side note, i never got the “magical pants” what on earth is everyone talking about?
Originally Posted by Kevin KView Post I always figured it was to give Indy a different love interest without implying that he and Marion broke up. But then Last Crusade came along and ruined that…
I thought the same. And I’ve always been disappointed with Last Crusade because of Marion’s absence. Exploring Indy’s relationship with his father was a fine idea, but not at the expense of his relationship with Marion, given that I thought the third film was the final chapter in the series.
I’m glad they’re bringing her back, and that we’ll see Abner Ravenwood in the new film. Those are the only things that have me interested in Crystal Skull.
Originally Posted by RathBanduView Post I think it was Dickson who said something to the effect that Doom works on one level as a prequel because it’s about the “fortune and glory” Indy learning the real value of the artifacts he’s hunting for. One of the reasons he has so much contempt for Belloq in Raiders is because in Doom, he basically is Belloq.
I don’t recall saying that, but I wish I had, because it makes a lot of sense.
My main beef with the logic of Doom being a prequel is that Raiders Indy scoffs at Marcus’ warnings about the Ark as a bunch of mystical nonsense when chronologically he just had an adventure stuffed to the gills with mystical nonsense.
I can buy that, though, because that’s part of the arc of each Indy movie – going from non-believer to believer. They handled it better in Crusade, though, with “Are you sure?” “Pretty sure.”
Originally Posted by Richard DicksonView Post My main beef with the logic of Doom being a prequel is that Raiders Indy scoffs at Marcus’ warnings about the Ark as a bunch of mystical nonsense when chronologically he just had an adventure stuffed to the gills with mystical nonsense.
Maybe he believes in Hindu mystical nonsense but not Judeo-Christian mystical nonsense?
Originally Posted by Richard DicksonView Post I re-watched Temple of Doom … and the whole thing feels too insular and confined after the globe-spanning nature of Raiders.
Ebert said it in his review, but that’s the appeal of TOD. It’s like Indy’s Really Bad Night. It’s what would happen if Indiana Jones was the lead in AFTER HOURS. If anything, I don’t think it takes it far enough. It never quite feels like the ordeal it should.
Other TOD shit:
* I think Kate Capshaw’s great in the role, and don’t find the character at all annoying, but she looks too much like some permed 80s soccer mum, not the nightclub siren she was clearly scripted as.
* The sad face Indy makes in the spike chamber is hilarious, like an outtake they just decided to leave in the film. We… are going… TO DIE… ;_;