Indiana Jones

[SHAFTR]

Now that the boxset is out for DVD, I think we should talk about the actual movies on here.  I know there is a DVD thread, but I wanted to add a poll as well.  My favorite of the trilogy is The Last Crusade; better girl, sean connery & better locations.

[Find Your Magali]

All three films have tremendous merits, but, for me, "Raiders" is far above the other two. It has a relentless energy that makes it one of the top-five action movies of all time.

The truck sequence remains an audacious thrill ride that still tops anything done today simply because it had no CGI to fall back upon. Ford's performance, the editing and Williams' rousing score are just cinematic perfection for those few minutes.

Raiders is also the funniest of the three films. Last Crusade is funny, too, but it loses points because it TRIES too hard be funny. Raiders' humor flows out of the characters and situations. Some of Crusade's humor flows out of too much of a self-awareness of the history of the series, which is a danger that will have to be considered if they don't want to make Part IV too cheesey.

[modage]

its funny because when i was a kid i liked Temple of Doom the best.  i hadn't seen that one in maybe 10 years or more but re-watched it last night out of my box set and it is now dead last.  i can see what i liked about it though.  cool kid in the movie to identify with, gross stuff, action right from the get go.  when i was little i thought raiders was boring.  but, heres the thing that bothers me most about last crusade: river phoenix's SUPREME EARLY 90'S HAIR!  sooooo out of place it makes me cringe. so now, favorite is Raiders, which i had no idea how good it was.

[Ghostboy]

I was the same way -- Temple was the first one I ever saw as a kid, and I always loved it a little bit more. Now I'm sorta back and forth. Some days, I'll think Raiders is the best because of its more mature storytelling and whatnot, but sometimes I just totally dig Temple and its unending, over the top excellence.

Some reviewers find The Last Crusade useless, too derivative of Raiders, but I think it stands on its own very well. It's the only one I was old enough to catch in theaters, so maybe that wonderful memory had some sort effect on me -- but I think it's really good. I love his relationship with his dad -- I've read that it's too cruel and sad, but that's the point, it gives them something to work towards at the end there. When Henry finally calls Indiana 'Indiana,' it's a total lump in your throat moment.

So overall, if I had to choose between the three of them, I'd find some way to take them all and run.

[SHAFTR]

I hadn't seen these movies in years before this boxset.  They had all flowed into one and I couldn't remember what happened in what movie.  I just rewatched them all this week.  The end of Raiders bothers me, although I think Ford shines the best in that one.

[TheVoiceOfNick]

It's all about Raiders... the other two can't hold a candle to the first one... they'll get blown away.

[Redlum]

Okay, I think Raiders is the best film but the first film I wanted to watch when I got the boxset was Temple of Doom. My excuse to myself being that I'd watch them in Indy chronology, but I'm just a sucker for Anything Goes.

[dufresne]

i love the scene in Temple of Doom when Indy punches the guy, then you see Shortround punch the gay indian prince, pan back to Indy punching the guy again, all synched with John Williams' brilliant queues.

[A Fire Inside]

I have always and will always despise Temple of Doom.

[Jeremy Blackman]

Last Crusade, probably because it was the first one I saw. Consequently, Raiders seems derivative.

I have always and will always despise Temple of Doom.

Except for the "Doctah Jones! Doctah Jones!" thing... ahhh, that is so hilarious...  

[A Fire Inside]

True, that is funny as hell

[Alethia]

whatever guys, indiana jones kicks ass

[mutinyco]

Raiders is the best. Period.

The big surprise for me watching the set is how much I enjoyed Doom. I saw it in the theater as a kid, then spent 20 years watching it cropped on TV. In fact, it was one of my least favorite Spielberg films. But watching it here in widescreen just changed everything. I really dig it now. It's a really ingenious contraption -- a dark popcorn actioneer.

Crusade is just...weak. The first two were fun, but certainly unrealistic. Certainly. But with Crusade it just became an elastic cartoon.

[Just Withnail]

A rare (!) update of the official indy site reveals a deleted portion of Raiders illustrated w/ 90 storyboards.

Perhaps/ hopefully they're gearing up for a more active site when/ if Indy 4 approaces.

[MacGuffin]

How George Lucas Almost Made Indiana Jones a Sex Offender
by Elisabeth Rappe; Cinematical

Finding out how your favorite movies came to be is generally very rewarding and educational. You seek out The Seven Samurai, and thank the film gods that a robotic shark failed to work. At the very least, you can win trivia contests by knowing what Rosebud was, and impress your friends by telling them who was originally cast as Aragorn.

And then there's the stuff you wish you had never known. This week, you may have been one of the Indy fans who eagerly downloaded the Raiders of the Lost Ark transcript, where George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Lawrence Kasdan hashed out ideas for one of the greatest film characters of all time. Cool stuff. Useful if you aim to write books or movies someday. Then I read this bit about Marion and Indy, and their ideas for their early love affair gone wrong:

GL: I was thinking that this old guy could have been his mentor. He could have known this little girl when she was just a kid. Had an affair with her when she was eleven.

LK: And he was forty-two.

GL: He hasn't seen her in twelve years. Now she's twenty-two. It's a real strange relationship.

SS: She had better be older than twenty-two.

GL: He's thirty-five, and he knew her ten years ago when he was twenty-five and she was only twelve. It would be amusing to make her slightly young at the time.

SS: And promiscuous. She came onto him.

GL: Fifteen is right on the edge. I know it's an outrageous idea, but it is interesting. Once she's sixteen or seventeen it's not interesting anymore. But if she was fifteen and he was twenty-five and they actually had an affair the last time they met. And she was madly in love with him and he ...

I know Lucas and Spielberg were pretty young when they filmed Raiders, and probably clueless about women and love affairs ... but I'm not sure that can excuse thinking that an off screen love story between a 12-year-old and a 25- year-old was a really good idea. Even better is the notion that their Indiana Smith would be rather innocent of it since the girl would just be "promiscuous." Puts a whole new spin on Marion's "I was a child!" line, doesn't it? It also puts the age gap between Anakin and Padme in the Star Wars prequels into a new perspective -- Lucas clearly digs age gaps, though at least he grew up to write one that was legal and somewhat more palatable. Becoming a parent probably helped.

But still ... I could have gone my entire life without ever hearing this bit of movie making magic. My love for Indy will never be dimmed (if Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull couldn't kill it, nothing will), but I'm never going to hear "You knew what you were doing" without feeling a little awkward.