Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom – 1984 Spielberg
Certainly darker than the original (and Last Crusade) but it doesn’t let up on the spectacular set pieces
Even more than the 1981 masterpiece this is influenced by India and Gunga Din
The opening in medias res is spectacular with the Busby Berkeley “Anything Goes” and this is set in the 30’s—earlier than Raiders and last crusade which is WWII featuring Nazis
The opening, like Raiders, has a graphic match of Paramount pictures mountain
Pure entertainment- rock-rolling narrative
Tip of the cap to Lucas with the club named “Obi Wan”
Odd to see Dan Aykroyd in it for 20 seconds
Basically invented PG13
The first 20 minutes are absolutely wild
I loved Capshaw’s howling and performance- I can see why it was divisive but you have to respect the genre she’s playing in here—it’s goofy—same with the eating sequence and many of the lighter booby traps
The Thugee ceremony is a dazzling set piece. Absolutely gorgeous
Reoccurring shot of the victim (once a nameless character and once Capshaw) shooting behind their head as the haunting Amrish Puri “Mola Ram” approaches with his head set
It’s a dark film in some areas but incredibly light and ludicrous in others and I think that was a hard combination for a lot of critics—also, in that vein, the relationship here with Ford and Capshaw and their characters made the relationship in Raiders with Karen Allen look like Bogart and Bergman
Set pieces galore- most hit- I love the bridge sequence finale
[…] Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom – Spielberg […]