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Twenty-seven years after we saw the first installment of the Indiana Jones series, the fourth movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull opens nationwide tomorrow. In honor of the occasion, we’ll take a look at all the movies and tell you some stories you may not know about the Indy franchise.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
1. It Started with Bond Ambitions
George Lucas wrote a story called “The Adventures of Indiana Smith” in 1973. While on vacation in Hawaii in 1977, he spoke with Steven Spielberg, who mentioned he always wanted to do a James Bond film. Lucas told him the Indiana Smith character was even better than James Bond, and that’s how the collaboration between the two movie giants began.
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2. Tom Selleck Almost Starred in It
Spielberg wanted to use Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones from the beginning, but Lucas rejected the idea, since he had already used Ford in American Grafitti and Star Wars. So Tom Selleck was chosen for the role. However, he dropped out to star in the television series Magnum, P.I. Selleck thought it would be a scheduling conflict, but filming on Raiders of the Lost Ark finished before Magnum went into production. Nick Nolte turned down the role also. Danny DeVito was the first choice for the character Sallah, but dropped out to do the TV show Taxi.
3. The Fourth Wall (it keeps out snakes)
Indiana Jones is not the only one afraid of snakes. When Marion (Karen Allen) falls in the snake pit, you can see the reflection of a cobra in the glass wall between them. You can also see a glass wall between Indiana and the cobra in the original movie and videotape, but it was cleaned up for the DVD release.
The Temple of Doom (1984)
4. Star Wars Tributes
There are many Star Wars touches in The Temple of Doom. The name of the nightclub in Shanghai is Club Obi Wan. The sound effect you hear when the lava pit opens as they begin to sacrifice Willie is the sound of Darth Vader opening his light saber. The sound effect of the plane failure is the same sound effect used for the Millennium Falcon when it stalls in The Empire Strikes Back. And the vest that Indy wears in his palace room was made for Han Solo.
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5. Dan Akroyd has a Cameo?
Part of the crew made cameo appearances. In the airport scene at the beginning of the movie, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, costume design Anthony Powell, and PR man Sid Ganis are missionaries. Executive producer George Marshall is a coolie pulling a rickshaw. Dan Akroyd (not a crew member) appears as an airport official who walks the cast to the plane.
6. An Elephant Almost Ruined the Movie
The dress Kate Capshaw wore in the Shanghai nightclub scene was covered with rare vintage beads made in the ’20s and ’30s. The club scene was filmed last, but the dress also made an appearance during the camping scene, where an elephant began eating it! Since there were no extra beads to match, the costume department had to repair the dress as best as they could. The result was so tight that Capshaw had trouble moving in it when they filmed the nightclub scene. Costume designer Anthony Powell filled out insurance forms for the dress, citing the cause of the damage as “dress eaten by elephant”. This was only the second movie for Capshaw, who has a masters degree in special education. Spielberg married Capshaw in 1991.
The Last Crusade (1989)
7. Even the Rats were Insured
The thousands of rats used in The Last Crusade were insured. The insurer wanted to know the minimum number of rats the scene could be shot with, and used the answer to write a policy with a “1,000 rat deductible.” The cast was padded with another thousand mechanical rats. Their voices were enhanced with the sound effects of ….chicken voices!
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8. Lucas’ Dog was his Inspiration
At the end of the movie, Jones explains to his friend Sallah that his nickname Indiana came from his pet dog from long before. Sallah responds, “You were named after a dog?” and gets a great laugh out of it. But it’s true. Indiana was the name of an Alaskan malamute George Lucas owned in the ’70s. The same dog inspired the look of the Star Wars character Chewbacca. Jones’ real first name is Henry, which is why his father Henry Jones, Sr. calls him Junior. The characters Willie and Short Round in The Temple of Doom were also named after other people’s dogs.
The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
9. The Sequel Almost Involved Mars
Nineteen years is a long time to come up with a new title for a movie, and many were posed before producers settled on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Fake titles that have been released over the years include Indiana Jones and the Staff of Moses, Indiana Jones and the Shores of Avalon, Indiana Jones and the Jade Princess,Indiana Jones and the Raiders of Time, and Indiana Jones and the Ravages of Time. Real script titles or ideas that were rejected were Indiana Jones and the Garden of Life, Indiana Jones and the Monkey King, Indiana Jones and the Saucer Men From Mars, and Indiana Jones and the Red Scare. Working titles for The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull have included Fourth Installment of the Indiana Jones Adventures, Indiana Jones 4, Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods, Raiders of the Lost Ark Sequel, and The Untitled Genre Project. It is clear that a lot of work went into the movie before they even knew what it would be about!
10. The Secret of the Film’s Look
Great pains were taken to give the fourth movie the look and feel of the first three, despite the time gap. Steven Spielberg insisted on using stunt men instead of computer animation. Computer-generated effects are used only when absolutely necessary. The footage was shot on film instead of digital format. Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski painstakingly studied the first three movies in order to preserve the style of previous cinematographer Douglas Slocombe (who is now retired). The result looks, as George Lucas said, “like it was shot 3 years after the Last Crusade, you’d never know there was 20 years between shooting.” Unlike a certain other George Lucas franchise we all know and love.
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Test your knowledge of the franchise with Stacy Conradt’s Indiana Jones quiz.
Comments (26)
Comment
re: #10…
We all know and USED to love until it started stinking like raw pork left in the sun for a week.
posted by parrot on 5-21-2008 at 7:49 am
RE: Raiders of the Lost Ark
The scene in the open air market where Marion runs/is taken away in a basket and Indy faces off with a big swarthy sword wielding fiend and shoots him- it wasn’t in the script. It was written to be a long drawn out fight. But in reality, Harrison Ford was very sick with fever and diarhea, and just wanted to wrap things up, so he improvised the scene and just shot the guy. The crowd surrownding them in the scene is actually cheering and laughing because it was an unexprected funny moment- which found it’s way into the final cut.
BTW that would be a great topic for another day, great movie scenes that were ad libbed.
posted by qt314159265 on 5-21-2008 at 8:28 am
In raiders of the lost ark, the float plane that Indy runs to has the registration # on the side of c-3p0,
posted by Dean on 5-21-2008 at 9:24 am
Since you mentioned Dan Akroyd’s cameo, you should probably also mention British comedian Alexei Sayle’s cameo (Golodkin from “Gorky Park”).
Alexei Sayle appeared in Last Crusade as the Sultan of Hatay, to whom the Nazis give the Rolls Royce (”. . . and I even like the color”).
posted by gmsc on 5-21-2008 at 9:48 am
I’m so glad Spielberg is directing, and that he’s trying to use the same technology as the originals. The thing that really ruined the new Star Wars movies for me was the over-dependence on CGI. I didn’t like sitting through half-hour long scenes that consisted solely of computerized robots/aliens marching across a field. Honestly, I thought the puppets they used in the old ones were much more believable and enjoyable.
posted by gibson8or on 5-21-2008 at 10:54 am
On casting Harrison Ford, Lucas was mulling it over when he took Spielberg to the premiere of Star Wars. During the Cantina Scene, Stephen leaned over and said, “There’s your Indiana Jones right there!” and pointed. George looked back, asking “What? The Wookie?”
Seriously!
posted by Johnny Cat on 5-21-2008 at 10:57 am
I love all this added trivia in the comments! This list could’ve been way longer, but I just stopped at ten.
posted by Miss Cellania on 5-21-2008 at 11:31 am
Miss Cellania please do a post about ad-libbed scenes!! I love that stuff!
posted by mbg on 5-21-2008 at 11:45 am
The last tidbit made me happy. The one thing I was worrying about was the overuse of special and CG effects in what should be epic movies. The one thing that can ruin a once great franchise is when the higher-ups overdo things, and I’m glad Lucas FINALLY is getting the point after his previous pixelated stinkbombs. Now I REALLY have to see this movie!
posted by heather on 5-21-2008 at 1:41 pm
Re ad-libbed scenes– The famous “I’m walkin’ here!” line in Midnight Cowboy was an adlib according to Dustin Hoffman, although the producer claims not.
posted by rosebud on 5-21-2008 at 2:13 pm
Ad-libbed:
Billy Crystal’s “Waiter, there is too much pepper” scene in “When Harry Met Sally”, which is why Meg Ryan looks off-screen near the start. She’s hoping for direction from Rob Reiner!
posted by frodopal on 5-21-2008 at 2:40 pm
The scene in The Empire Strikes back when Leia says “I love you” and Han says “I know” was a Harrison Ford ad lib. Apparently the original dialogue was too lame (big surprise - not), so they changed it on the spot.
I love DVD extras!
posted by Justme on 5-21-2008 at 2:56 pm
i love these movies and i am so going to see this when it comes out tommorrow. that you so much for this post.
posted by meta on 5-21-2008 at 3:10 pm
it’s gonna be tough to match or even come close to the quality and originality of the original Indiana Jones’… they’ve got the Soviet army this time instead of Nazis, right?
posted by patrick on 5-21-2008 at 3:42 pm
Yes patrick. And I for one don’t care if it doesn’t equal the quality/originality of the first. It will surely be better than the National Treasure movies.
posted by Johnny Cat on 5-21-2008 at 4:54 pm
On one of the pillars in the snake pit in Raiders, one of the hieroglyphics is a picture of C-3PO and R2-D2.
posted by Tyler on 5-22-2008 at 7:35 am
I saw the new film last night. They jumped the shark. Really. A lot of the folks in the theater, including the guys dressed in Indy garb, said afterwards it was so-so. Obviously they didn’t study the earlier films enough, because I saw stark differences, especially the script. Sorry, but bleh. And space aliens? Come on. Dumb.
posted by Matt on 5-22-2008 at 6:42 pm
I saw the film last night as well, and personally, I loved it. I see how you could feel like they jumped the shark though. I was thinking that as well, because in I, II, and III, they were searching for religious artifacts, whereas in the new one it just seemed kind of Sci-Fi… then I put it in the perspective of it being an Ancient religious artifact and it felt a little less Happy Days. I think that if bits of the begining and the (SPOILER!) double-double cross had been left on the cutting room floor it would have felt just like Classic Indy.
That and I *still* wouldn’t kick Harrison Ford out of bed for eating crackers… and he’s old enough to be my grandfather!
I loved the less-than-subtle nods to the fans of the Lucas and Spielberg empires, and Karen Allen looks amazing after all these years. Hollywood ladies should take a page out of her book on aging gracefully!
I also loved Cate Blanchett as the villain. But then again, she’s basically awesome at anything that lands on her plate.
and now to validate this post with some Indy Trivia: The Nazi that Indy fights in Raiders and the guy that he fights in the Mine are, in fact, the same actor.
The final scenes on the outside of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were filmed at the Treasury in Petra. My roomate traveled there this summer, and was dismayed to inform us that inside the treasury there is only one small chamber (Although many more are thought to be below ground, and are unexcavated because of the danger of collapse!) ;) no leaps of faith or beheading mechanisms.
posted by Ashley on 5-23-2008 at 9:31 am
#7 Rats - I swear the some of the Rat sounds are 30 second bits of “Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict” off of the Pink Floyd’s Ummagumma. I too, confuse Roger Waters with Chickens all the time.
posted by T F 23 on 5-23-2008 at 11:08 pm
Sequel ~ Indiana Jones and The Spear of Destiny is a four issue comic book limited series published by Dark Horse Comics from April to July 1995. It was their seventh series about the adult Indiana Jones.
The story involves Henry ‘Indiana’ Jones Jr. and his father Henry Jones, Sr. in a quest to find the Holy Lance that pierced Christ, also known as the Spear of Destiny. Following the Jonses into the heart of Ireland in 1945, it’s a race to stop the Nazis from acquiring a power that could destroy humanity.
posted by T F 23 on 5-23-2008 at 11:29 pm
At the beginning, this movie had such promise in the fiftiesque Happy Days/Them themed desert southwest. The rocket sled and atomic blast scenes were awesome and then it’s almost as if the movie ran out of gas. It seemed tired and predictable.
posted by Philip Hamon on 5-23-2008 at 11:43 pm
I don’t know why everybody’s getting all uppity about aliens - we had an enraged desert god in Lost Ark, magic stones in Doom, and I’m pretty sure the forces of Jesus offed the baddie at the end of Grail.
So, mythical cosmic supernatural forces tearing about in the first three movies is fine, but bring in space aliens and it’s all a bit far fetched?
posted by Frogbit on 5-24-2008 at 6:17 am
Actually, I thought aliens were just fitting. I mean, the film’s set during cold war. The whole Roswell/Area 52 is sooo fifties. And they are neither syrupy sweet like E.T. or dangerous like in Alien. My main complain about the film is that Indy never seems to get in real trouble, there is not a moment when you think he’s doomed and won’t be able to make it… And (SPOILER) that lighter working perfectly after so much water!
I agree with those who praise Karen Allen. Hollywood should really learn that older, cleverer woman can be attractive. Hey, I’m glad that at some point Cate Blanchett’s Irina Spalko is described as “in her mid-thirties” that being my own age. And maybe this is why I didn’t like Temple of doom so much. Neither me none of my girlfriends could or wanted to relate to Capshaw’s character.This film is great entertainment and I feel that’s a lot, already.
posted by Mar on 5-24-2008 at 7:55 pm
Just a little extra trivia for the fans of Star Wars and Chewbacca. I live in a town called Weatherford, Texas(west of Fort Worth) not far from Weatherford is another town called Granbury. I happen to know that that is were the man who played Chewy lives and he has a son & daughter named Luke & Leigha.
posted by ShelleB on 5-28-2008 at 12:27 am
CGI was rubbish. If they aint gonna use it much then they should be able to make it awesome. They didn’t. Evidence: Scene where Indy throws gunpowder in the air to find a magnetic head… In fact that whole idea makes no sense at all regardless of bad CGI.
posted by Charlie on 6-3-2008 at 1:26 pm
all the flashlights in Indy 4 are lightsabors
posted by obisolo on 6-6-2008 at 11:25 pm