Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Willard Huyck (screenplay) &
Gloria Katz (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

23 May 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

If adventure has a name... it must be Indiana Jones.

Plot:

After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone. He agrees, and stumbles upon a secret cult plotting a terrible plan in the catacombs of an ancient palace.

Plot Keywords:

Village | Children | Palace | Thuggee | Gangster

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

Harrison Ford	...	Indiana Jones
Kate Capshaw	...	Willie Scott
Jonathan Ke Quan	...	Short Round (as Ke Huy Quan)
Amrish Puri	...	Mola Ram
Roshan Seth	...	Chattar Lal (as Rushan Seth)
Philip Stone	...	Captain Phillip Blumburtt
Roy Chiao	...	Lao Che
David Yip	...	Wu Han
Ric Young	...	Kao Kan
Chua Kah Joo	...	Chen
Rex Ngui	...	Maitre d'
Philip Tan	...	Chief Henchman (as Philip Tann)
Dan Aykroyd	...	Weber
Akio Mitamura	...	Chinese Pilot
Michael Yama	...	Chinese Co-Pilot

Also Known As:

Raiders 2 (USA) (working title)
The Temple of Doom (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Sinhala | Shanghainese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | Portugal:M/6 (cut) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:10 | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Italy:T | Spain:13 | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (re-rating) | Australia:PG (original rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) (original rating) | Canada:G (Quebec) (re-rating) (2003) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Ireland:PG (cut) | Israel:PG | Netherlands:12 (DVD rating) | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (cut) | USA:PG (PCA #27401) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

American River, Placerville, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The rope bridge used during the final fight scene was actually suspended up a couple of hundred feet across a gorge on location in Sri Lanka. Acrophobic Steven Spielberg would never walk over it, and had to drive a mile and a half to reach the other side. Harrison Ford on the other hand had no such fear, and would run across it at full speed.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The type of pike held by the guards at the palace dinner, is not Indian, it is a Chinese "Kwan Do".

Quotes:

[first lines]
Wu Han: [to Indy] Be careful.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Bulletproof Monk (2003)

Soundtrack:

Anything Goes

One of the greatest adventure films of all time...

Everyone complains about Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. One of my friends and I used to argue for months on end about which Indian Jones film was the superior. Almost anyone we ask say that Temple of Doom is their least favorite, and the worst in the Jones trilogy. I believe the only reason people say this, is because it's the middle film, sandwiched between an all time classic, and a Hollywood blockbuster. To me, there is NO question that Raiders of the Lost Ark is the far superior Indiana Jones film. To anyone who says Last Crusade is the best I can do nothing but disagree (let me point out that all THREE films are nothing short of phenomenal). Temple of Doom had so much to live up to after the first film, and instead of trying to re-create Raiders (something I feel Crusade did), Lucas and Spielberg decided to take the franchise in a new direction. In my opinion, this was a great idea. Crusade and Raiders are too similar: both of them take place in desert terrain, both have Indy going after a very famous, biblical artifact, and both have Indy fighting off the Nazi's from attaining this object for global domination. Without Temple of Doom, Last Crusade would be an obvious copy of Raiders of the Lost Ark. A different style of Indy film is needed to expand the trilogy, making Indiana Jones a truly global character, and Temple of Doom did just that.

The film itself is a non-stop action, adventure ride. Harrison Ford is once again AMAZING as the dashing professor/archaeologist thrill seeker. Short Round is a loveable character who adds a humorous touch, and reveals the more compassionate side of Indy's character. The ceremony scenes are truly breathtaking and tense. During these scenes the film contains some very graphic images, but are used justifiably to convey the real dark, feel of this film (i.e. the removing of the man's heart while he's still alive, and lowering him into a fiery pit). The mine cart chase scenes are the most amazing, fast moving action sequence in any of the Indy films, and you feel like you're on a roller coaster each time you watch it. All these events lead to the film's spectacular and memorable climax.

I know with three films as amazing as the Indiana Jones trilogy, it's hard to pick a best and worst film, in fact it's nearly impossible. I'm just going to say that each film is great on it's own, and really shouldn't be compared to the other two.