Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

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.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Willard Huyck (screenplay), Gloria Katz (screenplay),

Stars:

Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Jonathan Ke Quan

Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 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

Storyline

Set in 1935, a professor, archaeologist, and legendary hero by the name of Indiana Jones is back in action in his newest adventure. But this time he teams up with a night club singer named Wilhelmina "Willie" Scott and a twelve-year-old boy named Short Round. They end up in an Indian small distressed village, where the people believe that evil spirits have taken all their children away after a sacred precious stone was stolen! They also discovered the great mysterious terror surrounding a booby-trapped temple known as the Temple of Doom! Thuggee is beginning to attempt to rise once more, believing that with the power of all five Sankara stones they can rule the world! Now, it's all up to Indiana to put an end to the Thuggee campaign, rescue the lost children, win the girl and conquer the Temple of Doom.

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Plot Keywords:

village | children | palace | temple | indiana jones | 

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Taglines:

The hero is back!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

indianajones.com [us] MySpace.com

Country:

USA

Language:

English Sinhalese

Release Date:

23 May 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Indiana Jones 2

Filming Locations:

University of the Pacific, Stockton, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$179,870,271 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Lucasfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steven Spielberg:  [fathers]  Short Round looks on Indiana Jones as a father-figure. Indiana seems reluctant at times to return the feeling.

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Goofs

When Willie is to be sacrificed in the lava pit and the fight breaks out at the top, the distances she is alternately lowered and raised are entirely at odds with the turning of the wheel.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

The Paramount mountain dissolves into a mountain on a gong. Kate Capshaw's hands obscure the words 'starring in', after which her entire body obscures the "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" title.

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Connections

Referenced in The Rescuers Down Under (1990)

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Soundtracks

"Anything Goes"
(1934)
Music & Lyrics by Cole Porter
Performed by Kate Capshaw (uncredited)

User Reviews

Spielberg/Lucas' guide to sheer cliffhanging, shamefully entertaining adventure-lore

There's a part of me that wonders why I might have a rating as listed here as an 8/10 for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, an 1980's blockbuster thrill-ride that many 'Jones' fans list as their least favorite- at the least inferior to Raiders- in the series so far. But then I have to take into account that for a film of this kind, one that poses the no-holds barred case of eleven-year old minds caught up in a grown-up control, it's quite spectacular in its manic, throw-in-the-sink kind of action film that more than pays homage to the matinée serials of the past. Since the last time I saw the film the bulk faded away from a random childhood day, seeing it today I'm struck by how it does tap into that sense of humor that is unhinged. This is more than just a vehicle for Harrison Ford, it's a crash course in delirious escapism, of things that make your skin crawl, thrills pushing a relentless arena, and dark comedy.

This time, in a way, Spielberg, Lucas, and the American Graffiti co-writers (hence a bit of a push from Raiders on the bits of comedy), they set themselves up to make what happens so outrageous and (in its classically conventional way) manipulative. The story takes place in 1935, a year before Raiders in 1936, but the links of the story lines aren't important like in the Star Wars movies. It's simply sets a precedent for the filmmakers- the audience knows he'll get out of whatever's dished out, almost as a kind of toughening up for future tales of Dr. Jones. On the one hand the film delivers with a lot of promise on just the terms of pure spectacle (the brilliantly over the top opening Shanghai sequence, the whole main temple arena with its satanic overtones, the cart chase) and in pulling laughs out of the supporting characters here and there (Kate Capshaw will hit or miss with people, though Short round is quite the amusing- and not annoying- side character).

On the other hand, however, there is a lack of real classic movie cliché thrills of Raiders, or with the movie star repore of Ford and Connery in Crusade. And, in truth, everything here is so completely immersed in the B-movie ideal of f***ing with you at every turn, even as a PG movie of the time, it very often pushes on the line of being hokey. The song that starts the film, Anything Goes, should give anyone an idea of what to expect from Spielberg and Lucas, two thirty-something men who in Temple of Doom- for better or worse- tap truthfully into their inner immature selves. It may miss the mark of greatness, but it's still one of the real guilty pleasures of the 1980's.