Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

A skirmish in Shanghai puts archaeologist Indiana Jones, his partner Short Round and singer Willie Scott crossing paths with an Indian village desperate to reclaim a rock stolen by a secret cult beneath 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 6 wins & 20 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:

children | village | temple | palace | indiana jones | 

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Taglines:

Trust him.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

indianajones.com [United States] 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

The huge mineshaft was a circular construction around the largest soundstage. To make it look different, they just altered the lighting every time the carts completed a loop.

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Goofs

Indy, whip in right hand, disarms the Thuggee swordsman and picks up the fallen blade with his left hand. In the very next shot the sword is in his right hand and the whip in his left.

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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

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Public Enemies/Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs/The Stoning of Soraya M (2009)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

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.