WHAT: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) 40th Anniversary
WHEN: September 4, 2024 1 PM & 7 PM
WHERE: Pickwick Theatre, Park Ridge, IL
HOW MUCH: $12/$10 Advance or $10 for the 1 PM matinee
Advance Tickets: Click Here!
The Pickwick Theatre Classic Film Series returns for its 11th season on September 4 with a 40th anniversary screening of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). This sequel (technically, a prequel) to Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) is the ultimate blockbuster– the highest-grossing film of 1984, in fact. And what better way to close out the summer than with a nostalgic look back at one of the most fun action movies ever. Temple of Doom will be presented on the Pickwick’s MEGA-screen.
For film fans of my generation, the summer of 1984 is one filled with joyful, childhood memories when you could open up the newspaper movie ads and see films like Temple of Doom listed at your local theatre. I remember the sense of anticipation, having already been introduced to Indiana Jones three years before. There was the controversy, of course– the removing of a beating heart during a human sacrifice, which helped initiate a new motion picture rating (PG-13). And there was the merchandise we collected as kids. Some of which will be on display in the Pickwick lobby.
Temple of Doom was directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by George Lucas. In retrospective interviews, Lucas has said that part of the reason the film is so dark is because he was going through a divorce at the time. He repeatedly refers to the darkness, comparing this second chapter to his earlier The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Spielberg himself has said that Temple of Doom was his least favorite of the original trilogy for similar reasons. However, Temple of Doom‘s intense themes are actually what redeem the film and make it so unique.
After an escape from a Shanghai nightclub, archeologist Indiana Jones, his sidekick Short Round, and singer Willie Scott find themselves in India. In a decimated village, one of the elders tells Indy he must travel to Pankot Palace to retrieve a powerful Sankara stone that had been stolen. The children of the village have also been taken. Once at the palace, Indy meets Chattar Lal, a minister to the young boy Maharajah. But appearances are deceiving as Indy soon discovers that beneath the palace lies a temple serving a Thuggee cult. The leader of which, Mola Ram, is determined to find the other missing stones with his child slaves. Indy passes through Hell in order to save a village and free its children.
At the time of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Lucas had told Spielberg that he had three stories in mind for a trilogy. Spielberg later clarified that George did not have three stories. They made them up as they went along. The screenplay for the second film was by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, who had previously written Lucas’s American Graffiti (1973). Lawrence Kasdan, the writer of Raiders of the Lost Ark, had passed on the story, finding it too horrible with its emphasis on the Kali cult and black magic. Huyck and Katz knew Lucas had selected them because of their personal knowledge of India. They were inspired by films like 1939’s Gunga Din– the memory of which hovers over this picture. In addition to classic film antecedents to guide them, Huyck and Katz synthesized elements that were originally intended for Raiders of the Lost Ark, such as the life raft on the rapids and the mine car chase.
Harrison Ford returned as Indiana Jones, although this time he made a point to get into shape since he would be spending a large portion of the film either shirtless or in tatters. Kate Capshaw was cast as the nightclub singer Willie Scott. (“Willie” was the name of Spielberg’s Cocker Spaniel.) The filmmakers wanted to have a different heroine for each film in the series and Capshaw immediately impressed Spielberg, although she apparently didn’t read the script too closely. When it came time to filming, she was unable to do a scene involving snakes, and then later– only reluctantly with the help of a relaxant– she had to do a scene involving thousands of bugs. In the role of street smart Short Round, the filmmakers were surprised by twelve-year-old Ke Huy Quan. During the open casting call for the part, Ke’s personality stood out even though it was his brother who was there to test. Temple of Doom would be Ke’s motion picture debut.
Also in the cast were Amrish Puri as the Thuggee priest, Mola Ram; Roshan Seth as Chattar Lal, the prime minister to the Maharaja; and Philip Stone as Captain Blumburtt. In a bit role at the Shanghai airport, Dan Aykroyd appears as British officer Weber.
Although Temple of Doom was set in India, it would be shot in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Though the intent was to shoot where the story takes place, the Indian government proved to be too sensitive to elements in the script. The officials demanded changes as well as approval of the final cut. That wasn’t going to work with producer Robert Watts. After consulting with Spielberg, the production was moved. While on location, Spielberg was keenly aware of the history of that spot since David Lean had shot The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) in Sri Lanka. The beautiful locations were photographed by Douglas Slocombe, who shot all three of the Indiana Jones movies from the original trilogy. The Pankot Palace of the Maharaja was eventually recreated with glass shots– and a courtyard built in Hollywood.
During Indy’s bedroom chamber struggle with a Thuggee assassin, Harrison Ford herniated his back, which forced him to leave the production for several weeks. During his absence, Spielberg shot the majority of the conveyor belt fight scene with stunt actor Vic Armstrong. Six weeks later when Ford returned, Spielberg was able to plug in close-ups of his star. The fight scene between Armstrong and actor Pat Roach appears seamless. Scenes like this were not story-boarded. Spielberg later explained that he was not as secure with the Temple of Doom script as he had been with Raiders, so he left room for more on-the-scene improvisation.
One scene that was carefully story-boarded was the mine car chase. This is because miniature models were built and every detail had to be just right. If Temple of Doom can be called a roller coaster ride, then the mine car chase literally brings that to life. There are no CG effects. It’s all well choreographed model work inter-cut with full-scale sets . It’s Hollywood at its best, and it’s one of the many thrilling sequences in the film.
All the set pieces in Temple of Doom are imaginatively realized. Spielberg’s favorite sequence to shoot was the spike room scene in which the ceiling closes in on Indy and Short Round. It was the most direct homage to the movie serials of the 1930s and 1940s which originally inspired the creation of Indiana Jones.
Equally impressive is the climax on the rope bridge. If the production had bad luck with Ford’s back injury, they benefited from some good luck too. During the earlier location shoot, local engineers who were working not far from where the film was being made constructed the rope bridge for the production. The film technicians then tested human dummies that could move mechanically as they fell. The crew later added special charges to detonate the bridge to simulate it being severed by Indy. The climax on the bridge was then recreated on a movie set.
Seeing this film as a nine-year-old left an indelible impression. That special time in ’84 is one of my happiest experiences as a moviegoer. In the years after the film’s release, however, I was able to look back more objectively. Kate Capshaw gives a rather grating performance, in keeping with the character, with lines of dialogue that just make you want to groan. (Although the film’s humor will undoubtedly play better in a theatre full of people.) Perhaps Temple of Doom would’ve been better served if her character had been left at Club Obi Wan. And there is a silliness that runs throughout as well as an occasional lapse in logic, like jumping out of an airplane in an inflatable raft. And I’m still wondering how an overturned tower of water, no matter how large, could possibly fill up miles of underground caves. (The Indiana Jones films often ask us to suspend our disbelief, but there still needs to be a narrative logic between those points.)
There is one shot in particular in Temple of Doom that suggests what the film might’ve been like had it followed the tone and general seriousness of Raiders. It’s the scene in which Indy comes down from his elephant and approaches an ominous jungle shrine. There’s that great image of Harrison Ford walking up into a close-up, and in that brief moment, it recalled the no-nonsense nature of the first film with no comedic counterpoint to lighten the mood.
In the intervening years since the disappointing fourth entry, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), I’ve come to recognize Temple of Doom as a worthy follow-up despite its flaws. No film, of course, could equal the original. There was Raiders of the Lost Ark and then everything else. But Temple of Doom has such an unrelenting pace and imagination. (Opening the film with the “Anything Goes” musical number, sung in Mandarin Chinese, attests to its singularity.) The set pieces are superior to anything that followed in the series and more true to what Indiana Jones is all about. Besides the stunts and effects, there’s Douglas Slocombe’s richly detailed photography, Norman Reynolds’ production design and John Williams’ evocative musical score (which won an Oscar).
When there was talk of the Pickwick’s MEGA-screen coming down, talk that has since quieted– at least for now– Temple of Doom was immediately selected as one of the final films we wanted to present primarily because of how its visuals would translate to a larger screen. Think of moments like Mola Ram trying to tear Indy’s heart out while the two are clinging to a rope bridge, hundreds of feet above a river of crocodiles, and how awesome that will be on the MEGA-screen! We are so excited to be offering this one. We hope to recreate a little of the magic some of us felt back in 1984 when we saw it for the first time in a theatre.
~MCH
From the Chicago Tribune: May 23, 1984
