re: Indiana Jones Opening Scenes

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the plane escape on the raft, dinner at the temple,

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These two don't help your case bud.

The plane escape with the raft MUST be where Peter Jackson got this diarrhea of a scene from: Screw physics

And the dinner scene was completely juvenile. In fact, watching it yesterday, probably the 10th time I've seen it, I noticed that the actual conversation between Indy, the British officer, and Chattar Lal is really interesting and lays the groundwork for the plot of the movie. But Willie and Short freaking out over all the over the top gross dishes distracts completely from what they are saying and is just stupid.

Sure, in Raiders there were some "gross" parts, like the spiders and the snakes. But they were not HUGE gimmicks to get a laugh. In Temple they seem to look for every way they could to gross out their kid audience.

Here's the conversation:

Indiana Jones : Captain Blumburtt was just telling me something of the interesting history of the palace; the importance it played in the mutiny.

Chattar Lal : It seems the British never forget the mutiny of 1857.

[Captain Blumburtt laughs]

Indiana Jones : Yes, well you know I think there were other events before the mutiny going back a century - back to the time of Clive that are more interesting.

Chattar Lal : And what events are those Dr Jones?

Indiana Jones : Well, if memory serves me correctly this area, this province was the centre eventuity of the Thuggee.

Chattar Lal : Dr Jones, you know perfectly well that the Thuggee cult has been dead for nearly a century.

Captain Blumburtt : Yes, of course. The Thuggee was an obscenity that worshipped Kali with human sacrifices. The British Army Knights did away with them.

Indiana Jones : Well, I suppose stories of the Thuggee die hard.

Chattar Lal : There are no stories anymore.

Indiana Jones : I'm not so sure. We came from a small village; peasants there told us Pankot Palace was growing powerful again because of some ancient evil.

Chattar Lal : Village stories, Dr Jones. They're just fear and folklore; you're beginning to worry Captain Blumburtt.

Captain Blumburtt : Not worried, Mr Prime Minister, just erm... just erm... interested.

Indiana Jones : You know, the villagers also told us Pankot Palace had taken something.

Chattar Lal : Dr Jones, in our country it's not usual for a guest to insult his host.

Indiana Jones : I'm sorry. I thought we were talking about folklore.

Captain Blumburtt : What exactly was it they say was stolen?

Indiana Jones : A sacred rock.

Chattar Lal : [he laughs dismissively] Hah! You see, Captain? A rock.

Indiana Jones : Something connected - the villager's rock and the old legend of the Sankara stones.

Chattar Lal : Dr Jones, we're all vulnerable to vicious rumour. I seem to remember that in Honduras you were accused of being a grave robber rather than an archaeologist.

Indiana Jones : Well, the newspapers greatly exaggerated the incident.

Chattar Lal : And wasn't it the Sultana Madagascar who threatened to cut your head off if you ever returned to his country?

Indiana Jones : No, it wasn't my head.

Chattar Lal : Then your hands, perhaps?

Indiana Jones : No, it wasn't my hands... it was my

[looks downward]

Indiana Jones : ... misunderstanding.


A lot of this gets missed because eels, beetles, and monkey brains are being shoved in the viewer's faces like the deformed goat at the county fair.

Big fan of all three.

I remember Raiders being taught in one of my screen writing classes in college as the model screenplay. It is considered such by most industry standards.

Of course, Lawrence Kasdan is the GOAT.

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And frick Short Round.

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Temple of Doom is a GREAT B-movie as it was intended by Spielberg a sort of homage to Saturday afternoon serials that Spielberg grew up on.

The movie achieves what it sets out to achieve and Capshaw perfectly plays the 1950's B-movie hysterical woman in those horror/adventure movies.

If you watch it right after Raiders, you were probably let down because of your expectations of what the movie should be.

But in isolation it was a tremendously fun movie for kids...we couldn't stop talking about it on the playground.

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I noticed that the actual conversation between Indy, the British officer, and Chattar Lal is really interesting and lays the groundwork for the plot of the movie. But Willie and Short freaking out over all the over the top gross dishes distracts completely from what they are saying and is just stupid. 

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I could not agree more. The snakes and monkey brains are so unrealistic and over the top, that part comes off as ridiculous.

If you cut that out, the dialogue between Indy and the people from the palace is actually a great scene. It has intensity, character development and humor.

Mola ram was scarier than random nazis

That’s saying something as Sean Patrick Flannery was fantastic.

The opening of Temple of Doom is better Than the rest of the movie.

The 1920/30s Orient is always a great setting. It's kind if like New York but not.