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Topic:
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Controversy
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JohnWesleyDowney
Registered:
Jan '04
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Date Posted:
6/27 6:02pm
Subject:
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Controversy
- Date Edited:
6/27 6:15pm (3 edits total)
Edited By:
JohnWesleyDowney
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Temple of Doom always seems to be the film in the Indy series that brings out extremes in reaction. I always just took it at face value...I did not want a repeat of Raiders, nor did I expect one, I liked the fact that it was different and darker and had lots of action. I enjoyed Short Round "cwash landing!", and the fact that this one was set in a different culture with a different goal. Keeping in mind that this is an earlier adventure of a more mercenary Indy, I liked the character growth it represented. I loved the over the top action sequences, which were signaled by the opening song ANYTHING GOES, the Cole Porter classic tune of the period. I thought it was a fun movie and by the way, I think the opening sequence showed Spielberg could do just about anything...the opening titles alone were an experience. The Busby Berkeley dance number was Lucas's idea, because Steven had always wanted to do a musical...this gave him his chance, Spielberg jumped on the idea.
I went back and did a little research on Temple of Doom in the book THE COMPLETE MAKING OF INDIANA JONES: THE DEFINITIVE STORY BEHIND ALL FOUR FILMS.
The original title of the movie was INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DEATH. Lucas specifically says in one quote that they were looking to make a film that was more "edgy", but they did eventually back off of the word "Death" in the title.
Temple of Doom was released on a modest 1,685 screens (modest by today's standards) in the U.S. and Canada on May 23, 1984. Weeks before it's opening, theatre owners who had seen previews had demanded prints for 500 more screens, sensing it would be a hit. They were correct. Temple of Doom recorded a one day record at that time, $ 9 million worth of tickets sold in a single day.
Temple of Doom also set a record for the largest one week gross in the history of movies at that time, $ 45,709,328. According to a Variety headline, front page article by James Greenberg entitled: JONES BUILDS A TEMPLE OF GOLD, Temple of Doom, in setting these two records, surpassed the records set the previous year by STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI!
It was the # 1 film of 1984 in Japan, and broke numerous records in Australia.
Final tally on "Doom" was that it made 333 million dollars internationally, easily paying back Paramount on it's budget of $ 28,175,356.
As Lucas says, "Temple of Doom invented the PG-13 rating because it was too gross to be a G, and it wasn't gross enough to be an R."
My favorite line is in the camp scene, "the trouble with her...is the noise."
Temple of Doom is the Rodney Dangerfield of Indiana Jones movies. It doesn't get any respect.
Let's discuss it.
If it had been the first Indiana Jones film released, how would it have done?
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"The biggest battles we fight are on the inside."
Nick Nolte in WAY OF THE PEACEFUL WARRIOR
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Princess_Tina
Registered:
May '01
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Date Posted:
6/27 6:33pm
Subject:
RE: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Controversy
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It might have received a lot of criticism, even if it had been the 1st Indiana Jones movie, because of all the things that led to the adoption of the PG-13 rating in its aftermath. However, all other Indy movies would be perceived as having "toned it down" after TOD.
For me, it's still a lot of fun. There were things I didn't like too much about it when it first came out, but they don't seem like a big deal now, 24 years later.
One thing that was cool is that when it came out, I watched it at a theater that let you stay for as many showings as you wanted, and there may have been a few times when I watched it 2-3 times in a row on the same day. It was fun. 
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Emp
Registered:
Dec '00
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Date Posted:
6/28 2:34am
Subject:
RE: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Controversy
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Princess_Tina posted:
One thing that was cool is that when it came out, I watched it at a theater that let you stay for as many showings as you wanted, and there may have been a few times when I watched it 2-3 times in a row on the same day. It was fun.
Ah, those were the days.
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Palpy Give Yourself to the Dark Side @ http://www.galacticempire.net "There's no mystical costuming group controls my destiny, it's all cigs and nonsense!"
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JohnWesleyDowney
Registered:
Jan '04
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Date Posted:
6/28 12:54pm
Subject:
RE: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Controversy
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I remember at the first showing I saw, a mother took her son...who looked about five, out of the theatre after Mola Ram "removed" the guy's heart. I think the mother was more freaked out than the kid, and I have to wonder why she brought him to see the film in the first place.
There'd been a lot of publicity about how intense it was.
-----signature-----
"The biggest battles we fight are on the inside."
Nick Nolte in WAY OF THE PEACEFUL WARRIOR
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Princess_Tina
Registered:
May '01
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Date Posted:
6/28 1:15pm
Subject:
RE: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Controversy
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I can see why the heart scene might have been a little bit intense for a 5-year-old... 
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HanSolo29
Title: Manager:
• Fan Art
• LFL Projects/ Indy IV
Registered:
Apr '01
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Date Posted:
6/29 1:08pm
Subject:
RE: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Controversy
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Well, seeing as I wasn't born yet when the film was initially released, I have no clue what it was like back then. However, ToD was the very first Indiana Jones film I was exposed to. My dad had taped it off of TV and I found the VHS one day and decided to watch it because the guy who played Han Solo was in it. Little did I know that viewing would start a whole new craze for me. I loved it and I proceeded to watch it over and over again. For a long time, ToD was my favorite Indy film. There was no matching it. But as I got older, I slowly came to appreciate the other two films more until ultimately, Raiders became my favorite. So, maybe it's a thing with youth. Sure, the story is very dark and more adult-themed, but there was something about it that just fascinated me as a kid.
So, regardless of the backlash the film receives now, I still think it would've been a hit had it been the first film released in the series.
-----signature-----
"One little spark of inspiration is at the heart of all creation."
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:13
TK-2685; Garrison Carida, 501st Legion
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Darth Mace
Registered:
Oct '99
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Date Posted:
6/29 5:00pm
Subject:
RE: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Controversy
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I think ToD would have done just fine if it was the first one released. I think Raiders would have actually been less well received if it came after since it wouldn't had been as "dark" as the "original".
I'm sure someone will know which it was, but I saw one review for KotCS that basically said that if this story had come first, it would have set the standard for all the others. The only reason it wasn't as well received it because it was the 4th film. It went on to say that the 4 Indy films are like eating 4 pounds of sausage. You like sausage so it's all good, but that first pound is going to taste the best. After that, it's just more sausage.
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Gobi-1
Title: Manager: LFL Projects / Indiana Jones 4
Registered:
Dec '02
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Date Posted:
6/29 6:18pm
Subject:
RE: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Controversy
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That was Roger Ebert.
-----signature-----
In 1977 George Lucas created the Star Wars Trilogy and changed the way we look at movies.
In 1999 George Lucas created the Prequel Trilogy and changed the way we look at Star Wars.
Frasier, Lost, and Whose Line Is It Anyway? are the best tv shows ever.
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WookieeWarrior9
Registered:
Jun '07
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Date Posted:
6/29 6:29pm
Subject:
RE: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Controversy
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I love ToD and I don't really understand why it's so hated. The reason George has been so successful with his sequels is that he actually adds to the story and doesn't make the sequel a rehash of the original (minus the intro of the characters). And Shorty is the only kid in movie history to actually add to the story and not feel "tacked on".
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"He (Francis Ford Coppolla) took me from not being able to write a word, to being the king of wooden dialogue."
- George Lucas
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JohnWesleyDowney
Registered:
Jan '04
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Date Posted:
6/29 7:00pm
Subject:
RE: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Controversy
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And Shorty is the only kid in movie history to actually add to the story and not feel "tacked on".
That's very true!
It's amazing the job that kid did. A total novice actor, on the big screen holding his own with Harrison Friggin' Ford. I believed they were friends, that they cared about each other, and I liked the humor in the card game especially.
-----signature-----
"The biggest battles we fight are on the inside."
Nick Nolte in WAY OF THE PEACEFUL WARRIOR
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Palpateen
Registered:
Apr '00
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Date Posted:
7/1 8:47pm
Subject:
RE: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Controversy
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Temple of Doom is one of the greatest action movies of the 80s. It's fun and kinetic and a great adventure popcorn movie. Following Raiders, any movie they made would have suffered by comparison, but in retrospect it was a worthy sequel to the Indy's intro movie. If anyone other than Spielberg had made it, they would have been instantly recognized as a major new director.
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"What's a dazzling urbanite like you doing in a rustic setting like this?"
-Gene Wilder in BLAZING SADDLES
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JohnWesleyDowney
Registered:
Jan '04
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Date Posted:
7/4 12:24am
Subject:
RE: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Controversy
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Interesting trivia note involving wardrobe:
The vest that Indiana Jones wears in the palace scenes is a Han Solo vest made for the Star Wars trilogy.
-----signature-----
"The biggest battles we fight are on the inside."
Nick Nolte in WAY OF THE PEACEFUL WARRIOR
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HanSolo29
Title: Manager:
• Fan Art
• LFL Projects/ Indy IV
Registered:
Apr '01
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Date Posted:
7/4 10:40am
Subject:
RE: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Controversy
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Wait, what? Where did you find that info? That's pretty darn cool!
-----signature-----
"One little spark of inspiration is at the heart of all creation."
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:13
TK-2685; Garrison Carida, 501st Legion
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darthdrago
Registered:
Dec '03
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Date Posted:
7/4 10:50am
Subject:
RE: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Controversy
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As an action flick, ToD is in fine swashbuckling form.
As an Indy Jones flick, it takes a hit quality-wise. Not that I consider it bad, but I admit that I end up rolling my eyes at this one more than the other films. This is mainly because of Willie Scott. Her character is grating. Except for her half-hearted rescue of Indy & Shorty, she really doesn't do anything beneficial. I guess maybe it's my reaction after having been exposed to a scrappier character of Marion in Raiders. I've always thought that, if the story's well-written, strong female characters will always be appreciated by an audience. That era gave us Marion Ravenwood, Princess Leia, Sarah Connor, and Ellen Ripley, all popular characters. So I suppose my negativity to the character is because Willie became a "Bond girl" instead of a foil to Indy.
But I'll admit that I'm being a little harsh. Kate Capshaw herself says in the Bonus Features DVD that she considers herself a solid feminist , but regarded the role as harmless fun. So if it's good enough for her, then I guess I can give it a pass.
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Vortigern99
Title: Manager Emeritus
Registered:
Nov '00
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Date Posted:
7/4 11:19am
Subject:
RE: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Controversy
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Willie Scott is a major drag on my enjoyment of this movie; for me she is to ToD what for many people JJ Binks is to TPM. I have a hard time getting past her constant whining, lack of courage and selfish atttitude, and I wonder what the otherwise admirable Jones would see in her beyond a convenient boink. Especially in the wake of such a remarkably spirited, bold and self-confident character as Marion, since the release of this movie I've always found the Willie character annoying and trite. She spoils the fun for me.
The numerous instances of unbelievable fantasy action have also downgraded the movie in my eyes since its release in 1984, when I was 14 years old. Raiders for me represented, even then, the absolute pinnacle of action-adventure filmmaking, largely because it was realistic and convincing, even and especially during the fantasy sequences such as the Ark spirits' revenge. Such scenes were depicted as though they were really happening and could in real life. In ToD, however, we're treated to one unbelievable action "gag" after another: the parachuting life raft which lands perfectly upright in the water; the roller-coaster mine-cart which defies physics by cartoonishly leaping over a gap to land perfectly upright on the next segment of tracks; the heart-removal which leaves no visible wound. Also, the very presence of Short Round represents a strain in credulity, because as naturally talented as the young actor is, it's patently unbelievable that Jones would take on such a young, weak and undereducated little sneak-thief as his "side-kick". Add to these disappointments the unpalatable experience of seeing Jones' mind dominated by evil for a third of the picture (when so much of the fun depends on Jones being the good guy), and what I'm left with is roughly twenty minutes of bare-knuckled, old-fashioned Indiana Jones fun. Those 20 minutes are a blast, no doubts there, but they're not enough to inspire me to re-watch the movie time and again as I often do with Raiders.
-----signature-----
"I knew from the beginning I was not doing science fiction.
I was doing a space opera, a fantasy film, a mythological piece,
a fairy tale."--George Lucas
My "Vader's Origins" thread:
http://boards.theforce.net/Classic_Trilogy/b10002/8708417/p1
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JohnWesleyDowney
Registered:
Jan '04
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Date Posted:
7/4 5:59pm
Subject:
RE: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Controversy
- Date Edited:
7/4 6:01pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
JohnWesleyDowney
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Your comments are fine with me, this is a discussion thread for a controversial movie, but I would take issue with you on one point. Have you watched the film recently? I think your memory is a little foggy. Indy is not under the influence of the Thuggee mind control for "a third of the picture." I haven't timed it, but it's nowhere near that much which would be about 40 minutes of the film! Maybe HALF that at the most.
HanSolo29, I got that info about Indy's wardrobe from IMDB.
-----signature-----
"The biggest battles we fight are on the inside."
Nick Nolte in WAY OF THE PEACEFUL WARRIOR
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