(Spoilers) Favorite Moments from the Crystal Skull and why?

One of my favorite moments is after the motorcycle chase, when the commies crash into the Marcus Brody statue and the head falls in their lap.

Mutt chuckles, and then Indy gives him a "serious" look, just like Henry Jones Sr in the motorcycle chase in Last Crusade. Hilarious. It's a great callback to a great scene, and it didn't feel forced at all--after all, Indy had every reason not to laugh at the situation.

 

I thought it was pretty funny that Spielberg chose his son Sasha to get hit in the face in the malt shop. Thanks Dad!

 

My favorite scene was easily the shot of the Ark of the Covenant inside the warehouse. That shot made the movie for me...especially because the movie used the Raiders' music.

 

Very hard to choose favorites, but here goes...

The Greasers/Jocks fight. For some reason it made me think of Back to the Future. I just loved it.

Mutt/Indy motorcycle ride. Mutt is an interesting driver to say the least. But that chase was just awesome!

Mutt throwing Indy the snake. Pure hilarity. What made it even funnier was the fact that my mother was squirming in the seat next to me whispering 'Please, get him something else to grab.'

Mutt coming up between Indy and Marion right before they kiss. It was just so... juvenile but adorable at the same time. Made me love Mutt even more.

Indy taking is back from Mutt. I was really afraid for a moment that Mutt was going to take the hat, but then when Indy snatched it back, I had a grin a mile-wide on my face. It just shows that he's not ready to pass the torch yet and proves that there needs to be a sequel.


I've only seen the film once, but I'm sure there are a million other things I loved that I can't think of.

 

- Indy using the whip to grab the gun

- Flying Saucer and A-Bomb

- "Why didn't you make him finish school!"

- When Indy gets in the frig and it focuses on the 'lead-lined', definitely the most campy part.

- "Get that greaser!"

- My absolute favorite part "None of them were you baby"

 

When Spalko is forcing Indy to try to mentally communicate with the skull. The scene is so different for an Indiana Jones film and it was shot and lit incredibly well, with the intercutting between the skull, Indy, and Spalko. Also, Williams' crystal skull motif is incredibly creepy. I just thought the scene was fantastic.

 

My favorite scene was the snake/rope part in the sand. Classic. I love seeing Indy so scared.

Also enjoyed the chases through the college and Area 51.

Lastly, how about "I like Ike". That was good.

 

1. "None of them were you, honey," (amazing on it's own, but + Karen Allen's smile and "Marion's Theme" it's sublime)
2. "Call it a rope!" (actually the whole sand-pit scene, but especially the snake)
3. Hat snatch.
4. "I didn't want to have to keep borrowing yours. I was gonna put it back..."
5. Refrigerator.

 

This was calling out for a 'it belongs in a museum!', I think.

I really enjoyed the answers to the student in the library and the treatise on quicksand. Shows as much as Indy angsted about his father they have a lot in common.

 

I think the sand/snake scene was my favorite--I definitely laughed the hardest at it.

The "I wouldn't want to keep borrowing yours . . ." line. There was some major phallic symbol subtext going on there, and Ford and LaBeouf played it beautifully. This is a kinder, gentler Indy than we saw in the first couple of films, and he doesn't want to make the kid feel bad. It's like, "Well, yeah, mine is way bigger than yours, but uh, it's not like . . . umm . . ." and Mutt is just like, "Kill. Me. Now."

I liked Marion's smile after the "They weren't you, baby," line too.

Random thing I noticed: both Indiana and Mutt are named after dogs. How hard do you have to work to avoid the name "Henry?" Just a cool little extra, I guess.

I knew I was in love with the film when I first saw the crystal skull. I think I said out loud, "Oh, that's messed up!" It was all freaky--deformed and sparkly and everything, hidden behind an old dead guy. How cool is that?!

I liked Spalko's eyeballs catching on fire. I kinda wished she'd had a more grotesque demise, like the melting-face Nazis, but eyeballs catching on fire was pretty good.

Other stuff was good too, but that's a start.

 

I have a question about the Marcus statue scene.
My friend was telling me that the real actor that played Marcus was gay and we wondered if that was in joke or a mean jab?
I think the actor is now dead - does anyone have any other info on this?

 

One of my favorite moments was the bike chase through the college campus and downtown.
From the beginning in the cafe to the end with the statue it was classic Indy and I'd say classic 80s filmmaking.
I love Back to the Future and I was zipped back to BttF:I with the original chase from the cafe around the park in Hill Valley!!
I didn't expect the Jock and Greaser fight that led to the perfect music choice of 'Shack, Rattle, & Roll'!!
It developed the characters so well in just those few scenes.
They got the 'wilhelm' scream into the library scene and I really liked the time Indy takes with the student while Mutt is righting the bike and they drive off. Such a great moment.

 

In the beginning of the jungle chase scene, when Spalko sees Indy approaching, she clutches the skull like a child afraid of having her plaything taken away. Nice character scene.

 

I thought the opening sequence set the mood perfectly; very American Grafitti, and enough unlike a traditional Indy opening to be interesting, without being "Anything Goes"-style strange.

The shot of Indy grabbing the chain to swing down and kick Pat Roach's Russian cousin through the glass. A nice, extended stunt, all in one shot.

Indy cresting the hill to watch the nuclear blast. Classic image.

"You reach a point where life stops giving you things and starts taking them away". Hearing Henry Sr.'s theme over Indy looking at Sir Sean's photo made me shed a little tear. Beautiful.

The entire motorcycle chase. Classic Indy stuntage.

The Nazca Lines. The first time I've seen them in a film, and they look astounding.

Blowing the dart back into the Doomtown's mouth.

"None of them were you, honey"

The snake pit. Classic Harrison.

Exploding eyeballs! Seems George got a taste for them after Grievous.

The wedding; and nicking the fedora back out of Mutt's hands!

 

The warehouse doors opening to the Ark theme and the first Ben Burtt sound effects in the warehouse fight.

Indy, standing tall, looking on at the mushroom cloud. And again when the saucer takes off and the amazon river bank breaks. The others cower but Indy stands tall again, looking on, soaking it all up. Both scenes very symbolic and incredibly beautiful to watch.

The motorcycle chase and the diner scene leading up to it. Classic Indiana Jones. I loved the Marcus Brody statue scene. Such a wonderful throw-back to the Last Crusade motorcycle chase where Indy's the one grinning and Henry Jones Sr. shoots him the frown.

The entire quicksand scene, start to finish. Wonderfully written and acted. Very funny.

"I've got a bad feeling about this!"

Indy taking the hat from Mutt. Just brilliant.

There's a lot of gems in this movie, those are some that echo the most.

 

Yeah, I think pretty much all of mine have been mentioned. The snake scene (maybe the funniest Indy scene ever), the hat grab, the amazing nuclear explosion shot (maybe the best Indy shot ever, kind of contending with the Raiders sunset silhouette)... yes, a lot of things mentioned.

The one that was perhaps my favourite non-emphasized but great moment was the "It's just a thing" line that Steph mentioned. Oh my gosh, that was hilarious I'm glad someone else loved that part, too, Steph. The subtle jiteriness in that bit as contrasted to Indy's complete nonchalance about the whole situation was priceless.


-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Aha, I recall hearing the first SFX in the film that sounded utterly Burtt, though I can't recall exactly what it was. Just that it was definately an Indy-class sound.

 

I thought that too, and found it amusing.

Most of my favorite moments have already been listed, but I'll post my reasons why as well.

-the indirect 'cameos' by Henry Sr. and Marcus Brody: I already knew that neither one was going to appear in the film(for obvious reasons), but it was still a nice gesture by Spielberg to somewhat include them. And I loved the exchange between Indy and Mutt towards the end, where he first calls Mutt "Junior" and says something about Henry Sr. laughing. It was a great tie-in to Last Crusade's closing lines.

-the look on Indy's face when Marion and Mutt are reunited. It's already surprising enough that his old flame is there, but gets worse when he realizes this boy who's been slightly annoying with the name-calling and different little things is her son.

-every chase scene. I love a good chase scene; it's like an elaborate dance routine on a much bigger scale. I remember I was squeaking/giggling/saying "Oh no!" throughout the one set in Indy's town. Oh, and maybe it was just me, but did anyone else think of the speeder bike chase in ROTJ during parts of the jungle chase?

-the wedding. Mushy? Yes. Hokey? Maybe just a little, but you could see it coming. It nicely sets up the idea of a 'family adventure' should there be an Indy V, and if not provides a great close to the series.

-the quicksand/revelation scene. Arguably the best scene in the whole movie. Everything about it worked and flowed so well, and it gave a preview of just how well the Jones family(per se) was going to work together. My favorite lines:

Marion: "I'm calm...I'm sinking, but I'm calm!"

Indy: "Why are you on him so much to finish school?" and then a few minutes later, "Why didn't you make him finish school?!"

-Indy's quick repartee in dealing with the Soviets. I wish I could come up with comebacks as good.

 

Top 3:

- The entire grave robbing scene. That felt the most like old school Indy to me.

- The quicksand.

- The end where Indy takes his hat away from Mutt.

 

I saw it again tonight and noticed something new:

The bomb suspended over the plastic town has "I Like Ike" scrawled on it in what looks like chalk. You sure can pick your presidential slogans, can't you, Indy?

I also liked all the pieces of metal junk following the alien box as the Soviets carried it toward their truck. It's like every piece of metal debris that has fallen on the floor in years has stuck itself straight onto that box, and none of it wants to let go.

After hearing so many comments on the score, I listened extra hard this time, and I found I did indeed like the "Call Of The Crystal Skull" theme a lot. It did sound like a call, and after a while I decided that this was because it sounds like the very beginning of a theme that's never finished. It's like it keeps waiting for some answering signal. The "Close Encounters" theme was similar, in a way (at least up until the jam session at the end). As the water rushes into the crater that the spaceship left, the "Crystal Skull" theme finally swells and goes into a major key, which is almost like a resolution to those few notes, but really it's just the same "fragment" over again. In the score, anyway, the "question" never gets answered, we're just given to understand that things are righted somehow. If only the special effects department had taken Williams' lead.

Mutt's theme was nice, but I didn't catch enough of it to really have much to say about it. It would have been neat to hear it worked into the Raider's March at some point after it's revealed who he is--and maybe JW did it, and I missed it. I do like the way JW often overlays themes onto each other, though--it's often very poignant, like the few notes of Henry Sr.'s theme played when we see his picture.

 

Wow. Everybody's saying the things I want to say MUCH better than I ever could. I'll just add to the list real quick like:

1. The Doomtown scene. That struck me as the most lasting image from the entire film. Very very intense and very, very somber/serious.

2. The Jungle Chase (up to the fight with Dovenchko in the ant mounds). CLASSIC Indy action

3. The Snake Rope. HILARIOUS.

4. The Raiders music when Hanger 51 is opened.

5. The hat snatch from Mutt.

6. The Opening race (Just sitting in the theater KNOWING that you're in the NEWEST IJ film and then hearing Elvis Presley and a bunch of teens out of American Grafitti definitely set the era for me).

 

I think (could be mistaken) at some point right after Mutt's indentity is revealed, when he's pulling Marion and Indy out of the sand, there's a little que of the classic Indy theme, except the last note goes down the scale rather than up. I'd have to see it again to figure out whether or not it's done because we now know he's Indy's son, or if it's because Indy is going to get a snake tossed at him.

 

Hmmm, I didn't notice that, Steph. I think I'll really listen for the music even more the next time I see it.

I did notice some more things this time seeing it again tonight but, damn you ophelia, you seriously mentioned all of them I was going to note that I noticed the "I Like Ike" on the a-bomb and it made me laugh out loud.

-sj loves kevin spacey