main
side
curve
  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom Fans

Discussion in 'Lucasfilm Ltd. In-Depth Discussion' started by Doom Trooper, Jan 22, 2018.

  1. Bob Effette

    Bob Effette Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 20, 2015
    Thanks. Yeah, I think it's quite a cleverly self-contained sequel in that if you saw Temple of Doom for the first time without seeing Raiders, you would be able to get drawn in immediately. The Shanghai prologue sets everything up again like a "previous episode", and literally introduces us to the character "This is Indiana Jones, famous archaeologist", and then when Indy and Willie are hanging from the canopy and she says "Who ARE you?" that immediately tells us that there is more to this guy than we first think.
     
  2. Doom Trooper

    Doom Trooper Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jan 1, 2014
    I saw TOD first before Raiders (I was maybe 2 or 3 at the time?) and without a doubt it only cemented Indy in my mind as one of the all-time great movie heroes. As did Raiders when I saw it sometime after.
     
  3. Sith Lord 2015

    Sith Lord 2015 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 30, 2015
    Also, I think TOD has the coolest movie poster, this one:
    [​IMG]

    And another thing is the soundtrack. TOD has the best themes IMO. The love theme, "Children in Chains", "Short Round's Theme", "Temple of Doom" (the sacrificial chant)... the other installments don't have comparably impressive themes. I also find the "Main Theme" used in the best way in Doom, in the scene at the end where everyone returns to the village. I know it's originally the Raiders theme, but like it best when it's played here.
     
  4. christophero30

    christophero30 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    May 18, 2017
    I love the Anything goes musical number. It sets the tone for the film. I may have mentioned this, but the book states that Willie is imagining herself on Broadway, instead of being stuck in Shanghai. I agree that the score is wonderful.
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2018
    Bob Effette and Sarge like this.
  5. Sith Lord 2015

    Sith Lord 2015 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 30, 2015
    "Stuck" in Shanghai would actually have to be pretty "arrogant" for a Westerner who probably didn't make it on Broadway, as in the 30s that city was among the top metropolises in the world. I don't think it was that far behind New York or Paris, and had the added plus of having Chinese culture. I think it was the perfect opening for the great second Indy installment. Sure, Indy's Chinese was fake, Lao Che was a Japanese actor who probably didn't speak a word of the Shanghai topolect. And Short Round (a Shanghai local!) is heard several times in the movie to speak Cantonese, a language as different from "Shanghainese" as French to Spanish, spoken about 3000 km away from Shanghai. I'm actually pretty sensitive when it comes to such "insensitivities" towards Asian culture, and in other movies I would have been VERY critical of such carelessness. But in TOD I can overlook all that because the sheer action and adventure made me forget such minor offenses.
     
    Tosche_Station likes this.
  6. I Are The Internets

    I Are The Internets Shelf of Shame Host star 9 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Nov 20, 2012
    This movie holds up quite well, despite Willie being an insufferable foil.
     
  7. Vorax

    Vorax Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 10, 2014
    I remember the movie received a lot of criticism back in the day, for ripping off Republic serials with near shot for shot scenes and stuff(although Raiders was guilty of that too). I believe an old Cinefantastique May 1985 issue had covered it.
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2018
  8. AndyLGR

    AndyLGR Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 1, 2014
    It received more criticism for its violence and more occult themes.
     
    Last edited: Mar 27, 2018
  9. Martoto77

    Martoto77 Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 6, 2016
    Yes. There was a certain amount of hubris at play with Lucas and Spielberg buoyed by multiple successes pushing the boundaries of family entertainment into borderline exploitation. GL and SS have since acknowledged that an inverse success rate in their personal lives left them prone to doing stuff that they later thought better of.
     
  10. Sith Lord 2015

    Sith Lord 2015 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 30, 2015
    That's a shame! Let's hope nobody gets the idea of messing with the movie like Lucas did with ANH. Can you imagine, a kid-friendly version of TOD with all the scary and dark stuff removed [face_sick]? It would not surprise me that much [face_worried]
     
  11. Martoto77

    Martoto77 Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 6, 2016
    Well SS went through that door with the E.T. Special Edition and is kind of ambivalent about that now. So I guess it's to be expected that it's now considered less controversial to leave things alone.
     
  12. Sith Lord 2015

    Sith Lord 2015 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 30, 2015
    You mean it's now less controversial to tamper with those movies? Because Lucas sure isn't known for leaving his movies alone. True, Spielberg also changed E.T. Guns were replaced by radios and all that. Well, I hope my current copy of TOD survives in case he really does decide to make changes to the movie. It's really too bad we as an audience sometimes are not given the choice which version of a movie we want to watch.:(
     
  13. Martoto77

    Martoto77 Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 6, 2016
    No. I mean that attempts to "fix" things like that actually draw attention to a problem that the director wishes to revise. So therefore less controversial to leave things that might seem questionable in today's climate.
     
  14. Sith Lord 2015

    Sith Lord 2015 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 30, 2015
    Oh I see! Then the Indy saga may be spared the same fate as the OT :cool:
     
    Martoto77 likes this.
  15. christophero30

    christophero30 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    May 18, 2017
    I guess anything goes.
     
    Martoto77, BigAl6ft6 and Sarge like this.
  16. Doom Trooper

    Doom Trooper Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jan 1, 2014

    I love that about it as well. There's so much great stuff in TOD and it has some of the most iconic images of the whole series.
     
    Sith Lord 2015 likes this.
  17. Doom Trooper

    Doom Trooper Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jan 1, 2014
    Although TOD isn't exactly a Horror movie it definitely has a strong Horror-like undercurrent and feel to it. The much darker storyline and occult themes and many of the creepy moments give it a strong Horror flare. Many of it's visuals and colors are straight out of a 1950s-era EC Horror comics, something like Tales From The Crypt or Vault Of Horror. I've had TOD in rotation for some of my Horror movie marathons every October and it fits fine.
     
    Sith Lord 2015 likes this.
  18. Doom Trooper

    Doom Trooper Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jan 1, 2014
    Bringing this back, got to keep the TOD love going strong :)

    I know of all the Indy films TOD is the one that clearly most took inspiration from the adventure serials and clearly set out to re-create that. Did Spielberg and Lucas ever mention if they were fans of EC Horror comcis of the 50s and if those were an influence? Something about TOD is very EC-like with it's storyline, visuals and how it mixes in dark humor along with the dark, eerie proceedings. It's like a Tales From The Crypt story in that regard.
     
  19. christophero30

    christophero30 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    May 18, 2017
    I mentioned this in the CCC today but I read a Spielberg article in Empire. They interviewed Short Round. He said he hadn't seen Raiders and his parents were Vietnamese immigrants who did not speak English. He said after Doom had finished shooting he went back and saw Raiders, and realized what big stars Ford and Spielberg were.
     
  20. I Are The Internets

    I Are The Internets Shelf of Shame Host star 9 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Nov 20, 2012
    I saw it the first time on TV back in 2003, and they absolutely didn't edit anything out of it. 11 year old me was scarred for 5 seconds.
     
    Sith Lord 2015 likes this.
  21. Doom Trooper

    Doom Trooper Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jan 1, 2014
    Finally found out about the creepy-looking bug seen crawling on the chamber wall in TOD, Extatosoma tiaratum. Shockingly enough it's actually herbivorous and non-venomous. That said, I'd still rather not be anywhere near one.
     
  22. DARTH_BELO

    DARTH_BELO Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 25, 2003
    I always figured that was just a larger (more ornate) variation on a stick bug.
     
  23. Doom Trooper

    Doom Trooper Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jan 1, 2014
    Bringing this back, got to keep the TOD love going strong. Watched it again not that long ago, amazing how it still holds up and is always such a blast to watch.
     
    Tython Awakening likes this.
  24. Miles Lodson

    Miles Lodson Chosen One star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 10, 1998
    The big thing I remember in the TOD novelization is that it goes into all the cruel ways the Thugees sacrificed people. It wasn't always ripping hearts out. There were other, ahem, inventive things they did as well (can't remember them all, but thought one was putting people in a scalding blood bath or something). Yikes.
     
    BigAl6ft6 likes this.
  25. BigAl6ft6

    BigAl6ft6 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Nov 12, 2012
    Doing a one-a-week Indy movie rewatch the next 4 weeks (they're on Netflix! And in HD! I only have the Indy movies on DVD) and I always start my Indy rewatches with Temple of Doom. A) it's great. B) it's a prequel before anybody knew what prequels were!

    I will say, Indy does save the day with faith in ToD and it's a tad odd he's back to it's all mumbo-jumbo in Raiders but I can let that one slide. Maybe Indy convinced himself over a year that the strap just broke instead of the stones catching fire.
     
    BadCane likes this.