avidfilmbuff
New member
For some, Raiders of the Lost Ark is the only masterpiece in the series. For others, one of the sequels outshines the other films. But for me the entire series as a whole is a single masterpiece, and I wish to explain why I feel that way.
The core of the Indiana Jones series is that it is nothing more than a fantastic tribute and homage to all the many different forms of escapist entertainments of the past. It would be difficult to make an entire series based on this premise without it becoming tired by the third or even second film, but Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have avoided this by giving each film its own tone and specific homages.
First, you have Raiders of the Lost Ark, which is the Saturday Matinee serial. Most have pointed out that this one is the grittiest of the four and this is mostly due to its low budget nature, as many saturday matinee serials were, which results in a considerable lack of special effects(the climax being the exception). Indy is the typical Saturday matinee hero and the nazis are the typcial villains found in such type of films. The film is filled with miniature cliffhangers and, as proven by one internet user, the film could be seperated into different chapters based on these cliffhangers. The final action sequence of the film is perfect Saturday matinee material, even with the scene of Indy jumping onto the truck being directly lifted from a Zorro serial.
We then have the second Temple of Doom, while it does still have many overtones to the Saturday matinee serial, the film owes much more, I think, to violent pulp fiction. When it comes to the amount of violence, Temple of Doom is equal to Raiders. The type of violence, however, is completely different, while the violence in Raiders was far more gritty and realistic, the violence in Temple is far more fantastic and outrageous, with people having their hearts ripped out, gangsters being impaled with shish kebobs, fingers of sacrifice victims found on statues of Kali, and so on. This shocked many people back in 1984, but it prevented Temple from being a simple rehash of Raiders.
Then we have The Last Crusade, which has a dramatically different tone from the other two films; with a slower pace, less action, and a stronger emphasis on story, feeling more like any one of the big budget adventure films produced by Warner Brothers or Paramount rather than Republic Pictures. There are even times when the film even seems like a Hollywood epic, this can even be felt in John William's soundtrack, as the first two soundtracks were more action oriented and fast paced, Last Crusade's is far more calmer and majestic. The stronger emphasis on story can be felt as obtaining the grail serves as a sort of symbol for the relationship between Indy and his father.
And lastly, there is the most controversial film, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, taking an even more dramatic turn than Crusade, as this film pays tribute to 1950 b films. Just look at the opening where Soviet soldiers and agents infiltrate a secret American base hidden in the desert, common fears that were presented light heartedly in many escapist films of the time. You can see the influence the James Bond series had on the film with the Rosa Klebbs-esque villian played by Cate Blanchett. The Cold War plays a strong part in the film, escpecially with the camp scene where Spalko talks of taking over the minds of the west. The character of Mac is a symbol of the lack of trust present in the time of Mccarthyism. And of course, there is the macguffin, which is extreterristrial rather than of this Earth.
I could go on about each of the films, but I don't wish to make this post too long. So to make my point, why do I love each film equally? Because the series succeeds in its attempt to pay tribute to escapism, while managing to keep each film fresh by having each of them pay tribute to different forms of escapism. In a sense, the Indiana Jones series is a reenactment of the different forms of escapism, with each film representing a different era. I can only hope that Spielberg and Lucas will continue with this tradition in Indy 5.
The core of the Indiana Jones series is that it is nothing more than a fantastic tribute and homage to all the many different forms of escapist entertainments of the past. It would be difficult to make an entire series based on this premise without it becoming tired by the third or even second film, but Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have avoided this by giving each film its own tone and specific homages.
First, you have Raiders of the Lost Ark, which is the Saturday Matinee serial. Most have pointed out that this one is the grittiest of the four and this is mostly due to its low budget nature, as many saturday matinee serials were, which results in a considerable lack of special effects(the climax being the exception). Indy is the typical Saturday matinee hero and the nazis are the typcial villains found in such type of films. The film is filled with miniature cliffhangers and, as proven by one internet user, the film could be seperated into different chapters based on these cliffhangers. The final action sequence of the film is perfect Saturday matinee material, even with the scene of Indy jumping onto the truck being directly lifted from a Zorro serial.
We then have the second Temple of Doom, while it does still have many overtones to the Saturday matinee serial, the film owes much more, I think, to violent pulp fiction. When it comes to the amount of violence, Temple of Doom is equal to Raiders. The type of violence, however, is completely different, while the violence in Raiders was far more gritty and realistic, the violence in Temple is far more fantastic and outrageous, with people having their hearts ripped out, gangsters being impaled with shish kebobs, fingers of sacrifice victims found on statues of Kali, and so on. This shocked many people back in 1984, but it prevented Temple from being a simple rehash of Raiders.
Then we have The Last Crusade, which has a dramatically different tone from the other two films; with a slower pace, less action, and a stronger emphasis on story, feeling more like any one of the big budget adventure films produced by Warner Brothers or Paramount rather than Republic Pictures. There are even times when the film even seems like a Hollywood epic, this can even be felt in John William's soundtrack, as the first two soundtracks were more action oriented and fast paced, Last Crusade's is far more calmer and majestic. The stronger emphasis on story can be felt as obtaining the grail serves as a sort of symbol for the relationship between Indy and his father.
And lastly, there is the most controversial film, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, taking an even more dramatic turn than Crusade, as this film pays tribute to 1950 b films. Just look at the opening where Soviet soldiers and agents infiltrate a secret American base hidden in the desert, common fears that were presented light heartedly in many escapist films of the time. You can see the influence the James Bond series had on the film with the Rosa Klebbs-esque villian played by Cate Blanchett. The Cold War plays a strong part in the film, escpecially with the camp scene where Spalko talks of taking over the minds of the west. The character of Mac is a symbol of the lack of trust present in the time of Mccarthyism. And of course, there is the macguffin, which is extreterristrial rather than of this Earth.
I could go on about each of the films, but I don't wish to make this post too long. So to make my point, why do I love each film equally? Because the series succeeds in its attempt to pay tribute to escapism, while managing to keep each film fresh by having each of them pay tribute to different forms of escapism. In a sense, the Indiana Jones series is a reenactment of the different forms of escapism, with each film representing a different era. I can only hope that Spielberg and Lucas will continue with this tradition in Indy 5.
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