Indiana Jones and the Flight 714 to Sydney

avidfilmbuff

New member
Did anybody notice that the ending of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull bore a striking resemblance to the ending of a Tintin story called Flight 714 to Sydney? Now I know that the idea of using extraterrestrials in the film came from 1950's b movies. But the way the ending was shot was enormously similar. We all know that Spielberg is a huge Tintin fan, and that he was just finished directing a film version of Tintin. Did anyone notice the resemblance?
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Having never read that particular Tintin story, I can't comment but the similarities wouldn't surprise me at all. I love discovering influences so I'll have to check it out.

Welcome to The Raven, avidfilmbuff!:whip:
 

Wilhelm

Member
The idea of using astro-archaeology is present in Flight 714 with the underground temple and the UFO in the end. But Hergé never show the aliens,only the paintings in the cave.

Flight 714 was published in 1968 and is controversial like the plot of Indy 4.

http://www.tintinologist.org/forums/index.php?action=vthread&forum=1&topic=587

It's the same discussion that happens with Indy 4.

Tintin also dealt before with supernatural elements (Yeti, voodoo dolls, curses..) so aliens was the logical next step.
 

avidfilmbuff

New member
I've read that discussion before on the tintinologist forum. I have no idea why why the public simply cringes at the thought of extraterrestrial life. But anyway, it wasn't merely the depiction of the ancient astronaut theory that made me make the comparison. It was the way that both flying saucers rose from the ground. The scenes are astoundingly similar.
 
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Wilhelm

Member
Akator was also built in the crater of a volcano, like the temple in Flight 714. We also see the paintings of the aliens and when Snowy is absorbed by the spiral water is similar to the spiral smoke before the temple collapses in Skull.

I also see Ox as a reincarnation of Professor Sarcophagus from Cigars of the Pharaoh.
 

jonesissparrow

New member
I wouldn't be surprise he was influenced by it but I also think there were other Tintin stories he might've incorporated as well:

Tintin in the Land of the Soviets
Both have unflattering sterotypical views of communist soldiers.

The Seven Crystal Balls/Prisoners of the Sun:
I think Spielberg took elements of this story as well as it involves a mystical object from South America and it involves Tintin and the captain going to South America to rescue Professor Calculus. There is a scene where Tintin and the captain go through a secret passage under a waterfall not unlike what Indy and co does in KOTCS.

The Shooting Star:
The plot of this sounds similar to KOTCS and involves something from outer space and Tintin and the Captain has to race against the São Rico to discover it. Although this might be more along the lines of LC than KOTCS.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
I watched the animated version of this last night. The similarities to KOTCS were obvious.

However, Däniken's Chariots of the Gods was first published in March 1968, the same year as Flight 714. So that would appear to be Hergé's inspiration for the story.

It was Lucas who talked about Däniken during the Raiders Story Conference, so I think it's more a case that both KOTCS and 714 stemmed from the same source.
 

Toht's Arm

Active member
I recently rewatched the 90s Ellipse/Nelvana Tintin cartoons and was reminded of the similarities between KotCS and Flight 714. I think it's more a case of like minds. I seem to remember reading that Spielberg has been a Tintin fan for ages (don't know about Lucas), and I always thought that he took a cue from Herge's work, particularly when it comes to the fine balance between Indy being an action hero and simply being in the right place at the right time. He's not unstoppable - he falls over, he misjudges and often succeeds through blind luck. When subsequent films tried to mimic the Indy formula, they seemed to forget this, instead going with the otherwise typical (in the 80s and beyond) unstoppable action hero.
 
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