Opening crawls...

inky_skin

Active member
Indy came from the same Saturday morning serial tradition as Star Wars. While the latter used a crawl to set the scene for each movie, Indy's prologues usually conclude his previous adventure and introduce most of the film's setup post-opening credits.

If you were to write crawls for each of the trilogy to replace the prologues (preferably in a breathless, sensationalist, pulpy style) what would they say ?
 
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Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
Raiders of the Lost Ark

"What you are now witnessing is footage never before seen by civilized humanity: a lost world in South America! Lurking in the shadows of a forgotten Hovito Temple, it sports plants and animals undiscovered by science. And treasures too! Who would dare set foot on this inhospitable ruin?

Why, it's our hero of the day: Dr. Jones! The beloved and adventurous archeologist is completing a year long expedition to the lost world! Let's follow him in!"
 

JasonMa

Active member
Pale Horse said:
"What you are now witnessing is footage never before seen by civilized humanity: a lost world in South America! Lurking in the shadows of a forgotten Hovito Temple, it sports plants and animals undiscovered by science. And treasures too! Who would dare set foot on this inhospitable ruin?

Why, it's our hero of the day: Dr. Jones! The beloved and adventurous archeologist is completing a year long expedition to the lost world! Let's follow him in!"
This actually sounds less like a crawl and more like a old-time news reel voice over (similar to the news reel in the queue line for Temple of the Forbidden Eye) :whip:
 

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
JasonMa said:
This actually sounds less like a crawl and more like a old-time news reel voice over (similar to the news reel in the queue line for Temple of the Forbidden Eye) :whip:


Thank you. Since it's a Serial I thought it apropos.
 

TheFirebird1

Active member
Temple of Doom

The year is 1935. After a disastrous incursion into Shanghai searching for the mystical EYE OF THE PEACOCK, the intrepid archaeologist INDIANA JONES is left to brave the wilds of Southeast Asia with his trusty young companion SHORT ROUND and the famed nightclub singer WILLIE SCOTT. The trio is left stranded in India, left to the whims of the crazed cult leader MOLA RAM. Will they survive the Temple of Doom and free the poor people under the madman's rule? Or will the eminent adventurer fall victim to his own quest for fortune and glory?
*Cue cheesy, overdramatic music.
 

inky_skin

Active member
Oh go on then...

EPISODE 3 - QUEST FOR THE GRAIL !

INDIANA JONES, tenured college professor and obtainer of rare antiquities, has returned from a perilous adventure off the coast of Portugal in possession of the CROSS OF CORONADO - thereby closing a character-defining chapter of his personal life.

Settling back into academia, JONES is unaware that DARK FORCES are already conspiring to involve him in a high-stakes race to obtain an artefact capable of bestowing ETERNAL LIFE. A race that he already led to the mysterious disappearance of someone close to him and will force our hero to question everything he believes...
 
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inky_skin

Active member
inky_skin said:
Oh go on then...

EPISODE 3 - QUEST FOR THE GRAIL !

INDIANA JONES, tenured college professor and obtainer of rare antiquities, has returned from a perilous adventure off the coast of Portugal in possession of the CROSS OF CORONADO - thereby closing a character-defining chapter of his personal life.

Settling back into academia, he is unaware that DARK FORCES are already conspiring to involve him in a high-stakes race to obtain an artefact capable of bestowing ETERNAL LIFE. A race that has already led to the mysterious disappearance of someone close to him and will force JONES to question everything he believes...

Couple of minor edits to enhance the flow / correct a typo.

While I mention "crawls" (animated, scrolling) in the thread name and initial post, would you agree that a single title card displaying the synopsis would be more appropriate in this case ?
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
inky_skin said:
Couple of minor edits to enhance the flow / correct a typo.

While I mention "crawls" (animated, scrolling) in the thread name and initial post, would you agree that a single title card displaying the synopsis would be more appropriate in this case ?

Perhaps more likely a narration.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-pYG1Vbgq0o" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I suppose this is an attempt at Last Crusade, though one that starts in 1938 rather than 1912...

As the armies of darkness expand across Europe, by sword or by pen, Nazi Germany hungrily eyes any advantage over those who stand in their way. Medieval legends of a sacred cup that grants eternal life tempt Hitler and any who'd align themselves with his evil doctrine.

Meanwhile, adventurer Indiana Jones is on his own quest to reclaim a treasure of the past, a quest that has brought him to a storm-tossed cargo ship somewhere off the coast of Portugal...
 

inky_skin

Active member
Attila the Professor said:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-pYG1Vbgq0o" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Casablanca is a great template Attila - the map / travel montage certainly fit aesthetically with what we've seen in the Indy films (I'd be surprised if the latter weren't directly influenced).

Very clever to allude to Brody's "pen is mightier than the sword" quote into your narration...
 
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