One of you has to go...who's it going to be?

Which Indiana Jones adventure do you kill?

  • Raiders of the Lost Ark

    Votes: 1 1.3%

  • Temple of Doom

    Votes: 17 21.3%

  • Last Crusade

    Votes: 13 16.3%

  • Crystal Skull

    Votes: 49 61.3%
  • Total voters
    80
A

avidfilmbuff

New member
deckard24 said:
I find this interesting as well, you really can't pick one over another, not even in the slightest?

I honestly would've thought with a name like avidfilmbuff, Raiders would've been your #1.


Well for me, it's impossible to not think of Indiana Jones without thinking of all the films, even though most feel that Raiders is the only masterpiece of them all. That's actually how I feel about the Star Wars films, to me, A New Hope is the only masterpiece in the entire series, while I only like or dislike the other films. Like I said, Indiana Jones is the only series I have seen so far where I have no preference over one or the other. To me the entire series is an excellent homage to the escapist entertainments of the past and does a fantastic job of blending many different genres together.
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Rocket Surgeon

Rocket Surgeon

Guest
avidfilmbuff said:
...to me, A New Hope is the only masterpiece in the entire series, while I only like or dislike the other films.
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I feel the same way, to me Star Wars reminds me of a student film Lucas made. It's a guy who's running for his life, very sparse but emotional, tense. Star Wars strikes me like that...broad, thematic, like the way Obi Wan describes The Force.

The rest of the films fall into the like dislike categories for the most obvious reasons.

Similarly it's tough to have been at Indy's establishing theatrical run, a movie made the same way as Star Wars...to stand alone, (unless it was successful), and not feel similarly about it.
 
D

Darth Vile

New member
avidfilmbuff said:
deckard24 said:
I find this interesting as well, you really can't pick one over another, not even in the slightest?

I honestly would've thought with a name like avidfilmbuff, Raiders would've been your #1.


Well for me, it's impossible to not think of Indiana Jones without thinking of all the films, even though most feel that Raiders is the only masterpiece of them all. That's actually how I feel about the Star Wars films, to me, A New Hope is the only masterpiece in the entire series, while I only like or dislike the other films. Like I said, Indiana Jones is the only series I have seen so far where I have no preference over one or the other. To me the entire series is an excellent homage to the escapist entertainments of the past and does a fantastic job of blending many different genres together.
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Rocket Surgeon said:
I feel the same way, to me Star Wars reminds me of a student film Lucas made. It's a guy who's running for his life, very sparse but emotional, tense. Star Wars strikes me like that...broad, thematic, like the way Obi Wan describes The Force.

The rest of the films fall into the like dislike categories for the most obvious reasons.

Similarly it's tough to have been at Indy's establishing theatrical run, a movie made the same way as Star Wars...to stand alone, (unless it was successful), and not feel similarly about it.
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I'd agree with your views on the Star Wars movies... The Empire Strikes Back is probably the "classiest" of all six movies (obviously including the prequels), but ANH is, and will always be Star Wars' defining moment, and the movie that changed modern cinema (as in Hollywood/blockbuster cinema).

Raiders was similar in that it helped redefine what a contemporary (as in latter part of 20th century) action/adventure movie should be... and by default carves its niche in popular cinema.
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N

nitzsche

New member
I judge the films based on one key element: the villains. If the villains are weak, the game is up. As much as I like Last Crusade, it is the one installment where the villains are horribly weak. Donovan? I think I saw this bad guy on an episode of the A-Team. Vogel? Seriously? That guy played the role better in Force 10 from Navarone before he broke his hip and lost his teeth. Indy somehow sadly avoided a face-to-face with a real strong adversary in this installment. No big baddie who nearly killed him with fists.

The father/son dynamic drowned out the sorely lacking villains, but coming on the heels of the likes of Lao Che, Mola Ram and the giant Thuggee, the villains in LC are laughable.

One thing KotCS has going for it is the return of baddies with menacing flair, style and grit... I love Spalko and Dovchenko.

I am afraid I would have to cut Last Crusade loose. But don't tell my 17yo inner self.
 
J

JP Jones

New member
I think if one movie had to be removed it'd most certainly be LC. Without LC we would not be fooled into thinking Indy is supposed to fight nazis and supposed to wear disguises and supposed to have a villian similar to him.
It would also make people give ToD and KotCS more credit.
 
N

nitzsche

New member
The remark about the disguises made me laugh. It sounds so corny but that's exactly what he does. For some reason it worked waaaay better in Raiders than it did in LC... and I just realized he does in 3 times in LC. Ugh.
 
Forbidden Eye

Forbidden Eye

Well-known member
I voted Last Crusade. Only because while Kingdom was flawed, I really don't like Indy having a back-story. At least Kingdom, like Temple, offered us something slightly different than what Last Crusade did, which was just Raiders.

And in all honesty, it's the one this very moment I have the least desire to watch.
 
N

nitzsche

New member
There's another element to LC which is highly problematic and kills the repeat-viewing: Laugh pauses in the comedic timing. I'm sure this movie would work flawlessly with a laugh track. There's that one particular line, "She talks in her sleep" and then a 6-beat pause for the audience to a.) get the joke b.) laugh about it c.) get angry again at Elsa. It happens in other spots very consciously.
 
D

Darth Vile

New member
nitzsche said:
There's another element to LC which is highly problematic and kills the repeat-viewing: Laugh pauses in the comedic timing. I'm sure this movie would work flawlessly with a laugh track. There's that one particular line, "She talks in her sleep" and then a 6-beat pause for the audience to a.) get the joke b.) laugh about it c.) get angry again at Elsa. It happens in other spots very consciously.
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Wow... I thought everyone liked the dialogue and delivery by Connery/Ford in TLC. That dialogue and the on screen chemistry between the two is one of the best elements of the entire series... in my opinion of course.
 
U

Udvarnoky

Well-known member
I don't know about one of the best elements in the entire series, but the chemistry certainly helped elevate Last Crusade to a better movie than it otherwise would have been. I don't know if I'd give the credit to the dialog so much as Spielberg (who was openly infatuated with the father-son angle, which he always hopelessly is), and the way Ford and Connery play off each other so well.

Not that there wasn't some good banter there - the strongest stuff would be the Tom Stoppard cool-down conversation onboard the zeppelin. And the movie does manage to get some hearty laughs with "I should have mailed it to the Marx Brothers" and "No ticket!" I do lament that Indy4 didn't have great zinger like that that sneaks up behind you.
 
N

nitzsche

New member
Don't get me wrong. The Connery/Ford chemistry is the glue that holds the movie together. I just wish parts would have been more natural and subtle in the presentation. The performances were great, but at times you could just hear Spielberg chuckling in the background. Connery was a brilliant pick for Indy's dad. Without him, the movie would have fallen to pieces.

So, good chemistry, but at points too self aware.
 
Rocket Surgeon

Rocket Surgeon

Guest
Attila the Professor said:
Indeed. It can be a respectable choice, perhaps, but I want to hear the reasoning.
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Don't hold your breath for a reason...this a grudge vote, from a fan.

Interesting to think about though...
 
Attila the Professor

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
I suppose, when you think about it, a vote for <I>Raiders</I> is a vote to eliminate it, Last Crusade, and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in one fell swoop. If you don't have Raiders, you can't have either of those two other films in a form at all similar to the one they ultimately took. You would have sequels...but I think it's evident that a series that begins with Temple of Doom is rather different than the one we ultimately got. Heck, Monkey King probably would have been made.
 
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