If You Like Indiana Jones, You Might Like...

DaFedora

New member
Like I mentioned in a reply of Indyologist's thread on 'If not an archeologist, then what?', I've always liked the idea of the creative inventiveness and crazy-rgent improvisation in Indy's character (f.i. substituting the Golden Idol with a pouch filled with sand, using his feet to stop the braking wheels of a mine car, using a skeleton's bone to light a torch, dress like a Nazi to infiltrate submarine pens and the Berlin parade, hide in a box on a sidecar-motorcycle with his dad before breaking loose, cast debris to 'backtrack' the Leap of Faith bridge)...

For that reason, I kinda like the Ocean's movies (11 and 12 are best, but 13 is slightly overdone and lacks punch to my taste).


Also, I reccommend anyone also to watch 2 particular directed-for-television episodes of MacGyver.

One was made at the end of season 7 (nr. 139), aired 14 May 1994: 'Lost Treasure of Atlantis'. Starting on an underground site in war-torn Bosnia, the trail sprang onwards to England and then to the isle of Santorini (Thyra). Indy's sidekick, Atticus (played by actor Brian Blessed, known for providing Boss Nass' voice in Episode I The Phantom Menace) is the enthusiastic and bright archtype to Marcus Brody. Lord Cleeve (played by Christian Burgess) was a downtoned version of Walter Donovan (with less complex plotwork).


SPOILER ALERT!!! : Though, this Atticus becomes more of a redeemed Mac in the end .



That TV movie has a pretty good feeling of Indiana Jones adventure to it. A couple great devices, traps and puzzles too. Just slightly corny.

The other MacGyver stuff worth watching: the first two episodes (together 1 storyline) of Season 5 (nrs. 84,85), aired september 1989: 'The Legend of the Holy Rose', with a really Christian and grail/holy water element stolen from TLC.


SPOILER ALERT!!! :
Some Medieval saw trap had to be defused and there was a cool puzzle part of creating a solar-powered ruby laser in it. And an Excalibur-esque sword.
 
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cdmeredith

New member
You're right! It was Glenn Ford in Plunder of the Sun. I must have been thinking of Secret of the Incas. However, Colby wasn't in insurance in the book, he was more of smuggler. I can't remember, was he in insurance in the film? Anyway, great book. Okay film.
 

indycast

Active member
The Shadow is a fantastic movie that I always haved loved - I always thought that Lamont Cranston and Indy probably bumped into each other at some point in their careers!

the_shadow.jpg
 

Goonie

New member
DaFedora said:
Also, I reccommend anyone also to watch 2 particular directed-for-television episodes of MacGyver.

There were actually a bunch of episodes of MacGyver that were Indy inspired. Holy Rose wasn't a TV movie but a two part of the TV show. Atlantis was a TV movie after the show ended. Here's a list I posted in the MacGyver thread with all the Indy inspired episodes:

Season 3

Mask of the Wolf – MacGyver and Jack Dalton plan to help a Native American elder locate a sacred wolf mask. But two mercenaries, who think the mask is priceless, get to him first.

Comment: this one had a tomb with a booby trap in it.

Season 4

Gold Rush – A US-Soviet team heads up to the Arctic to retrieve Russian gold from a downed World War II plane. But when the gold is missing, MacGyver suspects an American career soldier is responsible.

Comment: this one had a booby-trapped ice cave in it

Season 5

The Legend of the Holy Rose (Part 1) – MacGyver gets a visit from an archaeologist friend who claims to possess her greatest find yet: a map that will lead them to an ancient artefact known as the Holy Rose.

The Legend of the Holy Rose (Part 2) – The search for the Holy Rose continues in London and France, but turns deadly when MacGyver and his archaeologist friend cross paths with a notorious jewel magnate.
Note: Some scenes were filmed at Hatley castle in Victoria, BC. X-Men fans might recognize Hatley castle as it was the location of Xavier’s School for gifted Children in X-Men: The Last Stand.

The Treasure of Manco – MacGyver travels to Peru where a friend’s father was killed, searching for a mythical lost treasure.
Note: this episode featured a prominent mountain peak near Vancouver known as the Lions. Vancouver’s Lions Gate Bridge is named after the peak, as well as Lions Gate Studios.

Season 6

Eye of Osiris – In Turkey MacGyver helps an archaeologist and his daughter search for the lost tomb of Alexander the Great, with another ruthless archaeologist hit on their trail.

TV Movie

Lost Treasure of Atlantis – MacGyver teams up with his archaeology professor, and an old friend to search for the legendary treasure of Atlantis, but an enterprising Englishman and his partner want the treasure for other reasons.

There was also an episode in Season 7 that may be Indy related. I've got the whole series on DVD but I haven't gotten to this particular episode yet (I'm in the middle of season 7 right now). The DVD description says:

The Mountain of Youth - Jack Dalton ropes MacGyver into yet another scheme, this time in Kabulstan, where locals claim that water from an ancient spring is a virtual "fountain of youth."
 

Lance Quazar

Well-known member
I'm surprised no one has mentioned HELLBOY - both the films and the comics.

The spin-off BPRD series of comics is also very enjoyable.

If ever another character deserved to be a colleague of Dr. Jones, it's Professor Bruttenholm.
 

KarmicCurse

New member
The Shadow is indeed very underrated. It's a beautiful looking movie too, Art Deco is my favorite style and it's ideal here. Too bad there has never been a proper DVD release - no features and only FULLscreen?
 

indycast

Active member
KarmicCurse said:
The Shadow is indeed very underrated. It's a beautiful looking movie too, Art Deco is my favorite style and it's ideal here. Too bad there has never been a proper DVD release - no features and only FULLscreen?

The Aussie release was in widescreen but not one special feature - heck not even a trailer!

here's hoping for a blu-ray special edition!
 

joebloggs

New member
,

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World is also a good read. The miniseries with Jon R. Davies wasn't bad either. The tv show wasn' t that good though. The book was still the best.
 

Morning Bell

New member
The Phantom comic series and film have a lot of Indy qualities. I've never read the comics and I've only seen the film a couple of times but it definitely has an old-time serial feel to it.
 

cdmeredith

New member
I have read the LOST CITY OF Z. it is a very interesting book, but it's non-fiction and doesn't really have a ton in common with indy, (other than you could argue that Indy was modelled partially on percy fawcett), but it is a very interesting bit of historical research though, and great if you love jungle exploration tales. (also good in this category is DRUMS ALONG THE CONGO - ON THE TRAIL OF MOKELE-MBEMBE, THE LAST LIVING DINOSAUR by RORY NUGENT, NO MERCY - A JOURNEY INTO THE HEART OF THE CONGO & INTO THE HEART OF BORNEO, 2 books by REDMOND O'HANLON, MAN-EATER OF KUMAON by JIM CORBETT, & DRAGON HUNTER - ROY CHAPMAN ANDREWS AND THE CENTRAL ASIATIC EXPEDITIONS by CHARLES GALLENKAMP)

here is a screenplay for the film TOMB RAIDER, but it is an early version, VERY different from what ended up in theaters.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/6mioq7

I have always liked the TOMB RAIDER games, (the films were pretty awful), but I think in trying to ape the indy franchise, they really didn't grasp a lot of what makes indy fun and exciting.

another really good book is GRAVE DESCEND by JOHN LANGE (a.k.a michael crichton) it is is the pulp vein, and touches on some of the same type of stuff the indy movies do. (ZERO COOL is good as well)

THE EYE OF THE TIGER & ELEPHANT SONG are a couple of books by WILBUR SMITH. not a TON of stuff in common with Indy, but fits into the exotic adventure/treasure category.

INCA GOLD by CLIVE CUSSLER isn't bad. not great by any means, but not bad.

TALES OF SECRET EGYPT by SAX ROHMER - some really good exotic adventure stories from the pulp era. (especially VALLEY OF THE SORCERESS). more horror elements in these as well. most of these stories can found online for free.
 
I posted this elsewhere, but ths thread needs a big bump...
Hitler's Holy Relics
I just finished it...very interesing, and true. The Spear of Destiny, Nazi Crypts, missing treasure, very Indy-ish! It also spurred me into fitting in Wewelsburg castle into my Europe Itinerary next month...look it up.

Info on the author's site: http://sidneykirkpatrick.blogspot.com/


Also don't forget Tales of the Gold Monkey came out on DVD last week.

I'm currently watching Kelly's Heroes (1970), thanks to my DVR and TCM celebrating Clint Eastwood's 80th birthday last weekend. It's about Clint, Don Rickles and some other GI's going after Nazi gold in WW2. It doesn't have an Indy vibe, but what could have been an Indy adventure (his early ones weren't supernatural)...we really got screwed on Indy's WW2 adventures. We have his youth, his teenage years, his pre-WW2 adventures and post WW2 adventures.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
ddschneider1972 said:
I posted this elsewhere, but ths thread needs a big bump...
Hitler's Holy Relics
I just finished it...very interesing, and true. The Spear of Destiny, Nazi Crypts, missing treasure, very Indy-ish! It also spurred me into fitting in Wewelsburg castle into my Europe Itinerary next month...look it up.

Info on the author's site: http://sidneykirkpatrick.blogspot.com/

Sounds like a rewrite of Ravencroft's fictional Spear of Destiny.
 

KarmicCurse

New member
I posted about David Grann's book "The Lost City of Z", about real life Amazon explorer Percy Fawcett, earlier in this thread before having read it. Having just finished it I can very highly recommend it as one of the most intensely gripping, suspenseful and fascinating non-fiction books I have ever read.

The history of Amazon exploration is incredible and ghastly all at once! The conquestadors, their exploitation of the natives, the continuing atrocities into the 20th century, the absurd attempts to explore the jungle, and the long history of clues regarding the mythical lost city are all elements that made me unable to put the book down.

The author himself goes into the jungle to find the remains of Mr. Fawcett, or the lost city itself. (I won't tell you what he finds.) One particularly breathtaking bit at the Brazil National Library where the author reads a document from a 16th century monk who claims to have seen the lost city is worth the price alone.

At times it does feel like an inspiration for KOTCS. Indy is even referenced a few times. But the star attraction of the story itself is the incredible and horrific Amazon itself. I both want to be there and never want to be there all at once! It's a very quick read, you won't be disappointed!
 

emtiem

Well-known member
The adventures of Professor Bernice Summerfield may be worth a look: she's a 27th century archaeologist who travels around the galaxy in search of ancient alien treasures. She stars in a range of full cast audio plays and novels.

She's available here: http://www.bigfinish.com/Bernice-Summerfield

I understand that Bernice Summerfield and the Doomsday Manuscript is probably as close as she's come to Indy adventure.

The Doomsday Manuscript: The key to finding the Lost Tomb of Rablev. Legend says that if the tomb is ever opened, the world will end.

The Braxiatel Collection: Home to Professor Bernice Summerfield, and the location of one half of the Doomsday Manuscript.

The Fifth Axis: A callous, aggressive force that is assimilating territory and acquiring art treasures and archaeological finds.

Kasagrad: The last neutral planet in the Assimilated Territories, stratetically vital and protected from the Fifth Axis by its inpenetrable defence systems.

With the party to celebrate the opening of the Braxiatel Collection and the new year still underway, Benny finds herself drawn into a web of mystery and intrigue that starts with death and gets more serious at every stage. Can she find the second half of the Doomsday Manuscript before it falls into the wrong hands? Can she trust her partner in the quest? What will she find on Kasagrad - the location of the Lost Tomb of Rablev?

And can she squeeze in another drink at "Joseppi's" - favourite haunt of black marketeers, spies, counterfeiters, Fifth Axis officers, and desperate archaeologists - before the end of the world?

She's quite a character: sarcastic and enjoys a drink, and often goes in for re-editing her diary once she's written it!
 

Webley

New member
Doc Savage

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doc_Savage


Doc Savage is a fictional character originally published in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. He was created by publisher Henry W. Ralston and editor John L. Nanovic at Street and Smith Publications, with additional material contributed by the series' main writer, Lester Dent.

The heroic-adventure character would go on to appear in several other media, including radio, film, and comic books, with his adventures reprinted for modern-day audiences in series of paperback books. Into the 21st century, Doc Savage has remained a nostalgic icon referenced in novels and in popular culture.
 

kongisking

Active member
I love James Rollins' book Amazonia. A great Indy-esque adventure. Another excellent one by him is Excavation, which is kinda Da Vinci Code mixed with Indy.

Did I mention these before? I can't remember.
 

teampunk

Member
the ruins(film). only if you like horror, but starts off as an adventure for a lost mayan ruin and then things go very wrong when they find it.
 
Montana Smith said:
Sounds like a rewrite of Ravencroft's fictional Spear of Destiny.

Sort of but without the supernatural elements. He does spend a little time talking about the Nazi beliefs in the items, but it's more of a a well documented account of the US officers actual recovery of the artifacts. The Spear of Destiny was actually left behind in the Nuremburg vault, and only the Crown Jewels were taken, which was part of the mystery, because Hitler and Himmler revered and coveted the Spear, but left it behind, taking only the Robes, Swords, Cross and orb, the objects used in the Coronation ceremony. The thinking was that they planned to use them as a rallying point in creating the Fourth Reich.

One thing that struck me while reading, was that Himmler really wanted the Spear, he had an exact replica in Wewelsburg, and the Master Site Plan of what was to be his "Center of the World" was based on a diagram of a spear, with the castle as the point. Then they leave the Spear and it's been documented that Himmler had a hidden safe in the castle that went missing after the war...

I'm visiting the bunker the art was hidden in at Nuremburg and the Castle in July, maybe I can have my own Indy adventure, lol.
 
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