BECOMING INDY: A HISTORY OF INDIANA JONES

[MattBrady]

by Steve Fritz

The late 70s were an amazing time for longtime pals George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.

The two of them, with films like Star Wars, Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, had redefined the word “blockbuster.” They were feeling their oats. They had new projects they wanted to do.

Lucas, in particular, had an idea about doing an homage on old movie serials he loved as a kid. They included Flash Gordon, Jack Armstrong, The Phantom and even some guys called The Batman and Superman. He even had a basic concept in his head. Still, thanks to working on the Star Wars trilogy had absolutely no time to do the movie.

As explained in the extra content of the recently re-released Raiders of the Lost Ark DVD, Spielberg had made a ton of money with the films Jaws and Close Encounters. He did it in spite of all manner of technical and scheduling foul-ups. His latest effort, 1941, was almost his Heaven’s Gate. Spielberg wanted a project that was fast, fun (for him especially), and more important, he wanted to a film on budget and on time.

That didn’t mean they didn’t have time for a vacation. They took it together.

As Lucas explains in the EC, he usually is averse to hiring friends because it was usually a good way to lose them. Still, he pitched Spielberg on creating a new hero based on many of these classic reels from Republic, Universal, Columbia and others. Still, they wanted to give it their own spin

They made him an archaeologist, all the better to have him explore ancient cultures and hunt for mystical artifacts. Originally Lucas named him Indiana Smith; the “Indiana” coming from a dog Lucas owned at that time. Lucas also came up with the trademark high crowned, wide brimmed fedora; the bullwhip and the flight jacket.

No less than the legendary Jim Steranko designed the two belts, khakis as well as Smith’s initial face and body. Final details came from costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis, based on a film entitled Secret of the Incas starring Charlton Heston. It created an image so easily identifiable that “Smith” could be easily spotted by his silhouette alone. This uniform became so iconic that a copy of the fedora and jacket, ones used for the third film The Last Crusade, are now enshrined in the Smithsonian Institute.

As they were developing the look, they also were working on the character. They came up with a man who was a natural rebel against authority figures, but still could be a superlative college professor. He also was a man with an exceedingly strong set of values, even if acted like the biggest and most world weary of outsiders. At the same time, the last thing you could call him was a wimp. True to his pulp roots, he was an All-American hero. Part anti-hero like Bogart, part super-patriot like John Wayne, with the resourcefulness of James Bond for kicks.

Thanks to the efforts of Lucas, Spielberg and writer Lawrence Kasdan, a script was speedily produced, approved and put on the production schedule. The only hang-up came when it was time to choose an actor. As the story goes, and is confirmed in the interviews, the original choice was Tom Selleck, who was starting to make a name for himself in TV. Unfortunately for Selleck, he was cast as Thomas Magnum the same year that Lucas and Spielberg wanted him for Indy. Universal, who was behind Magnum P.I., wouldn’t let him out of his contract, and Selleck felt that staying with Universal (who he’d signed with before Indy came knocking) was the honorable thing to do. (as an aside, don’t feel bad for Selleck – he had 10 seasons of Magnum, with all the residuals that brought – and still brings.)

Disgruntled, but by no means hindered, Lucas and Spielberg met about this situation over a screening of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. That’s when Spielberg saw Harrison Ford do his latest turn as another iconic hero, Han Solo. Apparently Lucas wasn’t initially thrilled about the selection, but gave in. Ford would become another essential element of the mix, adding his own touches.

The first thing Ford did was state he didn’t like the name Smith. He liked “Jones” a lot better.

Much to everyone’s pleasure, and again according to the EC, the production went better than anyone anticipated. Lucas’ knowledge of how to produce helped Spielberg avoid the mishaps that plagued his last three movies. To top it, the atmosphere was loose enough that ideas that were thought up on the set were quickly incorporated into the film, making the final outcome better than anyone involved anticipated. The total cost of production was a then whopping $18 million. For comparison, Close Encounters (1977) cost $20 million. Lucas’ Empire Strikes Back (1980), also cost $18 million. Still, as Spielberg stated, that was right on the budget. Further, the film was delivered on time.

As for the plot? What wasn’t to love? Karen Allen (Marion) was a wonder as a hard-hitting yet sexy female lead. The trio of Paul Freeman (Belloq), Ronald Lacey (Toht) and Wolf Kahler (Diedrich) were perfectly cast as Jones’ Nazi adversaries. To top it, the plot revolving around the Ten Commandments had a resounding depth one usually doesn’t expect from an action-adventure. Speaking about action-adventure, pretty much from Indy’s escape from a South American temple to the final opening of the Ark, the film never let up on the turbo-charged fun. As said before, what wasn’t to love?

Released on June 12, 1981, the Raiders made over $8 million on its first weekend. It wasn’t the most impressive opening in the history of cinema. In fact, Box Office Mojo ranks it below 1,000. Still it didn’t take long for the film to recoup its investment and move into the black either.

Still, like the other successful films Lucas and Spielberg had worked on, word of mouth was overwhelmingly positive. Raiders became the top money maker of the year, earning over $209 million (domestically). It would eventually garner nearly $400 million worldwide.

Always the shrewd businessman, before production even began, Lucas made Spielberg promise one thing; if Raiders was a success, Spielberg would have to direct the sequels. Lucas didn’t waste time, either. Yes, he let Spielberg do a certain film entitled ET first, as well as two segments of The Twilight Zone movie. Then it was time to get onto the sequel, entitled Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Interestingly enough, Spielberg is the first to admit he didn’t like the concept Lucas presented to him. Lucas felt that being this was now going to be a trilogy, the film should follow the formula he established with Star Wars, and that is the middle film should be the darkest of all. For some reason, Lucas also had it out for Karen Allen. He admits one of the reasons he set the film a few years before Raiders was so he didn’t have to include Allen in the cast. Instead they went with Kate Capshaw for the female lead of Wilhemena “Willie” Scott.

That also wasn’t the only change. Instead of the Nazis, Jones’ main adversary were the radically dark Hindu cult called the Thugees. The tone was also much darker, with certain scenes that were considered way too horrifying for the time. As Lucas would later defend himself, again check out the extra content of the Temple DVD, it wasn’t that scenes such as the Thugee high priest pulling a victim’s heart out of his chest hadn’t been done before. It was a case no one had done it as well as Lucas and Spielberg ever did.

If the dark tone wasn’t enough to turn some fans off, a lot of fans like to point out Capshaw’s role in the film. Still, don’t feel too bad for her. While the woman has proven herself to be actress, by the time she finished her performance, she also ended up Mrs. Steven Spielberg, who she’s still married to today.. Not quite an Oscar, but not a bad runner up prize either.

While the film did make money, it was nowhere near the same level as Raiders. For the record, Box Office Mojo reports the film cost $28 million 1984 dollars. It returned $333 million worldwide. Not bad no matter how you looked at it, but not as good as the first movie.

When it came to the last of the original three films, a chastened Spielberg went on record as saying he would do Last Crusade for two reasons. The first was to complete his obligation to Lucas. The second was to payback the fans for what he felt wasn’t his best work. He’d more than make up for it, too.

Again, following the Star Wars formula, Lucas wanted to do a film where family relationships were explored, father-son relationships in particular. In a backhanded compliment, the film also cast no less than Sean Connery to play Henry Jones Sr., aka Indy’s father. This was an acknowledgment of the James Bond element of Indy’s creation as much as truly brilliant casting. In another nice touch, they brought back John Rhys-Davies as Indy’s faithful friend Sallah from the first film.

Also back were the Nazis, who honestly made a better collective foe than the Thugs. The female lead, played by Allison Doody, also had a nice twist. She was also a Nazi, but couldn’t help herself when it came to Jones’ roguish charms. Another touch of brilliance was the casting of the late River Phoenix as a younger version of Indy. In his segment, we learned how our hero came to own both his fedora and bullwhip as well as he’s manic fear of snakes. It also helped set the tone between the father and son.

Most important, while Lucas may have set a key theme, this film clearly shows Spielberg’s more mature touch. It doesn’t try to be as stiffly message-oriented as a Lucas film. Yes, it hid mature themes in its content, but it never forgot its serial film roots. It was one heck of a run ride.

The payoff was immediate. Opening on Memorial Day, 1989, the film went on to dominate the box office for the year. It cost a lot more, $48 million, but also returned $474 million, much better than Temple of Doom by any standard.

This is when things went a bit south for the franchise, again. Encourage by the near half-billion dollars the movie brought in, Lucas struck a deal with ABC to produce a series based on the further adventures of Indy. The kicker is this series would be based on the adventures of, for lack of a better term, the pre-Temple of Doom Jones. Entitled The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, it would also include a number of different male leads in the title role, representing our hero at different points in his life. Another important twist is this time Lucas decided not to go for just pure entertainment value, but “educational” value by having young master Jones interact with other major characters and events in history.

The final results? As one old bud of mine would say, it just wasn’t fun. Sure, it’s something to see Indy meet and greet major history of the first half of the 20th Century, but the curiosity element got lame pretty darn quick. Also, the directing sorely missed Spielberg’s incredible touch, not to forget Ford in the central role. So while ABC did do a number of episodes, the series never truly took off. The series went on for three seasons, closing with some specials in 1996.

Not that Young Indy doesn’t have some merit. What we learn through this series is Indy will live well into his 80s, if not further. This opens up the field for the next film considerably, and makes a film based in the 1950s that much more possible.

To be honest, as stated in my review earlier this week, the latest Indy Jones film, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, is a wonderful entry to the entire Jones mythos. Yes, it’s set in the late 1950s, but putting Indy up against not only the post-Stalin Soviet Union as well as his own government now makes a lot more sense. The return of Karen Allen as Marion is also a superlative touch. The addition of Shia LeBeouf as Indy’s logical successor also brings in some interesting probabilities.

The latest word is Lucas is now talking about he originally wanted to do five Indiana Jones films, and based on what I saw of this film, I’d be seriously surprised if there isn’t. Considering this basically started when Lucas and Spielberg wanted to do a project that would just be fun, it’s gone a long, long way.

Also, one gets the feeling there’s still a lot more fun coming. You can’t ask for more than that while you much on your JuJuBe’s and popcorn, can you?

Newsarama note: The original article incorrectly named the television series and network featuring the young Indiana Jones character.

[archetype9]

Well, I didn't know that about Shia LeBeouf. And I actually I would rather not have known that before seeing the film. Yeah, OK, I suspected, but I didn't know. Maybe it was in a trailer somewhere; if it was, alright. I know it's a fine line between discussing the movie and giving things away, but that was so quickly put in there it was hard to know I was reading a spoiler before I had already read it. And it's not even an article about the new movie, it's about the Indiana Jones franchise.
Didn't know that about Tom Selleck as Indiana Smith, that's interesting

[Pezmack]

Great article! Thanks! I'm seeing the new movie tonight. I'm really excited, but not getting my hopes up too high like I did for Episode 1.

[countjerkula]

Originally Posted by archetype9

Didn't know that about Tom Selleck as Indiana Smith, that's interesting

that inspired a Magnum episode where magnum donned and Indy type outfit and had an Indy-type adventure

[deganawida]

Not to be a jerk or anything, but can the last paragraph be edited out or marked "Spoilers"? I've tried to avoid all spoilers for the movie, and only read this article because I thought it would just cover the first three movies. Imagine my disappointment to have the new movie spoiled to a certain extent in the final paragraph.

[weaselwelch]

Saw the movie last night. Throughly enjoyed it. I rank it up there with Raiders and Crusades. It didn't feel like a 2 hour movie the the story and action was perfect.

And if any one had doubts about Ford being able to carry this off the can lay them aside. Ford is, was and always will be Indiana Jones.

[KoozyK]

KotCK was a horrible film. The whole movie is nothing more than a pieced together monster from scripts written my much better writers than Koepp. The fire ant sequence felt like it belonged in the mummy, not an Indy film. Indy surviving a nuclear blast is just ridiculous. Shia swinging on vines was the breaking point for me in deciding that the film isn't just a mediocre movie, but a complete failure in filmmaking.

This was not Indy. It was a joke and a rape of my childhood. Every actor was phoning in their performance with the exception of John Hurt who did more than I thought anyone could possible do with what was probbaly 2 pages of dialog.

For shame Steven and George.

[ChrisGrillo]

Originally Posted by deganawida

Not to be a jerk or anything, but can the last paragraph be edited out or marked "Spoilers"? I've tried to avoid all spoilers for the movie, and only read this article because I thought it would just cover the first three movies. Imagine my disappointment to have the new movie spoiled to a certain extent in the final paragraph.

So you didn't know that Shia was in the movie? Well, hopefully that doesn't ruin too much.

[HartyPotter]

Some interesting bits in there. I'm not an Indiana Jones trivia-buff, but it's cool to read about.

[roach04]

Here's the story of the real Crystal Skull:

http://www.thescugogstandard.ca/

[scottmdavis]

i enjoyed the movie and I went in expecting to by horrible.

some scenes were rather ludicrious, but I liked it, way better then National Treasure 2.

[SpyGuy]

Kingdom was a very disappointing film, IMHO. Not completely horrible, mind you, but the tone is completely off and entire third act is an absolute mess.

[s*p rules]

Saw the midnight showing fo Crystal Skull, and the movie was a mess. There were bits and pieces that were Indy-esque and good, especially at the beginning before Mutt and Marian showed up, but most of the movie was supremely dissapointing. You can definitely tell this movie was CGI-ified, unlike the first three. Most of crystal skull looks like it was filmed in someone's backyard or obviously on a movie set; it sorely lacked the breathtaking landscape of the first three Indy's. You really felt like you were traveling along with Indy to all the faraway lands in the first three; in this one you feel like you're watching an episode of a bad sitcom being filmed. Basically, it comes down to this: when George Lucas was a young filmmaker and his contemporaries were putting out movies like the Godfather and Jaws, he gave us badass characters with an edge like Darth Vader, Han Solo, and Indiana Jones. When he was a married family man, he watered down those characters, turning Darth into a reformed good guy and Han solo into a whipped _____ by Return of the Jedi, and Indy taking care of some oriental kid in Doom. When he bacame old enough to be a grandfather, he gave us Jar Jar Binks and young "Anni" for the grandkids. And now that he's an even older man, with mortality staring at him in the face and relishing family more than ever, we get an Indy who does the same (along with a tarzan Mutt who can swing as fast as a speeding truck with helpful little monkeys, and funny little gophers - gotta keep the grandkids happy). I wonder what 1977 George would say if he could see Crystal Skull? I'd be all for a 5th Indy, but only if Lucas can challenge himself to go back to the filmmaker he was 30 years ago, and give us one more hard-ass, butt-kicknig Indy movie. Leave the kid, the ugly wife, the monkeys and the cute little gophers out.

[deganawida]

Originally Posted by ChrisGrillo

So you didn't know that Shia was in the movie? Well, hopefully that doesn't ruin too much.

It appears to have been edited. When I read it, it said an entirely different thing about Shia.

[DaVeO]

Originally Posted by KoozyK

KotCK was a horrible film. The whole movie is nothing more than a pieced together monster from scripts written my much better writers than Koepp. The fire ant sequence felt like it belonged in the mummy, not an Indy film. Indy surviving a nuclear blast is just ridiculous. Shia swinging on vines was the breaking point for me in deciding that the film isn't just a mediocre movie, but a complete failure in filmmaking.

This was not Indy. It was a joke and a rape of my childhood. Every actor was phoning in their performance with the exception of John Hurt who did more than I thought anyone could possible do with what was probbaly 2 pages of dialog.

For shame Steven and George.

"Rape your childhood?"
Sounds like your innerchild was already throughly abused to begin with.

[KoozyK]

Originally Posted by DaVeO

"Rape your childhood?"
Sounds like your innerchild was already throughly abused to begin with.

my inner child has been through a lot in the last 10 years. practically every superhero film, star wars and now indy have reduced him to a withering pile in the corner of my soul.

[Poe]

I really don't understand the hate for Temple of Doom. Sure it was a darker film, but that just gave it an edge that lacking in both Last Crusade and Crystal Skull. I love the first two Indy films, but the last two were just "okay". It was neat to see Sean Connery as Indy's dad in Last Crusade, but the whole movie was lacking in any sense of suspense or surprise (much like Crystal Skull) that I got from the first two fims and spent more time trying to make you laugh with slapstick comedy (again, not unlike Crystal Skull) than actually giving you an adventure that would keep you on the edge of your seat.

[Skatonic10]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

Newsarama note: The original article incorrectly named the television series and network featuring the young Indiana Jones character.

Reader note: it also has quite a few typos.

Great summary, though. :-) Off to see the film this afternoon after work!

[Krishna Sadasivam]

Crystal Skull was a complete and utter disaster. I saw it last night, and honestly, couldn't find any redeeming moments in the film. The plot was confusing, the sci-fi element was jarring, and the characters themselves felt like cardboard cutouts. The Ray Winstone character made no sense whatsoever, and Shia LaBlouf's character showed no character development throughout the film.

The theater was pindrop silent - even during the supposed one-liners and quips. The spark between Karen Allen and Harrison Ford just wasn't there, either.

Horrible, horrible mess. If you are a fan of Indiana Jones, and don't want your fond memories robbed, do not watch the Crystal Skull film.


-Krishna

[The Flash XS5]

I also loved Temple of Doom and didn't even know it was so hated. The human sacrifice scene was burned into my innocent young brain.

Also, i think far to many fans try to take ownership of the properties they love. Everything has its fans and detractors and noone is going to be a fan of everything so it's understandable that fans of the older Indy movies may not like or may downright hate Kingdom.

But to say that it raped your childhood? WOW. So a movie made 20 years after its closest predecesor has retroactively made the three previous movies horrible in your opinion? Do they reveal that Indy wasn't just named after a dog but that he is, in fact, a dog himself? I just don't see how anything other than some kind of massive retcon could make you decide that those three movies had "touched you in an unkind manner".

Some people are such drama queens.

[TedKordLives]

Originally Posted by KoozyK

my inner child has been through a lot in the last 10 years. practically every superhero film, star wars and now indy have reduced him to a withering pile in the corner of my soul.

If all these movies are "raping your childhood," you should probably just not watch them. When someone says things like this, it makes me think that you probably decided you were going to hate this movie before you even saw it, no matter what.

Crystal Skull was awesome, and did a great job of including the popular myths about the skulls as well as including '50's UFO hysteria, Chariots of the Gods theories, and Communist paranoia. It had some pretty ridiculous moments, but honestly if you can suspend your disbelief enough to accept that somewhere a ghostly knight is guarding a cup that grants immortality, or there's a box that, when opened, absorbs people's souls and reduces them to ash, then there's not much of a leap to this film. It's as much an homage to '50's sci-fi adventure movies as it is '30's serials, and it juxtaposes the elements effectively. I would honestly say I liked it better than Temple of Doom and the Last Crusade.

[leahcim]

Saw it last night and it was awesome! I laughed and cheered, and the audience clapped at the end. It was as good as the rest. You boys need to lighten up, no movie you see now, is going to compare to a movie you saw as a child, thru a child's eyes.

[mister_groin]

Originally Posted by KoozyK

my inner child has been through a lot in the last 10 years. practically every superhero film, star wars and now indy have reduced him to a withering pile in the corner of my soul.

I hope they make an Indiana Jones 5 - people who make comments like this deserve to have their childhoods "raped".

[KoozyK]

Originally Posted by TedKordLives

If all these movies are "raping your childhood," you should probably just not watch them. When someone says things like this, it makes me think that you probably decided you were going to hate this movie before you even saw it, no matter what.

Crystal Skull was awesome, and did a great job of including the popular myths about the skulls as well as including '50's UFO hysteria, Chariots of the Gods theories, and Communist paranoia. It had some pretty ridiculous moments, but honestly if you can suspend your disbelief enough to accept that somewhere a ghostly knight is guarding a cup that grants immortality, or there's a box that, when opened, absorbs people's souls and reduces them to ash, then there's not much of a leap to this film. It's as much an homage to '50's sci-fi adventure movies as it is '30's serials, and it juxtaposes the elements effectively. I would honestly say I liked it better than Temple of Doom and the Last Crusade.

My problems are never stemmed from a fanboy perspective. my biggest problems are with the more technical aspects of the film. bad writing? check. bad acting? check. bad effects? check. bad score? not bad, just unoriginal and a complete retread. cinematography? also not bad, just different that the previous three movies which further distances itself form the series.

i watched this film with the hope that it would be good. i read a lot about this film before i went to see it wed night and went in with low expectations thinking that i would be pleasantly surprised seeing what it was, sadly, i was not surprised in the least.

karen allen, shia and especially ray winstone acted horrible. all had zero depth and added nothing to the film. especially winstone. by the end, it just felt like a complete mess with too many characters.

not even one good action sequence in the whole movie. each previous movie had at least one standout sequence, which this movie sadly lacked. never once did i think anyone was in peril, and neither did any of the characters either. being attacked by crazy ghost faced natives? make a joke. chasing after commies? make a joke. walking into a strange room filled with aliens? make a joke. any normal person would flip out. it's the same reason why i don't like last crusade as much as temple of doom. too much joking and not enough danger. At least in temple, they realized where was danger and acted accordingly.

i had no problem with seeing aliens in the film, it just didn't seem natural the way it came about. it wasn't at all explained how someone who was blacklisted at the beginning of the movie is all of a sudden a dean at the end. how was that plot point resolved?

every major complaint i have can be traced back to the script. maybe a better writer would have done a better job and give each of the characters their own unique voice. sadly, they fired that writer (darabont) and hired koepp who basically took the best stuff from each other draft (and there were a lot) and made this frankenstein monster of a movie.

[KoozyK]

Originally Posted by mister_groin

I hope they make an Indiana Jones 5 - people who make comments like this deserve to have their childhoods "raped".

no, i expect something i cared for in the past to be equally cared for in the present. not just some punchline.

and i'll say this now, if they do make an indy 5, i won't see it as long as lucas is involved. that man fell off his rocker long ago and anyone who thinks otherwise is just as crazy.