Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is my personal favorite movie of the entire series. I love the story, the cast, and I especially love the dark tone of the film. I love when directors step out of their comfort zone, and when you think about the kind of movie that The Temple of Doom was at the time of its release, it is a movie that you did not think even the mighty Steven Spielberg was capable of doing. Needless to say, the movie is pure spectacle at its finest.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom finds Indy uncovering a secret cult in an ancient palace he was asked to investigate. I have found that many fans of the series do not realize that, chronologically speaking, this is the first Indiana Jones film. This explains his behavior about collecting the Sankara stones. He intends to use them for "fortune and glory", to get rich, instead of putting them in a museum where they can be viewed by all. As I mentioned before, the dark tone of the film is something that I personally respond to. The Temple of Doom is incredibly intense at times, and it gives me goosebumps every time I watch it. As much as I thoroughly enjoy this film, however, there are some flaws in it. There are a few times when the editing does not make any sense. In one shot one of the actors would be in one place, and in the next shot they are someplace else. For example, at one point in the film, Mola Ram (Amrish Puri) is standing and then in the next shot, he is lying down on the ground going through a trap door. Granted, these editing mistakes only happen about three times in the film so it does not become a big issue, but it is still noticeable. The only other issue I have is with a line of dialogue. At the climax of the film, when Indy (Harrison Ford), Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) and Short Round (Ke Huy Quan) are climbing up the cliff escaping the Thuggee cult, Indy yells, "Head for the bridge!". How does he know there is a bridge? Anyway, those problems aside, I personally feel that The Temple of Doom is a cinematic wonder with great characters and an imaginative take on the "dungeon lair" scenario.
Steven Spielberg is the director of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Again, as I mentioned before, I love when directors step out of their comfort zones. This film is dark and brutal, and Spielberg does not shy away from it. The scene with the human sacrifice may be one of my favorite scenes in cinematic history. I love the way the chanting slowly builds as the victim gets lowered into the fiery pit, and then his heart bursts into flames. I also love the shot where the camera pulls back as the victim is screaming for his life. It puts a stamp on the fact that no one is going to save this man. This is just one of those scenes that puts a twisted smile on my face. However, as dark as the movie is, Spielberg balances the film with a good deal of levity in the form of Indy and Willies' relationship. Harrison Ford and Kate Capshaw have great chemistry together, so much so that you just burst into laughter. I also think that the mining cart chase is one for the ages. The way Spielberg uses the camera, and the way Indy has to improvise ways to escape the Thuggee cult, make this quite an innovative sequence. The Temple of Doom is one of the countless reasons why Steven Spielberg is the most dominant filmmaker in history.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is one of those rare pieces of cinema that did not get the love it deserved when it was initially released, but has since garnered a great deal of respect from both fans and critics. This movie also has one of the best musical numbers in a non-musical film. If you have not seen this film, I cannot begin to express how much you should go check it out.
No comments:
Post a Comment