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| March 2009 |
| Billie Silvey |
| Archeology, Religion and Indiana Jones |
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| Raiders of the Lost Ark |
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| In 1973, George Lucas wrote "The Adventures of Indiana Smith" in an effort to create a modern version of the serials popular in the 1930s and 40s. His friend and colleague Steven Spielberg suggested that Smith was not right for the character. "OK," Lucas replied, “What about Jones?” Indiana was the name of Lucas’s dog. Lucas saw his character as a James Bond type playboy, while Spielberg wanted him to be darker. The film was rejected by every major studio as too over the top and expensive to produce. Lucas filmed it on a tight schedule, to achieve the “quick and dirty” feel of the Saturday matinee. The $20 million film grossed $384 million worldwide and remains one of the top 20 highest-grossing films ever made. Harrison Ford plays the adventurer/archeologist, who races the Nazis to locate the Ark of the Covenant, the chest containing the tables of the 10 Commandments and Aaron's rod that budded. It was set in the Peruvian jungle, Nepal, Egypt and Tunisia--the later two locations from the Tatooine scenes from Star Wars. John Williams composed the score, including the well-known “Raiders’ March,” which came to symbolize Indiana Jones and helps give the film its drive and excitement. Legitimate archeologists deplore the movie as pseudoarcheology, destroying sites and turning the science into a treasure hunt. But it probably prompted more than one adolescent to go into the legitimate field. I disapproved of the magic use of the Ark of the Covenant as a political tool but enjoy its sense of fun and adventure.. |
| The Temple of Doom |
| Due to the abbreviated shooting schedule and limited budget of Raiders, Lucas wasn’t able to include all the elements he wanted, so he saved them for his second film in the franchise, The Temple of Doom. It is generally considered a darker and weaker film than the first. Highlights include falling out of a plane crossing the Himalayas and snowboading down on a raft, the cocky child star playing Short Round, and a theme park ride through mining caves. But even they aren’t enough to compensate for the distasteful adolescent gross-out humor, racial condescension and a weak female lead. |
| The Last Crusade |
| Starring the original James Bond, Sean Connery, as a thoroughly believable Henry Jones Sr., The Last Crusade returns to the themes of Nazis and Biblical relics--this time the Holy Grail, the cup Jesus used to institute the Lord's Supper. The film, however, avoids the totemism of the original, using the relic to make legitimate points about the humility of Jesus and the faith required of his followers.
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| The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles |
| During the first three feature films, Lucas and Speilberg began constructing a timeline of the life of their adventuresome character. The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles was an Emmy Award-winning educational series which appeared from 1992-96 and explored Jones's childhood and youth. Corey Carrier portrayed the 10-year-old Henry, who in 1908 joined his father, Henry, on a lecture tour around the world. His father's Oxford tutor was hired to accompany them and supervise Henry Jr.'s education. He didn't like her at first, but they had amazing adventures together, including exploring the tombs of Egypt with T. E. Lawrence. |
| Patrick Flanery portrays Indiana Jones from 16-21, as his quest for adventure grew stronger. At this stage, he runs away from home to join Pancho Villa in the Mexican Revolution. After that, he joins the Belgian Army, fighting in the trenches of Europe, in the African campaign and as a spy. The episodes were book-ended by reminiscences by an 93-year-old Jones, played by George Hall. When the series was cancelled, TV movies were made from 1994-96. The episodes have since been sold to the History Channel. |
| The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull |
| The fourth feature of the Indiana Jones franchise was released 19 years after the Last Crusade. Set in 1957, it pays tribute to the science fiction B movies of the era. In it, Indy takes on Soviet agents, headed by Cate Blanchett as the villainous agent Irina Spalko. He is aided by Marion Ravenwood, his lover in the first film, and their son, Mutt, a 50s greaser. The movie features an aging Indiana Jones sharing the spotlight with his son and alterego. I could have done without the aliens and supernatural elements. |
| It recaptures the good-natured fun of the original episode and makes striking use of the archeological site of Petra, the Jordanian desert fortress carved into caves and approached through a narrow cleft. |
| I, for one, am grateful to George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford and the Indiana Jones franchise for hours of fun spanning decades and giving a sense of joy, comfort with various parts of the world and its past, and an appreciation for scholarship which gives it backbone and a moral center. |