Unemployment has its perks. Last week I watched the 3 original Indiana Jones movies in two days. Nice. It got me thinking about a few things - how much the new one sucked, how long its been since I've seen Temple of Doom, and how the Indiana Jones trilogy had many scenes that scared me as a child. But before I get into that, here are a few more Indiana Jones observations.
Films in order of greatness:
1. The Last Crusade - Sean Connery puts this one on top, but just barely.
2. Raiders of the Lost Ark
3. Temple of Doom - can't really compare some lost Indian stones against the Holy Grail and Ark of the Covenant
Leading Women in order of Attractiveness:
1. Dr. Elsa Schneider - Alison Doody - Last Crusade
2. Willie Scott - Kate Capshaw - Temple of Doom
3. Marion Ravenwood - Karen Allen - Raiders of the Lost Ark
Leading Female Characters in order of likability:
1. Marion - She out drank a large Nepalese man, tried to get the French guy drunk to escape,
and did the damn thing with Indy in the snake room. I like her style.
and did the damn thing with Indy in the snake room. I like her style.
2. Willie Scott - She was often times annoying, but came through a few times in the end. She was a good damsel in distress. The scene with her and Indy in opposite rooms waiting each other out was pretty great.
3. Elsa - Well, you have the fact that she was a traitor for the Nazis, but she also sucked as character. She really did very little in the film and just provided all the female stereotypes.
Best Supporting Characters:
1. Short Round
2. Major Toht - Super awkward and sketchy
3. General Vogel - just for this one scene - works in any language
4. Sallah - Made it alive through two movies
5. Marcus Brody - Lost in his own museum
6. Young Indy - River Phoenix
6. Young Indy - River Phoenix
7. Grail Knight
Best Action Sequences:
1. Leaving the German Castle - Motor Cycle and sidecar - Crusade
2. Airplane and huge German pilot scene in Raiders
3. Bar in Marakesh - Raiders
4. Airplane scene - Crusade
5. Escape from Grail Protectors - Crusade
6. Retrieving Marcus and Henry Jones - Tank scene - Crusade, a bit too long
6. Retrieving Marcus and Henry Jones - Tank scene - Crusade, a bit too long
7. Chasing down the Ark - Raiders
8. Mine scene - Temple - including large guard, voodoo doll, and mining cart
9. Young Indy - Crusade, a bit cartoonish with the snake and the circus animals and the "origin" of his whip and hat
Other Best Scenes:
1. Opening Scene - Raiders - iconic 
2. Library/Crypt Scene - Crusade - intensive buildup, really draws you in. You cannot stop watching.
3. 5 minutes scene - Temple - Indy and Willie waiting each other out, turns into Indy finding the secret mine.
4. Shot Contest - Raiders
5. Austrian Castle - Crusade - Tapestries, Fake Ming China, Saying Goodbye, Fire - all great scenes with Connery and Ford
6. Dinner Scene - Temple - "Chilled Monkey Brains"
7. Opening Scene - Temple - Wild
8. Indy and Hitler - Crusade
9. Professor Jones - Raiders and Crusade - Pretty Hilarious both times
3 comments:
Side Note: Willie was named after Spielberg's Cocker Spaniel, and Short Round was named after Willard Huyck's dog. Willard Huyck wrote the screenplay.
I guess this shows my "Raiders" bias, but I disagree with you on two major points.
1. The best sidekick is Sallah. I mean, come on. "Asps. Very dangerous. You go first." Plus, dude had no trouble "finding the edges." Man could work a crowbar like nobody's business. "Bad dates."
2. I can't believe you rated chasing down the ark at #7. That is by far the best action sequence in the whole trilogy. Probably one of the top car chase scenes is film history. Simply impeccable.
Thorzul, as you can see by my action rankings, I was not a big fan of the actions sequences that were too long. That was the case for the Raiders one and the Tank one in Crusade.
Matthew, thanks for the tidbits.
I like the way this post ended up. Look for a similarly laid out Star Wars one in the near future. Lots more options there.
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