Released on June 12, 1981, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Harrison Ford introduced a new kind of hero in professor, archaeologist, and fedora-wearing adventurer, Indiana Jones. They also launched one of the greatest and most beloved franchises in movie history.
On this episode, Tim Williams and guest co-host Jeff Tinkle share their memories of this 80’s classic and what they picked up on after re-watching it more recently.
Show Notes:
Here are some additional behind the scenes stories we didn't get to talk about during the episode.
- When Brody first goes to Indy's house to discuss the mission, Jones is dressed the way he is because he is entertaining a young woman in his bedroom. The script originally planned to show her before moving to the next scene, to give Indy a more worldly persona (like James Bond). However, her appearance was cut, as Steven Spielberg thought that being a playboy did not fit Indy's character.
- Most of the "body blow" sounds were created by hitting a pile of leather jackets with a baseball bat.
- The scene where Marion puts on her dress and attempts to leave Belloq's tent was improvised as was the entire plane fight. The script called for Marion to shed her conservative Egyptian garb and don a revealing dress to heighten the tension when she and Indy are fending off snakes as they're sealed in the Well of Souls, but the script didn't include why she ended up in the dress. In order to get her into the dress, Karen Allen and Paul Freeman improvised the scene where she hides a knife with the older clothes she takes off to try to seduce Belloq and escape, thus giving her character a plausible reason to be in the dress. Allen thought it would also be a good idea to callback to the drinking game scene that introduces her character in the beginning of the movie.
- The film was originally given an R-rating because of the exploding head at the end. They didn't want the picture to be rated R, so they added layers of fire in front of his face to make it appear less graphic.
- After viewing the film's rough cut, Lucas's then-wife and frequent collaborator Marcia Lucas noticed that there was no emotional closure, because Marion did not appear at the ending. Although Marcia is not credited in the film, her suggestion led to Spielberg re-shooting the final exterior sequence on the steps of San Francisco Hall, which Karen Allen called Indy and Marion's "Casablanca moment".
- Steven Spielberg and Melissa Mathison wrote a script during shooting breaks on the location of this film. Mathison was there to visit her then husband, Harrison Ford, and Spielberg dictated to her a story idea he had. That script was eventually called "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial".
Sources - IMDB.com and Wikipedia
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