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Posted: |
Jan 30, 2011 - 11:58 AM
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By: |
Superman
(Member)
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 Warning-this post is long-ish, but I put a lot of passion into it, so please enjoy the thoughts and pics*.
I was watching an Indy marathon today and wanted to post a bit of a travelogue film reel. These movies never cease to amaze and entertain, though I’ve seen them many times already. I suppose they always will for generations to come, or maybe longer, who knows. The stories, the images, the characters, and last but NEVER least, the music, is just sheer fun from start to finish. They don’t get tiresome and can be seen repeatedly because some of us who are music lovers first, when we REALLY like the score to a movie, watch it as a soundtrack first as well. Thanks to John Williams. And the images make it even more interesting. Or, they can be watched and enjoyed for other things too. It doesn’t matter. That, to me, is what makes a classic film/music masterpiece, not to mention box office success. And for the most part, critical achievements. Most of us, when young, probably saw things like “The Wizard of Oz”, etc. and said “Well, they’ll never top that!” Boy, were we wrong! They really captured lightning in a bottle. And for me, 1 & 2 are pretty much tied at the top and 3 & 4 are a more distant second.
First of all, Raiders is an action and suspense bonanza. Never tiring. Always enthralling. Never out-of-balance. It pulls you in like gravity, but doesn’t go over the top. The characters, the sidekicks, the villains; all so memorable. The sites, the sounds, the chases, the chills, the spills and the music simply tumble towards you like a giant boulder. A nonstop freight train of adventure laced with mystery.
Temple is ridiculously entertaining. And to my mind, the most entertaining, in large part due to its music. Just a ceaseless tour-de-force of sheer musical and cinematic pleasure. Seizingly gorgeous. You don’t watch this one. You don’t have to. You experience it. It washes over you. The music just keeps you blissfully going and never lets up. Ever! Williams’ magic flows like a waterfall. And like The Empire Strikes Back, it continues the previous story by achieving the impossible. It actually takes you on another journey that tops the first one! What a fantastic experience to get, not once, but TWICE!! That’s why Williams, Lucas, Spielberg and Ford have dominated Hollywood for so long, I suppose. What a feat of magnificent proportions.
Crusade was another one that continued the story with bravura of stamina and quality. This one has countless moments of fun and intrigue as well as many beautiful musical moments. Sean Connery was classic(as always) and funny and brought a real maturity and style to the proceedings. This, like Return of the Jedi are a lot of people’s favorite. I thought the first two of both respective franchises were the best. Though, the endings of both “third” entries were unmistakeably perfect. They’re just magnificent.
Kingdom had so many wonderful moments as well. I really liked the opening, Ford’s performance, the cinematography, the new villains, and the fight scenes. And the music was like that first drink of water after a turn through the desert. I wish 3 and 4 would have taken themselves a “bit” more seriously and tried to stay within the realm of the fans wishes more but WOW, what pleasure anyway. I mean, you just can’t keep these characters down.
And the films all have their numerous comic moments. They have brains, wit, wonder, guts, beauty and character. Oh, and dont forget the thrills! And they’ve found their way into hearts and minds the world over. Bravo!
I’ll be posting pics from “Temple”alone, as this one was the best, imo. (Low bandwidthers shouldn’t have a problem.)
“…in olden days,
a glimpse of stocking,
was looked on as something shocking,
now, heaven knows,
anything goes!...
          
          
          
*All pics from TheRaider.net
So, thoughts about the film or films?
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Posted: |
Jan 30, 2011 - 12:29 PM
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By: |
Francis
(Member)
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Great post Superman! I recently started watching the trilogy again as I got them in HD (tv rips) and for me Temple of Doom is still the big favorite. The music plays a huge part as well as the rollercoaster pacing, but I like that family group of Indy-Willie-Short Round basically being put through hell from start to finish. And what a start, I'm not a big fan of "anything goes" but what follows certainly lives up to that title. The pacing is relentless at times and when you think it's settling down Spielberg will throw a creepy bug sidedish your way or have an assassin come out from the dark. Lots of comedy to balance out the horror elements and it keeps it all very accessible. I believe this movie called for a new rating due to the graphic scenes in the temple of doom.
I do love the look of the movie, there are some gorgeous wide shots and Pankot palace gets such a big buildup from Williams, you can't help but feel intimidated when inside. The action sequences play out just right and the exposition is just so mysterious, I'm a sucker for buying into it every time.
I know this one got a lot of flack because it depicts Hindus and India wrong, but it's a fantasy comic book movie and not a documentary or travel brochure.
I watched this one first, as it takes place before Raiders timeline, and still have "Last Crusade" to rewatch. I think I like that one least because by then I did feel the material felt a bit 'been there done that'. The fourth movie had little to do with the Indiana Jones trilogy, it felt more like a reunion piece and passing of the torch.
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Posted: |
Jan 30, 2011 - 3:28 PM
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By: |
Michael24
(Member)
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Nice post, Superman. Hands down, Indiana Jones is my most favorite film series, just slightly edging out the original Star Wars films. While Crystal Skull is still sort of "new," I've seen the first three films countless times. I grew up on those movies (even saw Raiders at the drive-in in 1981, although I have no memory of it), and like you said, they never cease to entertain. Some movies I have to be in a certain mood to watch, but with Indy, I can watch them anytime. They are the ultimate popcorn entertainment for me. Raiders of the Lost Ark is my all-time favorite movie (and score), too.
Here's hoping the rumored fifth film won't take another two decades to get off the ground. 
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Warning-this post is long-ish, but I put a lot of passion into it, so please enjoy the thoughts and pics*.
I was watching an Indy marathon today and wanted to post a bit of a travelogue film reel. These movies never cease to amaze and entertain, though I’ve seen them many times already. I suppose they always will for generations to come, or maybe longer, who knows. The stories, the images, the characters, and last but NEVER least, the music, is just sheer fun from start to finish. They don’t get tiresome and can be seen repeatedly because some of us who are music lovers first, when we REALLY like the score to a movie, watch it as a soundtrack first as well. Thanks to John Williams. And the images make it even more interesting. Or, they can be watched and enjoyed for other things too. It doesn’t matter. That, to me, is what makes a classic film/music masterpiece, not to mention box office success. And for the most part, critical achievements. Most of us, when young, probably saw things like “The Wizard of Oz”, etc. and said “Well, they’ll never top that!” Boy, were we wrong! They really captured lightning in a bottle. And for me, 1 & 2 are pretty much tied at the top and 3 & 4 are a more distant second.
First of all, Raiders is an action and suspense bonanza. Never tiring. Always enthralling. Never out-of-balance. It pulls you in like gravity, but doesn’t go over the top. The characters, the sidekicks, the villains; all so memorable. The sites, the sounds, the chases, the chills, the spills. And the music simply tumbles towards you like a giant boulder. A nonstop freight train of adventure laced with mystery.
Temple is ridiculously entertaining. And to my mind, the most entertaining, in large part due to its music. Just a ceaseless tour-de-force of sheer musical and cinematic pleasure. Seizingly gorgeous. You don’t watch this one. You don’t have to. You experience it. It washes over you. The music just keeps you blissfully going and never lets up. Ever! Williams’ magic flows like a waterfall. A friend once told me that this, like ”The Empire Strikes Back”, doesn’t make you want to mow your lawn, it makes you want to mow your neighbor’s lawn! Yes, it scared the kids with the heart/lava-pit scene, but so did ”Jurassic Park” when they ate the lawyer. I remember after that dinosaur scene, someone yelled out in the theater, “And this is supposed to be Spielberg?” I suppose some people were shocked, but it certainly transcended this viewed in its entirety. And like Empire, it continues the story by achieving the impossible. It actually takes you on another journey that tops the first one! What a fantastic experience to get not once, but TWICE!! That’s why Williams, Lucas, Spielberg and Ford have dominated Hollywood for so long, I guess. What a feat of magnificent proportions.
Crusade was another one that continued the story with bravura of stamina and quality. This one has countless moments of fun and intrigue as well as many beautiful musical moments. Sean Connery was classic(as always) and funny and brought a real maturity and style to the proceedings. This, like Return of the Jedi are a lot of people’s favorite. I thought the first two of both respective franchises were the best. Though, the endings of both “third” entries were unmistakeably perfect. They’re just magnificent.
Kingdom had so many wonderful moments as well. I really liked the opening, Ford’s performance, the cinematography, the new villains, and the fight scenes. And the music was like that first drink of water after a turn through the desert. I wish 3 and 4 would have taken themselves a “bit” more seriously and tried to stay within the realm of the fans wishes more but WOW, what pleasure anyway. I mean, you just can’t keep these characters down.
And the films all have their numerous comic moments. They have brains, wit, wonder, guts, beauty and character. Oh, and dont forget the thrills! And they’ve found their way into hearts and minds the world over. Bravo!
I’ll be posting pics from “Temple”alone, as this one was the best, imo. (Low bandwidthers shouldn’t have a problem.)
“…in olden days,
a glimpse of stocking,
was looked on as something shocking,
now, heaven knows,
anything goes!...
Glimpse this...
*All pics from TheRaider.net
So, thoughts about the film or films?
I value your comments. Thank you.
Judy from Tucson
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There are several things about Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom I find particularly interesting. One of which is that Indy himself is closest to his Saturday morning matinée antecedents ("Since I'm letting you tag along, why don't you give your mouth a rest, doll"). It's one of the few cases where a kid was injected into the story where he doesn't slow the movie down; it helps that Short Round himself is something of a street rat who knows way too much about what Indy's up to with Willie than he should.
It should also be mentioned that while it is ridiculous as any sort of genuine representation of actual Indian peoples, the film itself does double-duty both as a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark and as a sequel to Gunga Din.
This is probably my favorite of the Indy scores from front to back.
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I value your comments. Thank you.
Judy from Tucson
Okay, but did you really have to quote the whole thing just for nine words and a smiley?
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Posted: |
Jan 31, 2011 - 5:24 AM
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By: |
KubrickFan
(Member)
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I never really understood the complaints either. "Willie is annoying", yeah, she's supposed to be. "It's far too gruesome", again, it's supposed to be. Spielberg practically disowning the movie is solely because of the negative reactions it got, and frankly, it's undeserved
Thankfully this movie didn't fell into the trap of just replicating the first movie, only bigger (like Last Crusade did, and of course Return of the Jedi). Everyone's on fire, and the amazing John Williams score is just icing on the cake.
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Raiders is the best, but Last Crusade is my favorite.
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Posted: |
Mar 29, 2014 - 11:24 AM
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By: |
Ado
(Member)
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There are some nice sequences in Temple, but it is too dark, even Spielberg says so. The effects do not really hold up, the roller coaster mine car, previously impressive, looks obviously fake green screened now. It is right before Crystal Skull as the weakest picture, granted there are some nice bits in there, but Kate Capshaw screaming, child slavery, human sacrifice - nah. I would watch Indy 1 or Last Crusade any day over Temple, and so would Steven Spielberg.
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