Information
- BFI identifier200930
- Date1984 (Copyright)
- Production countryUSA
- Production company
- SynopsisPeriod action adventure. In 1935, American archaeologist Indiana Jones helps an Indian village recover its sacred stone, and its children, all stolen by the denizens of Pankot Palace where the deadly Thuggee cult have revived. In the Obi Wan nightclub in Shanghai, Indiana Jones, or 'Indy', is poisoned during a business transaction with the gangster Lao Che and his sons. Indy narrowly escapes, leaping out of the window with the club's American singer Willie Scott, who has the antidote, and being driven away by his young Chinese friend Short Round. Indy, Willie and Short Round take a plane, unaware that Lao Che has arranged for it to crash in the mountains, but they manage to survive and soon find themselves in an Indian village blighted by starvation. Here, an elder urges Indy to retrieve the village's sacred Shankara stone, which has been stolen by the Thuggee, along with all the village's children. They duly journey by elephant through the jungle to Pankot Palace, where they are received with great civility by Chattar Lal, prime minister of Pankot, and invited to a feast with the young Maharajah. (The elaborate dinner of snakes, beetles and monkey brains proves too revolting for Willie to stomach, despite her hunger). That night, exploring underneath the palace, Indy and his companions escape from a chamber of spikes and discover beyond it a temple where the murderous Thuggee cult worship the goddess Kali, under the command of the evil Mola Ram, who conducts human sacrifices involving pulling out the heart of a caged victim and lowering him, still alive, into a flaming pit. The temple proudly houses three of the five Shankara stones, and when the horrific ceremony is over, Indy sneaks down and takes the stones. As he turns to leave, however, he hears children's cries, and finds that there is also a mine full of enslaved children being forced dig for the remaining two lost stones. Indy and friends are caught and Indy is forced to drink the blood of Kali, turning him into a slave too. Short Round is put to work in the mine. Willie is put in the cage as the next human sacrifice. Short Round smashes his chains and escapes, and works out that a flaming torch burn will make Indy 'wake up' from his living nightmare. This duly happens, Indy and Short Round rescue Willie, and they quickly set about freeing the children from the mine. The trio make their getaway in a mine car speeding along often rickety tracks, while being pursued by Thuggees with rifles. A final showdown on a rope bridge where Indy is trapped leads to the stones' power becoming evident and bringing a just ending to the adventure. (Synopsis)
- Work historySeries note: Second Indiana Jones film, after 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' (1981) and before 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade' (1989). It takes place, however, in 1935, before the events of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', set in 1936. Main title note: The idea for the main title sequence to enter a 'fantasy' world of chorus girls in a big musical number was Anthony Powell's, the film's costume designer.
- Genre
- Subject
- CreditsDirector: Steven Spielberg
©/Production Company: Lucasfilm Ltd
Production Company: Paramount Pictures Corporation
view all - Cast
Title
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Original)
Raiders 2 (Working)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Death (Working)
The Temple of Doom (Working)
Indy 2 (Help search)
Category
Fiction- Collections
- Film / Video
70mm Colour Positive - CTA - Combined - Master
35mm Colour Positive - Safety - Combined - Master
VHS cassette - Video - Status pending
view all - Scripts / DocumentsScript - Script type: Combined Continuity Script - SCR-1849
Script - Script type: Shooting Script - Final Revised - SCR-1850
Ephemera: publicity - PBS-200930
Screenplay - revised 2 April 1983 - JJO-5-1
Unfilmable small pressbook held. See Film & TV Ephemera.
view all - StillsPhotograph: transparency - Landscape - Colour - bfi-00n-js6
Photograph: transparency - Portrait - Colour - bfi-00n-js5
Photograph: transparency - Landscape - Colour - bfi-00n-js4
Photograph: transparency - Landscape - Colour - bfi-00n-js3
Photograph: transparency - Portrait - Colour - bfi-00n-js2
view all - Articles
- Books
- Digital documentsBFI Southbank Programme Notes November 2012
available to view in BFI Reuben Library
- +Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Work - 200930 - 1984 (Copyright)
USA - Film - Fiction
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