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Indiana Jones

Next to the original Star Wars Trilogy, Indiana Jones is probably my next all-time favorite movie franchise.

Whether or not the latest incarnation will be worthy of the original trilogy remains to be seen — I hope so.

Childhood memories

I remember being a teen, and watching The Last Crusade on the big screen. It was probably my first movie where I vivid recalled each and every scene afterwards, and this was only seeing it for one time.

Mind you this was first time I sat in a stadium-seating type of theater, with THX sound, etc., etc. so I think the whole experience simply blew me away.

Up till The Last Crusade, I was either too young and/or too poor to really go out watch movies on a regular basis, or to even appreciate the experience when I did. (I stayed home and played legos).

Inspiration

I know that Indiana Jones creator Geogry Lucas was inspired by the old serials of the 30’s and 40’s, and I’m glad that his creation serves as my own childhood serial

Key Points of Appeal

Here’s what appealed (and appeals) to me about these films:

• Good versus Evil - we get a clear delineation of good versus evil. Indy is good, and he’s always battling the bad guys. You can’t get more simple than that.
• Heroism - Indy normally tries to do the right thing. His sense of fairness and justice is usually right on the mark. He’s not the biggest bruiser out there, but he stands up for his beliefs and doesn’t normally back down from a fight. He’s also smart, and of course, has a bit of (movie magic) luck.
• Romance - there’s a romance to the series, and I’m referring to more than the onscreen flings that Indy might have. I’m referring to it being set in the period right as technology is beginning to come into its own. Today we have “steampunk” fiction, which is set in the Victorian or late-Victorian era: steam-power, the first “scientific fiction”, etc. Indiana Jones, being set in the 30’s and 40’s (at least with the first trilogy) allows us to experience the raw power of then-new technology, with no worries of environment/ecological impact and such
• Enjoying the Journey - sure each film has it’s underlying goal — the “MacGuffin”, as it were. But seriously, who didn’t enjoy the chase scenes, the (campy) Batman-styled fights, and exotic locales. (Speaking of locales, this is how I envision Casablanca would have looked like if it had been shot in color.) In the end, the Indy movies are a bunch of great roller coasters that we love to get on over and over again.
• Music - kudos to John Williams for composing yet another memorable theme — how many has he done? The rousing Raiders March — heroic, uplifting, epic — will live on in popular culture for a long time to come, to be recalled as easily as some of the other great themes — The Pink Panther, James Bond — or William’s own Star Wars or Jaws.
• Happy ending - all(?) of the films have a happy ending, at least of sorts. Things are resolved — Indy has saved the day (or the world). What more can we ask for? This is actually known as the Classic Hollywood ending where boy gets girl, and they live happily ever after. Of course, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen the original trilogy, but I do remember feelings of satisfaction from watching. That’s certainly not something I can say with the majority of movies out there.

In the end, I think it was every boy’s dream to grow up to be like Indiana. I still remember wanting a fedora for the longest time.

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