This one WAS the worst of the series. I would nitpick it, but I don't have the time. What with my 80th birthday coming in about 70 years and all...

Are you really only 10 years old?

If you are, WOW!!! You seem very articulate for a 10 year old.

If that was sarcasm...FUNNY.

The plane that crashes into the mountain in the beginning makes an awfully big explosion for one with no fuel and the only cargo being live chickens.

This flick was entertaining in a cartoony kind of way, but it was the worse of the three.

Great Lines: "You know, the big problem with her is the noise."
Indy to Short Round, while they are playing poker, and Willie is running around screaming at the jungle animals

Although I do like Indiana Jones, I found this movie extremely sterotypical against Indians(I am one). We don't eat monkey brains, insects, eyeball soup or any such nonsense. However, I was pleased that the writing on the cloth piece was in Hindi/Sanskrit and that Kali actually does exist.

G. Hans-

I don't think it was meant to stereotype the Indian people. I think the choice of meal at the banquet was decided on because the people eating were all members of that cult. Agreed, though, the movie doesn't make this very clear.

The film supposedly takes place in India, but the natives all speak Sri Lankan.

(IMDB)

I was watching this movie on Sci-Fi recently and I realized in a lot of the jungle scenes you see large amounts of large bats. Indie identifies them as Vampire bats of some sort. But in reality they are Flying Foxes, a species of fruit bat, the largest are found in Australia I think. The other interesting fact is Vampire Bats are strictly New World, living in Central and South America. (before these guys were discovered Vampires could shape shift into anything, but later and because of Hollywood they only change into bats)

Well, Indy's an archeologist, not a zoologist. But it's possible he just wanted to freak Willie out.

D***it Jim, I'm an archeologist, not a zoologist.

Hey, how do all the kids escape? Do they take the fabled correct tunnel, or do they brave the bugs and spike pit?

Vampire bats are actually quite small. The only really scary thing about them is the danger of rabies.

Has anyone noticed that the nightclub is called Obi-Wan Kanobi? Why does one of the gangsters look like a teddyboy? my Dad claims the plane's flight is too far north to see the Great Wall Of China, which in included in the montage of clips. The BBC's Indian comedy show Goodness Grecious Me has a character influenced by the meal who likes to serve up realy discusting dishes which revolt his guests so he can have all the food to himself.

Actually, the club's name is simply Club Obi Wan.

And the plane at the beginning of Raiders, has the marking 3-CPO written on the side.

I think the food was just a joke to scare the giril and get some laughts. Curre wouldn't have been as funny, (Unless it was heavily spiced)

The all Asian BBC comedy show Goodness Gracious Me has had a series of sketches which spoof the meal sequence.

The Great Wall would definitely not be on the way from Shanghai to India. Unless of course the flight veered off VERY far to the north.

Mola Ram is lots of fun as the requisite over-the-top villain, but the meal and bugs were a bit much. They dragged the film down, I think. Other than that, this was probably the least of the three, but still better than most of the trash that comes out of Hollywood.

BTW, I love Club Obi Wan and that whole sequence, and John Williams' score is great fun.

Humourous typo: Matt Pesti just called himself Matt PEST!

That's a horrible film, and the litte Asian boy is one of the worst things I've ever seen in a movie! Here are some nits, anyway - just the obvious ones:

* Indy, when poisoned, still fights A LOT better than ALL the Asians of the opening scene.
* Indy smuggled the ashes of an emperor out of the country to sell them to a couple of psychos? He also thinks about keeping the Stones for himself. Remember that's the same guy who, in the third movie, will risk his life twice to make sure a golden crucifix doesn't get into a private collection!
* Why does Willy join him, anyway?
* Why do all the people in the Indian village talk English, and if they do, why does the elder suddenly switch to his native language when talking about the Shankara Stones?
* If the villagers are starving, why are there elephants in their village? Wouldn't they rather eat them?
* The scene with Willy trying to get onto the elephant's back was probably meant to be amusing (it isn't), but another scene tells that elephants kneel down, so she could have spared herself the trouble.
* The Maharaja's palace is quite big, so why can't he accommodate his guests in a room WITHOUT A SECRET ENTRANCE TO THE TEMPLE?
* Throughout the film, Willie is pure cliché - especially during the eating scene.
* When the little boy has to work in the mine, he tries to cut the shackles around his feet. Note that he aims at the chain in between, but in the next scene, he has somehow managed to open the shackles themselves.
* During the race through the mine, if you look closely, at one point there is a RED AND WHITE STRIPED PLASTIC RIBBON STATING "DANGER" to be seen!
* How many whips does Indy have? In a lot of scenes he loses one, but in the next one, there's always a replacement.
* Willie changes her clothes AND her hairstyle when they are on the boat after the accident with the plane.
* Near the end, when Indy gets ready to cut the bridge's rope, he whispers a warning to the little boy. He talks Chinese so that the enemies won't get the meaning - and what does the little XXXX (anything more would probably be censured)? He SHOUTS AT WILLIE - who is standing right behind - to be careful. Luckily, the enemies aren't the brightest either, so they are completely clueless despite Indy having been standing there, sword at the ready, for quite some time.

I still think this film has its charm, despite the off-the-wall atmosphere. However, for the UK version of the film (currently on VHS video) there was apparently a LOT cut out, done so probably because Steven Spielberg (KBE) didn't want to alienate the family audience and risk the BBFC from giving it a higher classification than a PG. It was very dark and scary at times, and several of these scenes were removed. I think one of them was where Indy was being whipped by Mola Ram's cronies after being captured, and then Shorty was also being given the whipping treatment, followed by a corny "Let him go, you B@ST@RD!" from Indy. Later, much of Indy's "conversion" scene was also cut out.

Spielberg apparently doesn't want to release the full, uncut version in the UK. Should we see the warts and all version?

By the way, loved the on-location filming in Sri Lanka, the home of my fathers.

It was this movie (along with "Gremlins") that brought about the PG-13 rating. Both films were accused of being excessively violent for a PG rating. Interestingly, the sequels to both flicks were rated PG-13. (Question: If "Jaws" were released now, in its 1975 final cut, would it get a PG-13 rating?)

Probably, and so would Clash of the Titans & Airplane to name a few.

Nah. Airplane! had a couple of exposed breasts. It keeps the R.

"Airplane" was rated PG, Scott. Surely you know that.

The scene where Indy, Willie and Shorty arrive at the airplane to escape the man who wanted the remains of "Nerhatchi": The fellow who arranged the flight (He's the guy with the bad english accent that Indy says "I owe you a gin") is Dan Ackroyd, isn't it?

Nah. Airplane! had a couple of exposed breasts. It keeps the R.
It's PG, go to www.imdb.com if you do not believe me. Bare breasts (if not in a sexual context) do not automaticaly get an R rating, see also the PG rated Walkabout Now they get a PG-13 rating if the scene is short and not durring sex (anyone remember Titanic or The Fifth Element?)

the guy with the bad english accent....is Dan Ackroyd, isn't it
Yes it is he was filming something on a nearby set and Spielberg knew him from 1941 so get got him to cameo in that scene.

The Karate Kid was released on video in the UK as a 15. I hope the Temple Of Doom DVD release contains the uncut & full print.

>>>"Airplane" was rated PG, Scott. Surely you know that.

I did know that, but don't call me "Shirly!"

. . .Well, someone had to say it!

NITS

*Just a factoid--each film begins with Indy losing something--the idol to Belloq, the diamond to Lao Che, and the Cross of Coronado to Panama Hat Man (what's the deal with bad guys and Panama Hats?). I just wonder WHAT the diamond is, and if Indy ever mounts an obsessive hunt to get it back.

*Indy never really tells the kid what happens to his (deceased) buddy the waiter, unless we're spared this dramatic scene.

*I assume they were told by radio, but I want to know how the pilots got their orders to abandon plane. Also, why would Lao (a) lose a plane and whatever else it was carrying and (b) run the risk of Indy being able to land it, when it would be easier to just have the pilots kill the trio?

*Can't the British find ANY evidence of missing children and people, as well as the Kali idols scattered around?

*Just what is the difference between having braindead guards under the influence of the Kali blood (like Indy becomes) and people able to make jokes and seem normal (like Chatter Lal or the maharajah)?

*What is the point of killing Indy? He had nothing concrete to base his suspicions on until that moment. And anyway, wouldn't it be more fun to sacrifice him?

*Just WHO are those two dead people that Indy find in the secret passage, and how did they get there? And who the heck are all those people that died in the spike room? How many people go through these passageways? What's the point of having a secret death trap in a palace totally run by Kali worshippers in a secret passageway? I get the feeling that this wasn't even built by the Thuggees.

*What does Mola Ram do all day? The Thuggees don't seem to have their long-range planning down very well--I fail to see that with their piddly, totally •••• army that can't even beat a small British garrison, they can take over anything.

*Are there only a limited supply of guns in the Thuggee camp?

*What's the point of even leaving via minecart? There has to be another way out--where are all the kids running off to? How the does the maharajah even know that they're leaving that particular way ("left tunnel...")?

*Maybe there are lots of other passageways, but I still want to know how, first, the guards get to the bridge (do they wait all day there?); where this bridge goes to; how Mola Ram and his little army get to the other side; how the big army gets on Indy's side.

*If I were Mola Ram, would I walk onto the bridge? No. I would have my archers, you know, shoot Indy.

*Where does the British army come from? Were they waiting for their cue?

*How do Indy and company beat the kids home?

Not sure if this was mentioned above, but there's a good reference to "Raiders Of The Lost Ark"'s infamous "just shoot the f***er" scene near the end. Just before the bridge scene, Indy encounters two swordsmen. Thinking "OK, they're just swordsmen, I'll just shoot them like I did in the last movie" and donning a broad grin, he reaches for his gun in his holster - only to find it missing!

And this movie is supposed to be set *before* ROTLA?! I despair.

So, why does Mola Ram act like he's going to tear out Willie's heart, and then he doesn't? Is he just taunting her or what?

On the other hand, maybe Mola Ram always knew it was impolite to touch a woman's chest without asking. [JOKE]

<<The all Asian BBC comedy show Goodness Gracious <<Me has had a series of sketches which spoof the <<meal sequence.

Is it called "Fear Factor"?

Somewhere some people think this was the best Indiana Jones movie. I know where they are too.

I had to explain to my daughter that the card cheating sequence is very similar to the "ripping his heart out while he is still alive sequence".

The meal scene makes my serving Spam^TM with beans more acceptable.

The film supposedly takes place in India, but the natives all speak Sri Lankan.

Anti-nit: India is the most linguistically diverse country in the world. Sinhalese (Sri Lankan) is probably spoken at least somewhere on the mainland. That said, it probably wouldn't have been in the north, where the movie takes place.

Incidentally, the new DVD set is fabulous. The picture and sound are amazing.

Setting the film in a more fantasy element was more satisfying to some. It was a relief to not have NAZIs in this one. Some critics consider them to be inappropriate for an adventure movie. I'm in agreement with that. I thought the Boys From Brazil was awful too. I just don't consider NAZIs to be entertainment. They should be left for more serious films such as Schindler's List.

I disagree. I like how someone on the Day After Tomorrow imdb board put it, after someone said New York being destroyed was in poor taste. You can't possibly put that thing that hurt those people in your movie pretty much means that no adventure movie can ever be remade agian.

Also some (not me, but some) have found this movie to be racist because all of the Indians are either powerless or evil and the colonial british rulers are the heros that save the day in the end.

I remember reading a letter to a newspaper from a Holocaust survivor in 1981. She was extremely offended by the trivialization of Nazism in "Raiders of the Lost Ark".
When Nazis do show up in science fiction or horror movies, schlock is always the result. Is it any different in the Indiana Jones movies?

That's a pretty big statement to be making about the greatest adventure movie of all time.

The NAZIs were even an some Voyager episodes.

Nazis are often (or were, pre-Schindler's List) cast as villains in adventure or even comedic films. The reason is that they're universally despised, so they're easy to cast in the role. You don't have to go into their motivations. Their motivatins are simple: they're just the Bad Guys (the same held true for the Soviets for a long while). As a result, they often are depicted in cartoonish ways that seem to trivalize history.

The trouble is, in my opinion, that Raiders (and its sequels) was meant to be a throwback to those old Saturday matinee serials. So the villains (which were often Nazis or some other anti-American force) are a throwback to that era as well.

While such a depiction certainly isn't representative of the real world and its history, I don't think many people value movies like Raiders for its accuracy in depicting world history. And I think there's enough room in storytelling for both kinds of Bad Guys.

And the Number-1 Nit this movie should have had posted in the beginning...

How can a person remain alive while and after his heart is removed.

(plus the whole deal of ripping a heart out with your finger tips... Unless your date went all wrong.)

That's not really a nit, as it doesn't violate the rules of the Indiana Jones universe (where the supernatural can occur, according to the films). I mean, you may as well say that Superman's powers are a nit because a man can't fly. Or that Klingons are a nit because there are no extra-terrestrials that we're aware of.

I've only seen this on TV in the UK & they always seem to cut out (!) the heart bit so it just looks like Molar Ram is gouging Indy with his fingers.

My number one nit is how they could survive the fall out of the airplane. That raft wouldn't have cushioned their fall (from the plane or off the waterfall). It was about as realistic as a "Roadrunner" cartoon...it would have been a short movie if all three were killed.
Later in the film, Indie and pals seem none the worse for wear when slammed against the cliff wall. That was too much of a stretch too!

I seem to recall reading somewhere that the raft scene was filmed with actual stunt people... if true, they survived the descent just fine.

In any case, I think the point was that the wind resistance created after the raft inflated slowed their descent to the ground. Plus, the raft didn't land on flat land, but on a slope which also lessens the impact.

U.S. gives a 7.6
U.K. gives 8.4
Russia gives 7.4
China gives 6.7

...and so concludes the olympic sport of blue sky rafting.

You forgot the 4.3 from the East German judge

If Short Round is able to escape from his chains that easily, how come no-one else has done it before? Maybe it's the effects of the kalima (sp?) but if it's incredibly easy to escape without its influence, why didn't they (Mola Ram, I mean, not the writers! I know fine why the writers didn't) make Shorty drink that stuff?

I think the choice of meal at the banquet was decided on because the people eating were all members of that cult. Agreed, though, the movie doesn't make this very clear. - JC

I remember a junior novelisation (!) which made it clear that the odd choice of food contributed to Indy's suspicion that something suspicious was going on.

for the UK version of the film (currently on VHS video) there was apparently a LOT cut out - Indy 500

The version I have is taped off the TV in the UK... and it doesn't have the scene you described later. The "sacrifice" scene seems to run a little differently also from the way I've heard it described. What was cut?

If Short Round is able to escape from his chains that easily, how come no-one else has done it before? - Padawan

Actually, we know that at least one of them did... and made it to the village at the start of the film.

As for why they all didn't try breaking their chains... it could be due to a cultural disposition towards obedience of all adults or even a psychological breakdown of their will to fight (as happened with African slaves).

a psychological breakdown of their will to fight

Seems the more plausible to me, especially since in their case they didn't have a heroic archaelogist around to help them once they had broken free...

Has anyone seen the script for the film? Very interesting to see what was changed. It can be found at http://www.scifiscripts.com/scripts/indiana2.txt

By the way...

In the opening credits Philip Stone's first name is misspelled "Phillip" and in the closing credits Roshan Seth's last name is misspelled "Rushan". Both are corrected for the recent DVD release.

Speaking of cast name misspellings, to the moderator (who I know is different from the one who wrote the stuff at the top) it's "Ke Huy Quan", not "Key Hun Quan".

Ke Huy Quan is now known as Jonathan Ke Quan. He was in The Goonies and the TV series Head of the Class.

Is it my imagination or did that guy who greeted indy on the way to the plane sound an awful lot like C-3PO?

If you mean the airport official then you should have a look at this.

The dvd set for the first 3 movies as a nit on the temple of doom DVD. There's picture of the Boeing 314 on it when the plane in Temple of Doom was the Ford Tri-motor.

A little continuity between this movie and the next. while in the plane, Willie asks Indiana... I mean Dr. Jones (you can put the gun down shortround) if he knows how to fly a plane and he says no, and in the next movie he says fly yes, land no...

This was the very first movie in cinema history to receive the "PG-13" rating

Sorry, but no.

This movie was the *cause* of PG-13. "Red Dawn" was the first PG-13 movie.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pg-13#The_PG-13_rating_is_adopted

---

quote:

"Red Dawn" was the first PG-13 movie.

---

OK...that's what I meant.

I knew there was a connection between "Temple of Doom" and the PG-13 rating.

I remember reading one of those kids' newsletters when I was in grade school, talking about the new rating and Temple of Doom. I remember that it was before I had seen the movie.

At one point, the drugged maharajah uses what appears to be a voodoo doll of Indy.

Except that voodoo is an African religion (and it's more than just sticking pins into dolls of people, but I digress), not an Indian one.