Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) - The ultimate thrill ride for a child (and many adults too!)

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Vivid characters and dramatic situations in wild colors adorn this spectacular poster for Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Years prior to the events in Raiders of the lost Ark (1981), archeologist/explorer Indiana Jones is escaping a volatile situation in Shanghai, as he finds himself, along with two companions, recruited to help an impoverished Indian village whose children have been stolen ...

 

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is written by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz (American Graffiti (1973), both), with George Lucas (Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)) contributing story elements, - and directed by Ohioan master filmmaker Steven Spielberg (The Sugarland Express (1974)), whose 7th feature it is. It is the second film in the Indiana Jones franchise and a prequel to the first film.

My personal favorite in the beloved series, although widely discarded as "too dark" and "less comedic", I say that Temple of Doom is the ultimate adventure movie: A maddeningly paced spectacle that feels like one long delicious chase. It is stuffed with evil Chinese and Indians, mystical elements, horror, action and wonderful performances: Harrison Ford (The Fugitive (1993)) is tremendous as the exemplary man hero; Kate Capshaw (Love Affair (1994)) is terrific as the nightclub singer tag-along who is not well equipped for India; but it is Ke Huy Quan (Encino Man (1992)) who takes the cake and enriches the film most profoundly throughout as the fresh-faced mirth-maker 'Short Round'. 

Spiced with unforgettable set pieces such as the mine scene, the dinner scene, - but perhaps most unforgettable, the bug scene, which stands tall as among the grossest scenes in cinema history. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom also has a hugely fulfilling ending. It is a complete masterpiece.

 

Related posts:

Indiana Jones franchise: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) - Spielberg reasserts himself with tremendous boyish adventure
Steven Spielberg: The Fabelmans (2022) or, My Wonderful Upbringing

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Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 28.17 mil. $

Box office: 333.1 mil. $

= Blockbuster (returned 11.82 times its cost)

[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom premiered 8 May (California) and runs 118 minutes. Ford was reportedly paid 4.5 mil. $ for his performance, mysteriously less than the 5.9 mil. $ he reportedly commanded for the first film. Shooting took place from April - September 1983, with reshoots in January 1984, in England, California, Arizona, Washington, Florida, Sri Lanka and China. The film opened #1 to a 25.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 5 weeks in the top 5 (#2-#3-#3-#3-#5), grossing 179.8 mil. $ (54 % of the total gross). It was the highest-grossing film of the year globally and the 3rd highest-grossing in North America, behind Beverly Hills Cop and Ghostbusters, where it sold 53.5 mil. tickets. Due to critique of the film's PG-rating and at the insistence of Spielberg, also influenced by the release two weeks later of the Spielberg executive-produced Gremlins (1984), the MPAA created the PG-13 rating for similarly intense, violent fare appropriate for older children. The film was nominated for 2 Oscars, winning for Best Visual Effects. It lost Best Score (John Williams) to Maurice Jarre for A Passage to India. It also won 1/4 BAFTA nominations, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Spielberg later distanced himself from the film, whereas Lucas and Ford have spoken lovingly about it. Indiana Jones returned in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) with returning star and filmmakers. Spielberg first returned with Strokes of Genius (1984, miniseries, segments), Amazing Stories (1985, TV-series) and theatrically with The Color Purple (1985). Ford returned in Witness (1985). Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is certified fresh at 77 % with a 7.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom? 

Howard the Duck (1986) - Legendary flop is more duck than turkey

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The duck called Howard is lounged with a Rolling Stones magazine on this colorful poster for Willard Huyck's Howard the Duck

From Duckworld lands Howard the Duck on earth, where he gets a girlfriend from a rock band and tries to get back home. - But a dark emperor stands in his way!

Howard the Duck is written by co-writer/producer Gloria Katz (American Graffiti (1973)) and co-writer/director Willard Huyck (French Postcards (1979)), based on the Marvel Comics character created by Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik in 1973.

It is a really strange and childish vision, which has become an incredibly thorough but completely demographic-less explosion of color with groundbreaking visual effects, a rad villain (Jeffrey Jones' (Valmont (1989)) character becomes Dark Overlord of the Universe) and monster. There's also an impressive ultralight flight chase sequence and many fine, bizarre moments, even if the duck-related humor is likely to cause a mild headache. Howard the Duck is a unique film to be sure.

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 37 mil. $

Box office: 37.9 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 1.02 times its cost)

[Howard the Duck was released 1 August (North America) and runs 111 minutes. Executive producer George Lucas was reportedly the one who drew attention to Marvel's duck character and suggested to make the film as a live-action rather than an animation. Shooting took place from November 1985 - March 1986 in California, including in San Francisco. The film opened #3, behind holdover hit Aliens and fellow new release Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, to a 5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its 2nd weekend and grossed 16.2 mil. $ (42.7 % of the total gross). Universal production chief Frank Price was reportedly fired over the film's disastrous flop; and Lucas had to sell his company's CGI animation arm to Apple Computer's Steve Jobs, - the company which later became Pixar Animation Studios. The film made in excess of 1 mil. $ on its 2011 DVD release. Huyck never directed again but did write a few screenplays, mostly for TV movies. Lea Thompson (Thin Ice (2011)) returned in Some Kind of Wonderful (1987); Tim Robbins (Dark Waters (2019)) in Saturday Night Live (1986, TV-series) and theatrically in Five Corners (1987); and Jones in The Pest (1997). Howard the Duck is rotten at 13 % with a 3.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Howard the Duck?

American Graffiti (1973) or, Cruisin' Modesto '62

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A 1960s-nostalgic drawn poster for George Lucas's American Graffiti

American Graffiti comprises 4 stories of young people on one night in Modesto, California of 1962. - Young people cruising in their long cars, listening to rock 'n roll, fooling around with each other; young people who will soon have to leave their safe nests and fly out into the world.

Wonderful, fresh actors' performances embellish this romantic youth car drama from Ron Howard (I Spy (1966), TV-series), Charlie Martin Smith (Perfect Alibi (1995)) as 'the Toad' and others. It is written by Gloria Katz (Howard the Duck (1986)), Willard Huyck (Lucky Lady (1975)) and great Californian co-writer/director George Lucas (Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)), who is from Modesto.
The music plays a great part of this narratively loose, refreshing and funny film, and it swings beautifully. American Graffiti combines the peculiar cruising phenomenon with such innocently charming lines such as, "Go kiss a duck!".
Innocent, underplayed or down-toned bordering on the conflict-averse and nearly sleep-inducing, Lucas's extraordinarily successful, nostalgic American Graffiti may boldly be labeled the deciding factor that Star Wars ever came to be, simply because of its surprisingly enormous success.
The film is by many considered an American classic.

Related post:

George Lucas: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) - Despite stale romance and Anakin, Episode II excites 

 

Watch an original trailer for the film here

Cost: 777k $
Box office: 118 mil. $
= Blockbuster
[American Graffiti premiered 1 August (Los Angeles, California) and runs 112 minutes. Lucas developed the film following his unsuccessful sci-fi THX 1138 (1971), and all the major studios turned down his pitch except for Universal Pictures, who bounced the small 600k $ budget with 175k $, when Francis Ford Coppola (The Florentine (1999)) signed on to produce. Harrison Ford (The Fugitive (1993)) was focusing on a carpeting career and would only appear, if he didn't have to cut his hair. Shooting took place in California from June - August 1972. The unruly production is notorious for its many later stars appearing and for the rambunctious stories; Ford was thrown out of his Holiday Inn hotel for drunkenness and climbing its sign; Richard Dreyfuss (Nuts (1987)) concurred a gash in his head after being thrown in a pool on the day before he was to shoot closeup scenes; Paul Le Mat (Wishman (1992)) was hospitalized for an allergic reaction to walnuts; Lucas' hotel room was set on fire by an actor; and two camera operators were nearly killed filming the climactic race scene. The film was edited down from an initial 3½ hour version, and Universal threatened with releasing it only as a TV movie, if Lucas didn't cut 4 more minutes from his final version. Only through terrific word of mouth did Universal decide to give the film a 500k $ marketing campaign. It made sensational 55 mil. $ in North America. The only foreign market that was good for it was France, where it was a cult hit. The 4 minutes were put back for the 1978 re-release, where the film took another enormous 63 mil. $ in North America. It is one of the most profitable movies of all time and has exceeded 200 mil. $ in earnings with home video sales taken into accounts. According to Lucas, Coppola "still kicks himself" for not having financed the film himself. It was nominated for 5 Oscars: Supporting Actress (Candy Clark (Niagara, Niagara (1997))), lost to Tatum O'Neal in Paper Moon, Director, lost to George Roy Hill for masterpiece The Sting, Editing, also lost to The Sting, Picture, also lost to The Sting, and Original Screenplay, lost to David S. Ward for The Sting. It won 2/4 Golden Globe nominations, was nominated for a BAFTA and other honors. Lucas returned with great sci-fi adventure Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), partially made possible due to profits from American Graffiti. A sequel by Bill L. Norton featuring most of the original cast, More American Graffiti (1979) was released to a much smaller reception. American Graffiti is certified fresh at 96 % with an 8.4/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of American Graffiti?