Labor Day weekend means we kick back and let Dr. Jones do all the hard work for us!
Just another day at work
The mood on the blog lately has been regrettably–though necessarily–a bit somber. After several hours of binging the trilogy, I realized, “What better way to lighten it up than with some Indy?”
We all know the movies and we generally enjoy them. Ok, we really enjoy Raiders of the Lost Ark and Last Crusade and we go along with the other two because Indy’s just that awesome. What’s not to love? Handsome, intelligent, sarcastic, slightly roguish lead character? Check. Globetrotting adventures complete with iconic map? Check. Campy B-movie humor that somehow comes off as clever? Check. Awesome, thrilling action sequences? Check x 100. The original trilogy especially manages to make archaeology sexy and intriguing. While in real life it may be slightly less adventurous (unless you’re Josh Gates), I think we all look at artifacts slightly differently now than we did before 1981…
Since we are all familiar with the films (and if you somehow aren’t, you can start here), I won’t waste time on recaps or philosophical examination of the films. Instead, I want to share the sheer pleasure of the movies through their iconic soundtracks. John Williams pretty much specializes in those, doesn’t he?
We’ll start with the classic theme song from Raiders. Can you hear it without singing along? No? Neither can I! 😀
Of course Mr. Williams also provided us with a theme for Marion Ravenwood, the love interest and sassy sidekick (which veers perhaps a titch too close to Leia’s theme? I’m ok with it). Live performance for some variety:
Do you even need visuals? We have the Indy Theme and the Marion Theme followed by exotic Middle Eastern themes. Could our heroes be going to Cairo?
Before we move on, the internet in all it’s glory has brought us this travel poster. Watch out for bad dates, shifty French archaeologists, and an alarming number of Nazis…
Temple of Doom, aka Kate Capshaw Screams, is perhaps the weakest entry of the four current films (there is definitely room for debate, comment below!). Still, it had some fun music. Out of the gate we have Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) singing Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes” in (sorta) Mandarin. I’ll be honest. Every time I hear “Anything Goes”, regardless of context, I think of this scene. It’s like a reflex. Does this happen to anyone else?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1H9eKWPGRo
The End Credits music does a great job capturing the large number of themes presented throughout the film. This piece begs to be seen live, doesn’t it?
We have some more internet awesome. A period-appropriate poster for Willie Scott performing at Club Obi Wan:
Plus another travel poster. Adventure really is the antidote! So is whatever was in the vial. When poisoned by gangsters, go for the vial first or adventure’s off the table. Safety first, people.
And now we’ve reached Last Crusade. My favorite. My family’s favorite. A fan favorite. Indiana Jones and James Bond in the same film? Does it get better?This is a tad long, but that opening scene, “Indy’s Very First Adventure”, was a fantastic backstory with the late, great River Phoenix:
The “Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra” underscored the thrilling motorcycle chase with Henry Sr and Henry Jr. Of course a medieval scholar would approve of the jousting move against their opponent. 😀
“No Ticket” needs no introduction. That opening glissando just sets the tone, doesn’t it? Here come the bad guys and some light-hearted high-jinks (we know with this music the Jones boys will get away this time…).
As with the other finales and end credits a lot of the other themes from the film show up here. Last Crusade has so many, I recommend just watching the film again (I am while I type!).
To round this out, a few more posters (thank you creative people of the internet):
Ahhhh, Venice
I hope you enjoyed our journey through some of John Williams’ brilliant music for the Indiana Jones Trilogy! And because I was a little confused at age 7 when Dad explained that Indy is being played by Han Solo, I leave you with this meme:
May the Force be with you. You call this archaeology?!