Indiana Jones | |
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Indiana Jones character | |
![]() Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) | |
First appearance | Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) |
Created by | George Lucas |
Portrayed by |
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Voiced by |
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In-universe information | |
Full name | Henry Walton Jones, Jr. |
Nickname | |
Gender | Male |
Title |
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Occupation |
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Family |
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Spouse | Deirdre Campbell Jones (1926) [7] Marion Ravenwood Jones (1957–present) |
Significant others | Willie Scott (Temple of Doom) Elsa Schneider (Last Crusade) Molly Walder (fiancée, deceased) [8] |
Children |
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Relatives |
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Religion | Catholic (nominal) [11] |
Nationality | American |
Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. is the title character and protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials. The character first appeared in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark , to be followed by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles from 1992 to 1996, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in 2023. The character is also featured in novels, comics, video games, and other media. Jones is also the inspiration for several Disney theme park attractions, including Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril, the Indiana Jones Adventure, and Epic Stunt Spectacular! attractions.
Jones is most famously portrayed by Harrison Ford and has also been portrayed by River Phoenix (as the young Jones in The Last Crusade), and by Corey Carrier, Sean Patrick Flanery, and George Hall in the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles . Doug Lee has supplied the voice of Jones for two LucasArts video games, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine , David Esch supplied his voice for Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb , and John Armstrong for Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings . Troy Baker provides the voice and motion capture for the character in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (2024).
Jones is characterized by his iconic accoutrements (bullwhip, fedora, satchel, [12] and leather jacket), wry, witty and sarcastic sense of humor, deep knowledge of ancient civilizations and languages, and fear of snakes.
Since his first appearance in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones has become one of cinema's most famous characters. In 2003, the American Film Institute ranked him the second-greatest film hero of all time. [13] He was also named the greatest movie character by Empire magazine. [14] Entertainment Weekly ranked Jones 2nd on their list of The All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture. [15] Premiere magazine also placed Jones at number 7 on their list of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time. [16]
A native of Princeton, New Jersey, Indiana Jones was introduced as a tenured professor of archaeology in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark , set in 1936. The Joneses are a family of paternal Scottish descent. [17] The character is an adventurer reminiscent of the 1930s film serial treasure hunters and pulp action heroes. His research is funded by Marshall College (a fictional school named after producer Frank Marshall), [18] where he is a professor of archaeology. He studied under the Egyptologist and archaeologist Abner Ravenwood at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. [19]
In the first adventure, Raiders of the Lost Ark , set in 1936, Indiana Jones is pitted against Nazis commissioned by Hitler to recover artifacts of great power from the Old Testament (see Nazi archaeology). In consequence, Jones travels the world to prevent them from recovering the Ark of the Covenant (see also Biblical archaeology). He is aided by Marion Ravenwood and Sallah. The Nazis are led by Jones' archrival, a Nazi-sympathizing French archaeologist named René Belloq, and Arnold Toht, a sinister Gestapo agent.
In the 1984 prequel, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom , set in 1935, Jones travels to India and attempts to free enslaved children and the three Sankara stones from the bloodthirsty Thuggee cult. He is aided by Wan "Short Round" Li, a boy played by Ke Huy Quan, and is accompanied by singer Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw). The prequel is not as centered on archaeology as Raiders of the Lost Ark and is considerably darker.
The third film, 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade , set in 1938, returned to the formula of the original, reintroducing characters such as Sallah and Marcus Brody, a scene from Professor Jones' classroom (he now teaches at Barnett College), the globe-trotting element of multiple locations, and the return of the infamous Nazi mystics, this time trying to find the Holy Grail. The film's introduction, set in 1912, provided some backstory to the character, specifically the origin of his fear of snakes, his use of a bullwhip, the scar on his chin, and his hat; the film's epilogue also reveals that "Indiana" is not Jones' first name, but a nickname he took from the family dog. The film was a buddy movie of sorts, teaming Indiana with his father, Henry Jones, Sr., often to comical effect. Although Lucas intended to make five Indiana Jones films, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was the last for over 18 years, as he could not think of a good plot element to drive the next installment. [20]
From 1992 to 1996, Lucas wrote and executive-produced The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles , a television series aimed mainly at teenagers and children, which showed many of the important events and historical figures of the early 20th century through the prism of Jones' life.
The show initially featured the formula of an elderly (93 to 94 years of age) Indiana Jones played by George Hall introducing a story from his youth by way of an anecdote: the main part of the episode then featured an adventure with either a young adult Indy (16 to 21 years of age) played by Sean Patrick Flanery or a child Indy (8 to 10 years) played by Corey Carrier. One episode, "Young Indiana Jones and the Mystery of the Blues", is bookended by Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, rather than Hall. Later episodes and telemovies did not have this bookend format.
The bulk of the series centers around the young adult Indiana Jones and his activities during World War I as a 16- to 17-year-old soldier in the Belgian Army and then as an intelligence officer and spy seconded to French intelligence. The child Indiana episodes follow the boy's travels around the globe as he accompanies his parents on his father's worldwide lecture tour from 1908 to 1910.
The show provided some backstory for the films, as well as new information regarding the character. Indiana Jones was born July 1, 1899, and his middle name is Walton (Lucas's middle name). It is also mentioned that he had a sister called Suzie who died as an infant of fever, and that he eventually has a daughter and grandchildren who appear in some episode introductions and epilogues. His relationship with his father, first introduced in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, was further fleshed out with stories about his travels with his father as a young boy. Jones damages or loses his right eye sometime between the events in 1969 and the early 1990s, when the "Old Indy" segments take place, as the elderly Indiana Jones wears an eyepatch.
In 1999, Lucas removed the episode introductions and epilogues by George Hall for the VHS and DVD releases and re-edited the episodes into chronologically ordered feature-length stories. The series title was also changed to The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones.
The 2008 film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , is the fourth film in the series. Set in 1957, nineteen years after the third film, it pits an older, wiser Indiana Jones against Soviet KGB agents bent on harnessing the power of an extraterrestrial device discovered in South America. Jones is aided in his adventure by his former lover, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), and her son—a young greaser named Henry "Mutt" Williams (Shia LaBeouf), later revealed to be Jones' unknown child. There were rumors that Harrison Ford would not return for any future installments and LaBeouf would take over the franchise. [21] This film also reveals that Jones was recruited by the Office of Strategic Services during World War II, attaining the rank of colonel in the United States Army, and that in 1947 he was forced to investigate the Roswell UFO incident, and the investigation saw that he was involved in affairs related to Hangar 51. He is tasked with conducting covert operations with MI6 agent George McHale against the Soviet Union.
The 2023 film, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny , is the fifth and final film in the series. Set in 1969—twelve years after the fourth film and during the height of the Space Race—Jones has moved to New York City, teaching at Hunter College with plans to retire, after his marriage with Marion collapsed following Mutt's death in the Vietnam War. Once his estranged goddaughter Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) arrives asking for Archimedes' Dial, a relic Jones and her father Basil retrieved from the Nazis in 1944 during the Allied liberation of Europe in World War II, a Nazi-turned-NASA scientist Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) starts pursuing Jones, wanting to exploit the Dial's unusual properties to change the outcome of World War II.
As the film concludes, Indiana and Marion are reconciled.
Indiana Jones is featured at several Walt Disney theme park attractions. The Indiana Jones Adventure attractions at Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea ("Temple of the Forbidden Eye" and "Temple of the Crystal Skull," respectively) place Indy at the forefront of two similar archaeological discoveries. These two temples each contain a wrathful deity who threatens the guests who ride through World War II troop transports. The attractions, some of the most expensive of their kind at the time, [22] opened in 1995 [23] and 2001, [24] respectively, with sole design credit attributed to Walt Disney Imagineering.[ citation needed ] Ford was approached to reprise his role as Indiana Jones, but ultimately negotiations to secure Ford's participation broke down in December 1994, for unknown reasons. [25] [26] Instead, Dave Temple provided the voice of Jones. [27] Ford's physical likeness, however, has nonetheless been used in subsequent Audio-animatronic figures for the attractions. [28] [29]
Disneyland Paris also features an Indiana Jones-titled ride where people speed off through ancient ruins in a runaway mine wagon similar to that found in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom . Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril is a looping roller coaster engineered by Intamin, designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, and opened in 1993.
The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! is a live show that has been presented in the Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park of the Walt Disney World Resort with few changes since the park's 1989 opening, as Disney-MGM Studios. The 25-minute show presents various stunts framed in the context of a feature film production and recruits members of the audience to participate in the show. Stunt artists in the show re-create and ultimately reveal some of the secrets of the stunts of the Raiders of the Lost Ark films, including the well-known "running-from-the-boulder" scene. Stunt performer Anislav Varbanov was fatally injured in August 2009, while rehearsing the show. [30] Also formerly at Disney's Hollywood Studios, an audio-animatronic Indiana Jones appeared in another attraction; during The Great Movie Ride's Raiders of the Lost Ark segment. [31]
Indiana Jones has appeared in numerous comic books, from two different publishers. Marvel Comics initially held the comic book licensing rights, leading to adaptations of the films Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Following the Raiders of the Lost Ark adaptation, Marvel published The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones from 1983 to 1986. This ongoing monthly series ran for thirty-four issues and featured the character's first original adventures in comic book form.
After Marvel's licensing of the character ended, Dark Horse Comics acquired publishing rights and adapted the Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis video game. From 1992 to 1996, following the Fate of Atlantis adaptation, Dark Horse published seven limited series, as well comics based on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles television series. In 2004, Indiana Jones appeared in the non-canon story, "Into the Great Unknown", first published in Star Wars Tales #19. The story sees Indiana Jones and Short Round discover a crashed Millennium Falcon in the Pacific Northwest, along with Han Solo's skeleton and the realization that a rumored nearby Sasquatch is Chewbacca. With the franchise's revival in 2008, Dark Horse published an adaptation of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Dark Horse followed this with Indiana Jones Adventures, a short-lived series of digest-sized comics aimed at children. An additional limited series, titled Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods , was also published from 2008 to 2009.
The first four Indiana Jones film scripts were novelized and published in the time frame of the films' initial releases. [32] Raiders of the Lost Ark was novelized by Campbell Black based on the script by Lawrence Kasdan that was based on the story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman and published in April 1981 by Ballantine Books; Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was novelized by James Kahn and based on the script by Willard Huyck & Gloria Katz that was based on the story by George Lucas and published May 1984 by Ballantine Books; Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was novelized by Rob MacGregor based on the script by Jeffrey Boam that was based on a story by George Lucas and Menno Meyjes and published June 1989 by Ballantine Books.
Nearly 20 years later Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was novelized by James Rollins based on the script by David Koepp based on the story by George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson and published in May 2008 by Ballantine Books. In addition, in 2008 to accompany the release of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Scholastic Books published juvenile novelizations of the four scripts written, successively in the order above, by Ryder Windham, Suzanne Weyn, Ryder Windham, and James Luceno. All these books have been reprinted, with Raiders of the Lost Ark being retitled Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. While these are the principal titles and authors, there are numerous other volumes derived from the four film properties.
From February 1991 through February 1999, 12 original Indiana Jones-themed adult novels were licensed by Lucasfilm, Ltd. and written by three genre authors of the period. Ten years afterward, a 13th original novel was added, also written by a popular genre author. The first 12 were published by Bantam Books; the last by Ballantine Books in 2009. (See Indiana Jones (franchise) for broad descriptions of these original adult novels.) The novels are: [33]
The character has appeared in several officially licensed games, beginning with adaptations of Raiders of the Lost Ark , Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom , two adaptations of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (one with purely action mechanics, one with an adventure- and puzzle-based structure) and Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures , which included the storylines from all three of the original films.
Following this, the games branched off into original storylines with Indiana Jones in the Lost Kingdom, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis , Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine , Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb and Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings . [34] Emperor's Tomb sets up Jones' companion Wu Han and the search for Nurhaci's ashes seen at the beginning of Temple of Doom. The first two games were developed by Hal Barwood and starred Doug Lee as the voice of Indiana Jones; Emperor's Tomb had David Esch fill the role and Staff of Kings starred John Armstrong.
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine was the first Indy-based game presented in three dimensions, as opposed to 8-bit graphics and side-scrolling games before.
There is also a small game from Lucas Arts Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures . A video game was made for young Indy called Young Indiana Jones and the Instruments of Chaos, as well as a video game version of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles .
Two Lego Indiana Jones games have also been released. Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures was released in 2008 [35] and follows the plots of the first three films. It was followed by Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues in late 2009. The sequel includes an abbreviated reprise of the first three films, but focuses on the plot of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull . However, before he got his own Lego games, he appeared as a secret character in Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga as a playable character. He also makes a brief appearance in a minigame in Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars during the level "Hostage Crisis", and also made a cameo alongside Henry Jones Sr. in the level "Legacy of Terror".
Social gaming company Zynga introduced Indiana Jones to their Adventure World game in late 2011. [36]
Indiana Jones appears in Fortnite Battle Royale as part of the Chapter 3 Season 3 Battle pass.
The world building game Disney Magic Kingdoms includes Indiana Jones as a playable character to unlock for a limited time. [37]
An original Indiana Jones game, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle , is currently in development by MachineGames and set to be published by Bethesda Softworks for Windows and Xbox Series X/S, with Troy Baker voicing the character. It will feature a standalone narrative expected to take place in Italy during 1937, placing it between the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. [38] [39] [40]
"Indiana" Jones's full name is Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr., [41] and his nickname is often shortened to "Indy".
In his role as a college professor of archaeology Jones is scholarly, wears a tweed suit, and lectures on ancient civilizations. At the opportunity to recover important artifacts, Dr. Jones transforms into "Indiana," a "non-superhero superhero" image he has concocted for himself. [42] Producer Frank Marshall said, "Indy [is] a fallible character. He makes mistakes and gets hurt. ... That's the other thing people like: He's a real character, not a character with superpowers." [43] Spielberg said there "was the willingness to allow our leading man to get hurt and to express his pain and to get his mad out and to take pratfalls and sometimes be the butt of his own jokes. I mean, Indiana Jones is not a perfect hero, and his imperfections, I think, make the audience feel that, with a little more exercise and a little more courage, they could be just like him." [44] According to Spielberg biographer Douglas Brode, Indiana created his heroic figure so as to escape the dullness of teaching at a school. Both of Indiana's personas reject one another in philosophy, creating a duality. [42] Harrison Ford said the fun of playing the character was that Indiana is both a romantic and a cynic, [45] while scholars have analyzed Indiana as having traits of a lone wolf; a man on a quest; a noble treasure hunter; a hardboiled detective; a human superhero; and an American patriot. [46]
Like many characters in his films, Jones has some autobiographical elements of Spielberg. Indiana lacks a proper father figure because of his strained relationship with his father, Henry Jones, Sr. His own contained anger is misdirected towards Professor Abner Ravenwood, his mentor at the University of Chicago, leading to a strained relationship with Marion Ravenwood. [42] The teenage Indiana bases his own look on a figure from the prologue of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade , after being given his hat. [47] Marcus Brody acts as Indiana's positive role model at the college. [47] Indiana's own insecurities are made worse by the absence of his mother. [48] In Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom , he becomes the father figure to Short Round, to survive; he is rescued from Kali's evil by Short Round's dedication. [48] In Raiders of the Lost Ark, he is wise enough to close his eyes in the presence of God in the Ark of the Covenant. By contrast, his rival Rene Belloq is killed for having the audacity to try to communicate directly with God. [42]
In the prologue of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Jones is seen as a teenager, establishing his look when given a fedora hat. Indiana's intentions are revealed as prosocial, as he believes artifacts "belong in a museum." In the film's climax, Indiana undergoes "literal" tests of faith to retrieve the Grail and save his father's life. He also remembers Jesus as a historical figure—a humble carpenter—rather than an exalted figure when he recognizes the simple nature and tarnished appearance of the real Grail amongst a large assortment of much more ornately decorated ones. Henry Senior rescues his son from falling to his death when reaching for the fallen Grail, telling him to "let it go," overcoming his mercenary nature. [47] The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles explains how Indiana becomes solitary and less idealistic following his service in World War I. [49] In Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , Jones is older and wiser, whereas his sidekicks Mutt and Mac are youthfully arrogant, and greedy, respectively. [50]
Indiana Jones is modeled after the strong-jawed heroes of the matinée serials and pulp magazines that George Lucas and Steven Spielberg enjoyed in their childhoods (such as the Republic Pictures serials, and the Doc Savage series). Sir H. Rider Haggard's safari guide and big game hunter Allan Quatermain, who appeared in King Solomon's Mines (1885) and its seventeen sequels and prequels, is a notable template for Jones. [51] The two friends first discussed the project in Hawaii around the time of the release of the first Star Wars film. [52] Spielberg told Lucas how he wanted his next project to be something fun, like a James Bond film (this would later be referenced when they cast Sean Connery as Henry Jones, Sr.). According to sources, Lucas responded to the effect that he had something "even better", [52] or that he'd "got that beat." [53]
One of the possible bases for Indiana Jones is Professor Challenger, created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1912 for his novel, The Lost World . Challenger was based on Doyle's physiology professor, William Rutherford, an adventuring academic, albeit a zoologist/anthropologist. [54]
Another important influence on the development of the character Indiana Jones is the Disney character Scrooge McDuck. Carl Barks created Scrooge in 1947 as a one-off relation for Donald Duck in the latter's self-titled comic book. [55] Barks realized that the character had more potential, so a separate Uncle Scrooge comic book series full of exciting and strange adventures in the company of his duck nephews was developed. This Uncle Scrooge comic series strongly influenced George Lucas. [56] This appreciation of Scrooge as an adventurer influenced the development of Jones, with the prologue of Raiders of the Lost Ark containing homage to Barks' Scrooge adventure "The Seven Cities of Cibola", published in Uncle Scrooge #7 from September 1954. [57] This homage in the film takes the form of playfully mimicking the removal-of-the-statuette-from-its-pedestal and the falling-stone sequences of the comic book. [58] [59]
The character was originally named Indiana Smith, after an Alaskan Malamute called Indiana that Lucas owned in the 1970s [60] and on which he based the Star Wars character Chewbacca. [61] Spielberg disliked the name Smith, and Lucas casually suggested Jones as an alternative. [52] The Last Crusade script references the name's origin, with Jones' father revealing his son's birth name to be Henry and explaining that "we named the dog Indiana", to his son's chagrin. [62] Some have also posited that C.L. Moore's science fiction character Northwest Smith may have also influenced Lucas and Spielberg in their naming choice. [63]
Lucas has said on various occasions that Sean Connery's portrayal of British secret agent James Bond was one of the primary inspirations for Jones, a reason Connery was chosen for the role of Indiana's father in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade . [64] [65] Spielberg earned the rank of Eagle Scout and Ford the Life Scout badge in their youth, which gave them the inspiration to portray Indiana Jones as a Life Scout at age 13 in The Last Crusade. [66]
Many people are said to be the real-life inspiration of the Indiana Jones character—although none of the following have been confirmed as inspirations by Lucas or Spielberg. There are some suggestions listed here in alphabetical order by last name:
Upon requests by Spielberg and Lucas, costume designer Deborah Nadoolman gave the character a distinctive silhouette through the styling of the hat; after examining many hats, Nadoolman chose a tall-crowned, wide-brimmed fedora. As a documentary of Raiders pointed out, the hat served a practical purpose. Following the lead of the old "B"-movies that inspired the Indiana Jones series, the fedora hid the actor's face sufficiently to allow doubles to perform the more dangerous stunts seamlessly. Examples in Raiders include the wider-angle shot of Indy and Marion crashing a statue through a wall, and Indy sliding under a fast-moving vehicle from front to back. Thus it was necessary for the hat to stay in place much of the time.
The hat became so iconic that the filmmakers could only come up with very good reasons or jokes to remove it. If it ever fell off during a take, filming would have to stop to put it back on. In jest, Ford put a stapler against his head to stop his hat from falling off when a documentary crew visited during shooting of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This created the urban legend that Ford stapled the hat to his head. [89] Anytime Indy's hat accidentally came off as part of the storyline (blown off by the wind, knocked off, etc.) and seemed almost irretrievable, filmmakers would make sure Indy and his hat were always reunited, regardless of the implausibility of its return. Although other hats were also used throughout the films, the general style and profile remained the same. Elements of the outfit include:
The fedora and leather jacket from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade are on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. [96] The collecting of props and clothing from the films has become a thriving hobby for some aficionados of the franchise. [97] Jones' whip was the third most popular film weapon, as shown by a 2008 poll held by 20th Century Fox, which surveyed approximately two thousand film fans. [98]
Originally, Spielberg suggested Harrison Ford; Lucas resisted the idea, since he had already cast the actor in American Graffiti , Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back , and did not want Ford to become known as his "Bobby De Niro" (in reference to the fact that fellow director Martin Scorsese regularly casts Robert De Niro in his films). [52] During an intensive casting process, Lucas and Spielberg auditioned many actors, and finally cast actor Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones. Shortly afterward pre-production began in earnest on Raiders of the Lost Ark. [52] CBS refused to release Selleck from his contractual commitment to Magnum, P.I. , forcing him to turn down the role. [52] Shooting for the film could have overlapped with the pilot for Magnum, P.I. but it later turned out that filming of the pilot episode was delayed and Selleck could have done both. [99]
Subsequently, Peter Coyote and Tim Matheson both auditioned for the role. After Spielberg suggested Ford again, Lucas relented, and Ford was cast in the role less than three weeks before filming began. [52]
The industry magazine Archaeology named eight past and present archaeologists who they felt "embodied [Jones's] spirit" as recipients of the Indy Spirit Awards in 2008. [100] That same year Ford himself was elected to the board of directors for the Archaeological Institute of America. Commenting that "understanding the past can only help us in dealing with the present and the future," Ford was praised by the association's president for his character's "significant role in stimulating the public's interest in archaeological exploration." [101]
He is perhaps the most influential character in films that explore archaeology. Since the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, the very idea of archaeology and archaeologists has fundamentally shifted. Prior to the film's release, the stereotypical image of an archaeologist was that of an older, lackluster professor type. In the early years of films involving archaeologists, they were portrayed as victims who would need to be rescued by a more masculine or heroic figure. [102] Following 1981, the stereotypical archaeologist was thought of as an adventurer consistently engaged in fieldwork. [103]
Archeologist Anne Pyburn described the influence of Indiana Jones as elitist and sexist, and argued that the film series had caused new discoveries in the field of archaeology to become oversimplified and overhyped in an attempt to gain public interest, which negatively influences archaeology as a whole. [104] Eric Powell, an editor with the magazine Archaeology, said "O.K., fine, the movie romanticizes what we do", and that "Indy may be a horrible archeologist, but he's a great diplomat for archeology. I think we'll see a spike in kids who want to become archeologists". [100] Kevin McGeough, associate professor of archaeology, describes the original archaeological criticism of the film as missing the point of the film: "dramatic interest is what is at issue, and it is unlikely that film will change in order to promote and foster better archaeological techniques". [102]
While himself an homage to various prior adventurers, aspects of Indiana Jones also directly influenced some subsequent characterizations:
Indiana Jones has been widely referenced and parodied throughout different media. Some notable franchises which have referenced Indiana Jones include:
In psychology, the behavior of a person's denial of an obviously proven finding against overwhelming evidence and the person's own observations is also referred to as the Indiana Jones effect. [108] This title refers to Indiana Jones' repeated quote "I don't believe in magic.", [109] even though the character has seen magical rituals, the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail with his own eyes. [110] [111]
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American action adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Jeffrey Boam, based on a story by George Lucas and Menno Meyjes. It is the third installment in the Indiana Jones film series and the sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Harrison Ford returned in the title role, while his father is portrayed by Sean Connery. Other cast members featured include Alison Doody, Denholm Elliott, Julian Glover, River Phoenix, and John Rhys-Davies. In the film, set in 1938, Indiana searches for his father, a Holy Grail scholar, who has been kidnapped and held hostage by the Nazis while on a journey to find the Holy Grail.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. Set in 1936, the film stars Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, a globetrotting archaeologist vying with Nazi German forces to recover the long-lost Ark of the Covenant which is said to make an army invincible. Teaming up with his tough former romantic interest Marion Ravenwood, Jones races to stop rival archaeologist René Belloq from guiding the Nazis to the Ark and its power.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a script by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, based on a story by George Lucas. It is the second installment in the Indiana Jones film series, and a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark. The film features Harrison Ford who reprises his role as the title character. Kate Capshaw, Amrish Puri, Roshan Seth, Philip Stone and Ke Huy Quan, in his film debut, star in supporting roles. In the film, after arriving in British India, Indiana Jones is asked by desperate villagers to find a mystical stone and rescue their children from a Thuggee cult practicing child slavery, black magic, and ritual human sacrifice in honor of the goddess Kali.
Indiana Jones Adventure is an enhanced motion vehicle dark ride attraction based on the Indiana Jones film series, located at Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. Guests accompany intrepid archaeologist Dr. Indiana Jones on a turbulent quest, aboard military troop transport vehicles, through a dangerous subterranean lost temple guarded by a supernatural power.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a 2008 American action adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by David Koepp, based on a story by George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson. It is the fourth installment in the Indiana Jones film series and a sequel to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Set in 1957, it pits Indiana Jones against Soviet KGB agents led by Irina Spalko searching for a telepathic crystal skull located in Peru. Jones is aided by his former lover, Marion Ravenwood, and their son, Mutt Williams. Ray Winstone, John Hurt, and Jim Broadbent are also part of the supporting cast.
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. Filming took place in various locations around the world, with "Old Indy" bookend segments filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina and on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The series was a Lucasfilm production in association with Amblin Television and Paramount Television.
Marion Ravenwood is a fictional character who first appeared in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark. Played by Karen Allen, she enters the story when Indiana Jones visits her in Nepal, needing her help to locate the Ark of the Covenant with a possession originally obtained by her father, Dr. Abner Ravenwood. After 27 years of absence, the character returned in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), portrayed by Allen.
Professor Henry Walton Jones Sr. is a fictional character in the Indiana Jones franchise. He is the Scottish father of Indiana Jones and is a professor of medieval studies at Princeton University. Alongside his academic teachings, Jones Sr. is an author of many books and a professional speaker on his historical subject at many conferences throughout the world. His relationship to his son in the franchise is noted as indifferent due to conflicts on their approaches to their situations, despite the fondness they share for history and archaeology. Much of his life was dedicated to research into the Holy Grail of Christian legend.
Raiders of the Lost Ark: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the film score to the 1981 Steven Spielberg film, Raiders of the Lost Ark. The music was composed and conducted by John Williams and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Orchestrations were done by Herbert W. Spencer with additional orchestrations done by Al Woodbury. The score was released by Columbia Records in June 1981. The soundtrack received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score but lost out to Vangelis' score for Chariots of Fire.
Sallah Mohammed Faisel el-Kahir is a fictional character played by Welsh actor John Rhys-Davies in three of the Indiana Jones films: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. He also appears in various comics and novels, and is featured in the Disney theme park attractions, the Indiana Jones Adventure and The Great Movie Ride.
Vendyl Miller Jones was an American Noahide scholar who directed archaeological searches for biblical artifacts such as the Ark of the Covenant.
The Indiana Jones franchise has appeared in many comic books. Marvel Comics initially held the comic book licensing rights before they were acquired by Dark Horse Comics in 1990. Marvel published adaptations of the films Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, while Dark Horse adapted the Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis video game, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles television series, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Indiana Jones is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology.
Lego Indiana Jones is a Lego theme based on the Indiana Jones film franchise created by George Lucas, licensed from Lucasfilm. The exclusive franchise was first announced in June 2007, and followed the successful Lego Star Wars franchise, also with Lucasfilm. The first set of products were launched in 2008, based upon two of the three earlier films. Sets featuring scenes from the fourth film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, were released alongside the film, later in 2008. The Temple of Doom film was not featured until 2009, in a large set which re-created the mine-cart chase using new narrow-gauge Lego train track.
The Chachapoyan Fertility Idol, more commonly referred to as the Golden Idol, is a fictitious artifact that appears in the opening sequence of the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first entry in the Indiana Jones franchise created by George Lucas. It is the first relic that the audience sees the protagonist Indiana Jones acquire, establishing him as a treasure hunter. The idol's likeness has become iconic in popular culture.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the film score to the 1984 Steven Spielberg film, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The music was composed and conducted by John Williams, and first released on CD, LP, and cassette in 1984 and reissued on CD in 2008.
Since its debut in 1981, the Indiana Jones franchise has become part of American popular culture. References have been made in television series, movies, music and other material since the original film was released.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a 2023 American action adventure film directed by James Mangold, who co-wrote it with David Koepp and the writing team of Jez and John-Henry Butterworth. It is the fifth and final installment in the Indiana Jones film series and the sequel to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). It stars Harrison Ford, John Rhys-Davies, and Karen Allen reprising their roles as Indiana Jones, Sallah, and Marion Ravenwood, respectively, while new cast members include Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Ethann Isidore, and Mads Mikkelsen. Set in 1969, the film follows Indy and his estranged goddaughter, Helena, who are trying to locate a powerful artifact before Dr. Jürgen Voller, a Nazi-turned-NASA scientist, who plans to use it to alter the outcome of World War II.
indiana jones 1995 Disney.
Lucas looks at him and says, "I've got that beat." He then proceeds to pitch a throwback to the Saturday-matinee cliff-hanger serials that both men loved as kids.
Some say he was the real life inspiration for Indiana Jones.