Indiana Jones Movies

The three Indiana Jones films were inspired by both the James Bond (see entry under 1960s—Film and Theater in volume 4) series and the "cliffhanger serials" popular in American theaters during the 1930s and 1940s. Directed by Steven Spielberg (1946–) and produced by George Lucas (1944–), the enormously successful films helped define popular moviemaking in the 1980s. Thanks to the combination of state-of-the art special effects, nonstop action, and a touch of religious mysticism, the original film resulted in several spinoffs that kept interest in Indiana Jones alive well into the 1990s.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) introduces Indiana Jones (played by Harrison Ford, 1942–), globetrotting archaeologist and treasure hunter. Set in 1936, the film finds "Indy" competing with Nazi agents to locate the Ark of the Covenant, a powerful religious artifact. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) strands the hero in rural India, where he helps a village recover a sacred stone stolen by a renegade Hindu priest who practices black magic and human sacrifice. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) introduces Indy's archaeologist father (Sean Connery, 1930–). Together, they foil a Nazi plot to find the Holy Grail, the legendary cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper.

The films inspired a series of adventure novels built around the Indiana Jones character as well as novelizations of the original movie scripts. Several comic book (see entry under 1930s—Print Culture in volume 2) series were also published; the longest of these were by Marvel Comics (1983-86; see entry under 1960s—Print Culture in volume 4) and Dark Horse Comics (1991-96). A computer adventure game, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, was released in 1998, and other games followed. A television (see entry under 1940s—TV and Radio in volume 3) series, Young Indiana Jones, ran on ABC from 1991 to 1993. The series sent young Indy adventuring through the first two decades of the twentieth century, encountering real-life historical figures along the way.

—Justin Gustainis

For More Information

Indy-Web.com.http://www.indy-web.com (accessed April 1, 2002).

Madsen, Dan. The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: On the Set and Behind the Scenes. New York: Bantam Books, 1992.

Vaz, Mark Cotta, and Shinji Hata. From Star Wars to Indiana Jones: TheBest of the Lucasfilm Archives. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1994.