Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
- Steven Spielberg originally wanted a completely different ending for the film, but test audiences preferred the one we see today.
- During the filming of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Harrison Ford improvised one of the most famous lines in the movie.
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing Steven Spielberg's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 American action adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, the second installment in the Indiana Jones franchise and a prequel set in 1935, one year before Raiders of the Lost Ark. Harrison Ford returns as the globe-trotting archaeologist, who escapes a Shanghai nightclub shootout with singer Willie Scott, played by Kate Capshaw, and his young sidekick Short Round, played by Ke Huy Quan. Their plane crashes in India, where they discover a village whose children have been enslaved by a Thuggee cult operating beneath Pankot Palace, using the mystical Sankara Stones to revive their dark god Kali.
Temple of Doom was deliberately darker than Raiders, a creative choice influenced by Spielberg and Lucas's personal difficulties during the period, and the film's intense scenes of child slavery, human sacrifice, and a man's heart being ripped from his chest while he remained alive were significantly more graphic than anything in the original. The intensity of these scenes was the primary catalyst for the creation of the PG-13 rating by the MPAA. The mine cart chase sequence was one of the most thrilling action set pieces of the 1980s, using a combination of miniatures, rear projection, and practical stunts.
Temple of Doom earned $333 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of 1984.
