Indiana Jones Chronology question... (1 Viewer)

[Ric Easton]

Has there ever been an explanation as to why Temple of Doom takes place a year before Raiders?

I mean, the jokes play better (sword and gun) if you watch them in release order. And even Indy's character seems to work better with Temple coming after Raiders. As I recall, at some point in Raiders he tells a colleague that he doesn't believe in all that hocus-pocus crap... well it seems to me if he had been thru the temple of Doom the year before, he would believe in at least a bit of "hocus-pocus."

Is the reason that maybe they thought there would be a back-lash from the fans that Marion was not in it? Why wasn't she in it? Were they testing the waters to see if he could have a girl in every port (like James Bond)? If anyone has any insight into this, I sure would be interested in hearing it.

Also, has anyone ever read any of the paperbacks? I've recently seen these resurface in my local Borders and was wondering if any of them were worth the read.

 

[WillG]

I read recently that TOD took place before because they didn't want to have to have a story involving Nazis. I don't know how accurate it is, but it's what I read.

 

[Kevin Grey]

I'm not sure but maybe because the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 wouldn't have made the opening section of the movie plausible?

I haven't read the ToD section of the new Making of Indy book yet but I'll look to see if it doesn't cover the reason for the change.

I do think going with a different girl in every movie (until the latest) is likely part of their effort to make each film episodic instead of an overall saga.

 

[DavidPla]

I believe that WillG is right... it was mentioned they didn't want to use Nazis so that's why they set it a year before. In terms of movie chronology...

1912 - Last Crusade (opening)
1935 - Temple of Doom
1936 - Raiders of the Lost Ark
1938 - Last Crusade
1957 - Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

 

[cafink]

I don't understand what that has to do with the setting of the movie. Why couldn't it have had non-nazi villains if it took place post-Raiders?

 

[Brian Borst]

Did he say he doesn't believe in hocus-pocus? I thought he only said about the stone tablets in the ark 'If you believe in that sort of thing'. Yes, a bit sceptic, but he's a scientist, so that's reasonable. It would make sense, that after ToD (where he clearly doesn't believe in the supernatural at first) he would change his opinion a bit.
But the genuine reason (as adressed in the dvds) was that they wanted (a la Bond) a different girl in each, and that continuity would pose a problem since Indy and Marion were together in the first. It still creates a problem in the next sequel, Crusade, where Marion isn't even mentioned.

 

[WillG]

That was what he said in Raiders when he was at home preparing for his trip, when Marcus gives his words of warning to Indy about the power of the Ark, he rebuffs it as "Hocus Pocus"

But yes, this attitude is inconsistent after watching Temple, especially since he "understood the power" of the Sankara stones at the end. Also at the end of Temple when Willie asks him about sacrificing "Fortune and Glory" he dismissedly says "They'd just put the stone in a museum" which according to the other films is pretty much his life's purpose.

 

[Brian Borst]

Really? I must've missed that.
But that's right. Why would he take the Ark (he didn't really went after the Holy Grail, that was more for his father) to a museum, when he wasn't going to do that with the stones? That is odd.
I know they aren't meant as one big story, there are other inconsistencies for that as well.

 

[Cassy_w]

The Indy of Raiders had never seen any Hocus Pocus or magic or anything else. That is what you clearly understand after watching Raiders. But they ignored that for Temple of Doom. Whatever.

 

[Ray H]

I was actually going to ask this in the Indy 4 thread yesterday. Rather, my question was going to be more of a clarification of how each of the films impacted Indy since it seemed a bit inconsistent through the three films.

Could it be possible that they just didn't want to deal with WWII in the film?

 

[TravisR]

I watched the documentary on the DVD last week and I'm almost positive that they said they did a prequel so they didn't have to address what happened to Marion. That doesn't answer why they did a sequel with The Last Crusade and didn't mention Marion though.

 

[Ric Easton]

Maybe by the time The Last Crusade rolled around they were no longer worried about Marion's absence.

I think I like "the Japanese invasion of China in 1937" theory the best. I mean, there's no reason you can't have an enemy set during WWII that are not Nazis!

Still, I think the movies and Indy's character "play better" when seen in order of release.

Also, I'm not sure how widely known it was to the general public that Temple of Doom was a prequel.

 

[Phil Florian]

It would be sad for Indy to lose his pirate edge because of Temple of Doom. I re-watched Raiders and Beloch is correct...Indy is almost as bad a scavenger as he is. Brody admits this at the beginning when he is complicit in Indy's grave robbing by saying something to the effect of, "I don't want to know" and that the museum would accept his stuff with "no questions asked" because if they did ask, he would tell them he stole this from sacred ground somewhere. Very cool and very pulp. He has this in Crusade, too, with the "It Belongs in a Museum" line he oft repeats. He sees the world's history as something for humanity to share and not hide away. A slightly kinder approach to Beloch but no less robbery in the end, "if you believe in that kind of thing."

 

[Don Giro]

Oh, it WAS. Every blurb in every publication mentioned it, every TV film critic drew attention to it (right before mentioning the "ghoulish supper," and "lots of bugs"). That's how I rememember it.

 

[Ray_R]

There're also the video games to take into account. I'll go by release order, year of release and date it takes place:

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, 1992, 1939
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, 2000, 1947
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, 2003, 1935 (Before ToD)
Indiana Jones and the ????????, 2008/9, 1939 or 1940 (Should be 1942!)

THEN there's the 1990's Dark Horse Comics!
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, 1939
Indiana Jones and the Spear of Destiny, 1945
Indiana Jones and the Iron Phoenix, 1946
Indiana Jones: Thunder in the Orient, 1938 (After LC)
Indiana Jones and the Shrine of the Sea Devil, January 1935
Indiana Jones and the Golden Fleece, 1941
Indiana Jones and the Arms of Gold, 1937
Indiana Jones and the Sargasso Pirates, 1939 (Most likely after FoA)

NEW! (In June!) Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods, 1934

AND there's the 1990's Bantam book series! It's also the publication order too.
Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi, 1922
Indiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants, 1925
Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils, 1926
Indiana Jones and the Genesis Deluge, 1927
Indiana Jones and the Unicorn's Legacy, 1928
Indiana Jones and the Interior World, 1929
Indiana Jones and the Sky Pirates, 1930
Indiana Jones and the White Witch, 1930
Indiana Jones and the Philosopher's Stone, 1933
Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs, 1933
Indiana Jones and the Hollow Earth, 1934
Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Sphinx, 1934


So there you have it!

 

[DavidPla]

Heh, not quite. Then there's the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.

 

[Ray_R]

D'oh! I forgot that!:frowning:
Oh, well, there's that too. Thinking of Netflixing the Adventures of Young Indiana Jones anyway. I know they're re-edited as the TV-movie type deal. Just wish the series as it went along got into the more adventure-type of Indiana Jones.
Here's hoping for an Animated Adventures of Indiana Jones! Preferrably with the same mature aspect of the Batman: Animated Series had. And of course great actors. Perhaps more as a series within a series.

 

[Sam Favate]

I read these at the time they came out and I remember liking them a lot, and thinking they should be movies.

 

[Tim Gerdes]

To me, in each of the three original adventures—and now the fourth—Indy is a skeptic.

This is the guy who found the Ark of the Covenant, witnessed the effects of its power when the Nazis opened it, and still rolls his eyes when required to take a "leap of faith" in the Last Crusade.

I guess, since he's a scientist of sorts, skepticism is ingrained, no matter how often he witnesses miracles and magic.

To me this isn't an inconsistency with Temple, it's that Indy's consistently a skeptic.

 

[DavidPla]

With Ray's list and now this TheRaider.net - The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles

1908 - My First Adventure TV
1908/1909 - Passion for Life TV
1908 - The Perils of Cupid TV
1910 - Travels with Father TV
1910 - Journey of Radiance TV
1912 - Last Crusade (prologue) FILM
1916 - Spring Break Adventure TV
1916 - Love's Sweet Song TV
1916 - The Trenches of Hell TV
1916 - Demons of Deception TV
1916 - Phantom Train of Doom TV
1916 - Oganga: The Giver and Taker of Life TV
1917 - Attack of the Hawkmen TV
1917 - Adventures in the Secret Service TV
1917 - Espionage Escapades TV
1917 - Daredevils of the Desert TV
1917 - Tales of Innocence TV
1918 - Masks of Evil TV
1919 - Treasure of the Peacock's Eye TV
1919 - The Winds of Change TV
1920 - Mystery of the Blues TV
1920 - Scandal of 1920 TV
1920 - Hollywood Follies TV
1921 - Peril at Delphi BOOK
1925 - Dance of the Giants BOOK
1926 - Seven Veils BOOK
1927 - Genesis Deluge BOOK
1928 - Unicorn's Legacy BOOK
1929 - Interior World BOOK
1930 - Sky Pirates BOOK
1930 - White Witch BOOK
1933 - Philosopher's Stone BOOK
1933 - Dinosaur Eggs BOOK
1934 - Hollow Earth BOOK
1934 - Secret of the Sphinx BOOK
1934 - Tombs of the Gods COMIC
1935 - Shrine of the Sea Devil COMIC
1935 - Emperor's Tomb GAME
1935 - Temple of Doom FILM
1936 - Raiders of the Lost Ark FILM
1937 - Arms of Gold COMIC
1938 - Last Crusade FILM
1938 - Thudner in the Orient COMIC
1939 - Fate of Atlantis GAME/COMIC
1939 - Sargasso Pirates COMIC
1941 - Golden Fleece COMIC
1945 - Spear of Destiny COMIC
1946 - Iron Phoenix COMIC
1947 - Infernal Machine GAME
1950 - Mystery of the Blues (prologue) TV
1957 - Kingdom of the Crystal Skull FILM

But in the end I think only the movie and the TV series is considered cannon.