I'm one of the old school saw the movies in the theatre during their initial release, Star Wars, Empire, Jedi, CE3K, 1941, Alien etc, so when I heard news of a new project from Lucas and Spielberg; full of adventure and set in the 30s I was intrigued. I actually thought it was about Noah's ARK as I knew little or nothing of The Ark of the Covenant and its place in history. Even the early Steranko paintings in Starlog magazine confused me.
I wasn't familiar with the old Republic serials of 30s & 40s so when I did eventually see the movie at my local, past its best, ODEON cinema the point of reference I had was the Bond series. In fact of my fave Bond and Roger Moore movies were the most recent at the time (Spy Who Loved Me and the SW inspired Moonraker).
Raiders was fresh, exciting and full of energy and humour with a career defining central performance from Mr Ford. It was and still is visual filmmaking at its best. Spielberg's mastery of the medium shows throughout in the performances, editing, pacing, production and sheer energy. In a nutshell it could have been a film made in the 30s but with modern production values - particularly the sets, costumes and SPX. And of course Williams' music is pure romantic and bombastic Korngold inspired gold. I saw it several times and even got hold of my first VCR just to record a few clips from a TV review programme, Film '81 (coincidently hosted that year by TV's very own Historian and Archaeologist Michael Wood - he even wears a leather jacket!).
I'm one of the few people who actually thinks 'Doom' is as good as the others in the series. Sure its dark, set almost entirely in one country, with none of the supporting characters from the first film but its has a great score, wonderful story, lots of humour, a feisty and loud leading lady but most all it dared to be different. Lucas has the faith in his own judgement not to tread over familiar ground giving the canvas a much richer tapestry.
The slightly longer wait for 'Crusade' was worth it as it portrayed another history lesson told in a fun and exciting manner with great panache by a filmmaker on the top of his game. Casting Sean Connery was a master stroke (perhaps not on paper but with Connery's performance it made the movie) not only was it a great performance from Bond himself but it lifted Harrison's game to a new level as well. Again the music is different but full of memorable themes and instantly evokes just the right mood and period. My friend from University Ray and I travelled especially to see 'Crusade' in London at the UK's largest curved screen - The Empire Leicester Square in the summer of '89. An experience that will never be forgotten.
And finally to 'Crystal Skull', sure it hasn't quite got the pace and zip of the first three and a lot of water has passed under the bridge for all concerned. For Spielberg it must have been especially difficult - to 'unlearn what you have learnt' and make this is in the mould of the originals. In the most part he succeeded, with a lot of help from Ford. Mr Ford is the fittest 60 something male actor in films today - he has his own hair, teeth and lacks a middle-age spread. He carried the part of like a pro. The filmmakers, particularly Lucas were brave to acknowledge the passage of time and set the story in the 50s and going all the way and incorporating elements of that era within the fabric of the story. Also let's not forget that the late 50s and early 60s is Lucas' nostalgic era. I liked 'Crystal Skull', it has a great opening sequence, (in fact all four films have a unique but exciting opening segments) good production values and supporting players. The music is, in my opinion, weaker than the others but still streets ahead of the competition. The ending does seem a little 'tagged on', almost as if from another movie/genre but given the uphill task to bring Indy back at all after 18 yrs it was worth making. The success has certainly given the franchise a new lease of life with a promise of at least one more big screen outing for the world's favourite adventurer.
As I said in my previous piece I think Lucas and Spielberg will try and out smart the public and get round the issue of Ford's age by shooting TWO movies back to back. To be released over two summers, much in the way Robert Zemeckis did with Back to the Future II and III and Peter Jackson on a bigger scale with LOTR. Clever scripting and plotting could even see the two movies dovetail each other and possibly even one of the previous films. This adds depth to not only the characters but also the series as a whole.
I wasn't familiar with the old Republic serials of 30s & 40s so when I did eventually see the movie at my local, past its best, ODEON cinema the point of reference I had was the Bond series. In fact of my fave Bond and Roger Moore movies were the most recent at the time (Spy Who Loved Me and the SW inspired Moonraker).
Raiders was fresh, exciting and full of energy and humour with a career defining central performance from Mr Ford. It was and still is visual filmmaking at its best. Spielberg's mastery of the medium shows throughout in the performances, editing, pacing, production and sheer energy. In a nutshell it could have been a film made in the 30s but with modern production values - particularly the sets, costumes and SPX. And of course Williams' music is pure romantic and bombastic Korngold inspired gold. I saw it several times and even got hold of my first VCR just to record a few clips from a TV review programme, Film '81 (coincidently hosted that year by TV's very own Historian and Archaeologist Michael Wood - he even wears a leather jacket!).
I'm one of the few people who actually thinks 'Doom' is as good as the others in the series. Sure its dark, set almost entirely in one country, with none of the supporting characters from the first film but its has a great score, wonderful story, lots of humour, a feisty and loud leading lady but most all it dared to be different. Lucas has the faith in his own judgement not to tread over familiar ground giving the canvas a much richer tapestry.
The slightly longer wait for 'Crusade' was worth it as it portrayed another history lesson told in a fun and exciting manner with great panache by a filmmaker on the top of his game. Casting Sean Connery was a master stroke (perhaps not on paper but with Connery's performance it made the movie) not only was it a great performance from Bond himself but it lifted Harrison's game to a new level as well. Again the music is different but full of memorable themes and instantly evokes just the right mood and period. My friend from University Ray and I travelled especially to see 'Crusade' in London at the UK's largest curved screen - The Empire Leicester Square in the summer of '89. An experience that will never be forgotten.
And finally to 'Crystal Skull', sure it hasn't quite got the pace and zip of the first three and a lot of water has passed under the bridge for all concerned. For Spielberg it must have been especially difficult - to 'unlearn what you have learnt' and make this is in the mould of the originals. In the most part he succeeded, with a lot of help from Ford. Mr Ford is the fittest 60 something male actor in films today - he has his own hair, teeth and lacks a middle-age spread. He carried the part of like a pro. The filmmakers, particularly Lucas were brave to acknowledge the passage of time and set the story in the 50s and going all the way and incorporating elements of that era within the fabric of the story. Also let's not forget that the late 50s and early 60s is Lucas' nostalgic era. I liked 'Crystal Skull', it has a great opening sequence, (in fact all four films have a unique but exciting opening segments) good production values and supporting players. The music is, in my opinion, weaker than the others but still streets ahead of the competition. The ending does seem a little 'tagged on', almost as if from another movie/genre but given the uphill task to bring Indy back at all after 18 yrs it was worth making. The success has certainly given the franchise a new lease of life with a promise of at least one more big screen outing for the world's favourite adventurer.
As I said in my previous piece I think Lucas and Spielberg will try and out smart the public and get round the issue of Ford's age by shooting TWO movies back to back. To be released over two summers, much in the way Robert Zemeckis did with Back to the Future II and III and Peter Jackson on a bigger scale with LOTR. Clever scripting and plotting could even see the two movies dovetail each other and possibly even one of the previous films. This adds depth to not only the characters but also the series as a whole.
