This is such a bold opening, I love it. It really lets the audience know upfront, "This is going to be a different kind of movie than Raiders. So buckle up. We're not playing it safe."
@diamond dogs I think he just meant that Temple of Doom was the first because it takes place, chronologically, before the rest of them (excluding the opening to The Lasy Crusade)
@@busterdafydd3096 Even if chronologically this movie comes first, audiences watching this for the first time only knew Raiders as Indiana Jones. From the perspective of the experience of a movie-going audience this one comes second.
This scene took on a whole nother meaning after I watched Young Indiana Jones knowing he spent his whole life and lost his best friend chasing after that damned diamond
@@-Cheif In the show the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Indy and his friend Remy go searching for a diamond known as the Eye of the Peacock, said to have been owned by Alexander the Great. Indy and Remy served in WWI together. When the search hits a dead end, Indy gives up and decides to go back to college to study archaeology, but Remy is obsessed and continues on and it ends their friendship. LucasFilm confirmed the diamond Indy trades the ashes for is that diamond, so he's completing a quest here he began almost 20 years prior.
+Eric Jaffa that's one of the few surreal elements from the movie, and it's on purpose: there was this kind of sequences in many 1930's Hollywood movies where suddenly a small place would turn into a giant hollywood set with a dance act going on. That's one of the hints to remind us that the Indiana Jones character is originally a 1930's "pulp" character, with some very dated bits.
Nick Werner-Matavka, that makes a lot sense. Willie would prefer to be performing on the Hollywood stage and imagines herself being there instead of Shanghai. I wouldn't call this club a dive, but it's a step down for her.
@@bilbobaggins9451 It's always been the least liked movie for some reason, but it's my favorite of the whole franchise. It's really the only one that I come back to and watch. Just not the biggest fan of Raiders or Crusade. I've even seen people say they prefer Crystal Skull over it and it's to the point where I'm thinking this is just hive mentality.
When I first saw this intro, I thought Indy would be wandering around China and fighting the Triads, not end up in India and encounter cannibalistic savages that enslave children and disembowel their hearts out of their bodies.
When you put it like that, it kinda makes me wanna watch it. "encounter cannibalistic savages that enslave children and disembowel their hearts out of their bodies." Nice!
Indiana Jones is not a crime fighter but an archeologist. He isn't searching for a fight but is searching to remove power from evil hands by confiscating important historical artifacts and keeping them in a museum or locking them up to be forgotten so that temptation is eliminated either from him or from people seeking to steal it.
I like the fact that the darkest movie of the series starts with a happy song. Temple of Doom is very climatic, although it doesn't concentrate on archeology, but rather on fight between good and evil. I also like the fact that Indy's main enemies appear only in the second half of the movie. It makes the Thuggee cult even more creepy and mysterious. And main villain, Mola Ram, is brilliant! He's purely evil.
Spot on comment! I hated it when I first saw it! To quote Speilberg; I wanted another rock chasing him... But I now think; It couldn't be any more perfect! Kate kapshaw did a marvelous job!!!
It's not as happy as you think. The lyrics (and if you can understand her potato-in-the-mouth Mandarin) make reference to how the world has gone to hell - it's quite appropriate, thematically speaking.
CaptainBlumburrt so the main reason I’ve always enjoyed this one is when Indy Busts into the Mine and starts Kicking Ass with an awesome background theme
I watched this movie then came back to find this opening. The part where they pull the hankerchief from each other is clearly mirroring the heart ripping scenario we'll later see in the movie. Something I would not have caught on to until I did a rewatching of this scene. Just brilliant.
@@ollesundin9025 I know right? I read this comment thinking I'm back in English class over analysing everything. "The blood that comes out when he gets stabbed is red symbolising the love he had for her"
@@austinpearce5442 I heard they're planning to make a prequel to this. Maybe bring the story, "Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb," to the big screen. His adventure of obtaining the ashes of Nerhotchi and possibly meeting Short Round in Shanghai.
The choreography and cinematography are both very deliberate and based on the work of Busby Berkeley, the man who invented this larger-than-life imagery as a means of escapism during the Great Depression. In the 1930s, the average American family went to the cinema four nights a week. Most of the time, this enormous, escapist concept was very much needed for its time. This number is a take off of a classic and ground breaking style that was, in fact, very 1930s.
A lot of people complain about the fact that Willie isn’t speaking accurate Chinese in the song, but I see it as deliberate as well. Since the Indiana Jones movies are love letters to b-movies, it would make sense that the translations are awkward or just complete gibberish, since it’s a movie that’s supposed to be fun to watch, not 100% accurate.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is so underrated. The tone of this film compared to Raiders couldn't be any more different, but I think the first two installments complement each other perfectly. Temple of Doom is pure pulp, and the opening sequence is excellent. I like the way Willie appears in front of the titles like characters do on the cover of comic books.
It's not my favorite. But I still like it because it's the "distant" one in the series. It's the only one out of the 4 where Indy isn't in North America, the only one that doesn't feature or mention the Ark of the Covenant or Marcus Brody, and the only one where Indy isn't at his college.
@@simonster-9094 It's also chronologically the first. Which is kind of weird in retrospective. I mean, one would assume Indy would be a lot less skeptical about the Arc of Covenant considering he experienced a whole bunch of supernatural craziness first hand just a year earlier.
What they had in mind was so dark, in fact, that Raiders of the Lost Ark screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan turned down their offer to pen the second film. "I just thought it was horrible. It's so mean," Kasdan said later. "There's nothing pleasant about it. I think Temple of Doom represents a chaotic period in both their lives (Spielberg and Lucas), and the movie is very ugly and mean-spirited.” www.mentalfloss.com/article/56881/20-fun-facts-about-indiana-jones-and-temple-doom
+T0mR0b1n (MajorTom) if it helps, The Clone Wars has an episode that reveals the fate of Ziro the Hutt, and has Sy Snoodles singing a similar musical number to the Grand Hutt Council on Nal Hutta. Turns out she ends up doing Cad Bane's job for Jabba (killing Ziro the Hutt), at a cheaper price.
One of the highlights of my childhood was watching this on VCR with my sister at my grandma's place in the 80s, pure cinematic glory, this song is just the beginning of the joyous adventure of this great film
This opening is so brilliant, it set the tone for the film, ANYTHING goes. Jumping out of a plane with a life raft, pulling people's hearts out of their chests. This opening song puts the audience on notice, we've thrown in everything but the kitchen sink for this adventure. Fasten your seat belts. Awesome. Of course if you've got the IQ of a turnip and are totally literal and unimaginative, you might be disappointed. IT'S A MOVIE!
I prize creativity. When I heard "Anything Goes" sung in Chinese I almost croaked. I could watch that opening 100 times in a row and not get bored. In my nearly worthless estimation, it is the BEST opening of any movie since "Star Wars" ("Top Gun" gives it a run for its money, though).
You mean ‘mandarin’ at one point she started pronouncing words in a french accent. As someone growing up speaking mandarin and watching this film I had NO idea it was meant to be mandarin. Years later it clicked and to this day I’m still not sure what she’s trying to say. Good show tune though!
This one has my favourite arrangement, Cole Porter's is a classic and LuPone's has my favourite singing And that's not to count the numerous other performances of this So I REALLY can't choose one to be the "BEST"
I love how versatile Spielberg is. One of the greatest directors of all time. Also the crew including John Williams on the music and George Lucas! This is a masterpiece and a great memory of my childhood, I loved the original trilogy. When I was a kid I didn't care about this intro but now I love this number and love the whole movie.
Having grown up as one of those guys who didn't like the Temple of Doom for some reason, this intro slaps. In retrospect, absolutely my favorite Indiana Jones
How the scripting for Crystal Skull went: Lucas: Alright, so then Indy hops into a fridge so that he can escape the nuke and- Spielberg: Uh, George, are you sure that's a good idea? Lucas: Anything goes. *winks*
I think one of the best, boldest, catchiest and stylish movie opening of all time. Draws you into this era and into the movie in 2 minutes... And the moment you notice, they are allready dropping from the sky with a rubber boat. Damn good movie from the golden era of adventure movies.
Mippon It was 1920s beads and it was so expensive that they had it insurance for it and a baby elephant fucked it up so this was one of the very last parts they filmed so they told the insurance company all they wrote was "Dress was eatin by elephant" I was crying
Shocked to hear Spielberg said Temple of Doom was his least favorite. It's definitely my favorite. Watched it in the theater as soon as it was released. Loved it all! ....Anything Goes!
The title partially behind Kate's body is striking. A great homage to Busby Berkeley's work and I agree that this the best opening of any of the Jones films. And the fact that you can hardly understand anything she says makes it even better.
What a spectacular piece of art. Everything is just so perfect about this intro. The music, the choreography, the visuals, the ladies, the singing. Everything. Watching this as a kid, I never really cared about it, just wanted to see Indy doing stuff. Saw it tonight, decades later, and I'm absolutely dazzled. Just now I replayed it like 50 times in a row.
Listen to Patti LuPone singing Anything Goes in the 1988 Tony Awards ceremony. Then listen to Kate Capshaw singing Anything Goes in Temple of Doom. She's completely unimpressive in comparison. The choreography is amazing and very entertaining but the main singer is very lackluster in this movie.
funniest thing about this intro is how so many ignorant american's think this is some up beat Disney style song. The lyrics match the tone of this movie and are ANYTHING but upbeat.
This is one of the most low-key bizarre openings in film and I love it. 0:00 Okay she's doing a performance of "Anything Goes" in what is clearly not her first language but it's not like there's anything wrong with it and it's not like I'd know if she was doing it well or not. Nice set and costumes too, maybe more upbeat than I expected from the title of the film. 1:28 MEANWHILE ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SET 2:20 How do they go back up so easily did they just film it in reverse I NEED ANSWERS 2:25 Giant handkerchiefs! 2:30 Poof the giant handkerchiefs into the air! 2:33 Look again! The giant handkerchiefs are now A CURTAIN so Kate Capshaw can run back outside the giant mouth with it! Was that a fever dream? Are we supposed to just assume the audience in Club Obi-Wan SAW all of that even though it makes no sense?! DOES IT MATTER?! *ANYTHING GOES!*
Sudoku Brony I heard that Kate was supposed to be a part of the tap dancing sequence, but the dress she was wearing was so restrictive that she wasn't able to dance in it.
You too huh, I remembered this but vaguely so I came back to it for that reason when Alex mentioned it. Buutttt it seems like Alex is saying something with this being in the third song and all that he’s basing the work around as “anything can happen” type of deal or maybe I’m just tired asf I have no clue but it kinda seems like it as the arctic monkeys albums change quite a bit
Wow my favorite part of the movie; a song by Cole Porter, costumes by Anthony Powell, an exotic setting and Kate Capshaw singing what more can you ask for?
Let's give props to John Williams' incredible orchestration adaptation of this classic Cole Porter song. In addition to being a composer, he did a lot of great musical adaptation including Oscar winning work for the musical "Fiddler On The Roof."
It is Spielberg's ode to Vicente Minelli as much as Busby Berkeley here. A few shots within a beautifully choreographed dance sequence. Wide, medium, close ups are produced by the actors not the camera, so that we can enjoy the full performance. And Douglas Slocombe's lighting is coruscating. Love it every time I watch it and can see Spielberg's early brilliance in it.
Daniel Appleton I disagree entirely. I thought crystal skulls was much better than temple of doom. I’m glad they brought back the original love interest from raiders of the lost ark. That being said, raiders of the lost ark was the best by far.
An homage to Busby Berkeley musicals from the 1930's. Right away you can tell that Steven likes Kate by putting her image superimposed in front of the title. It's a great effect.
Has anyone ever wondered how this stage is possibly laid out for the restauranty-customer-people to see? Like,-- um.. how do they see the tap dancers? Yah know?
Krepel Kremely Yeah... I guess ya gotta just attribute that to the magic of Hollywood. There are a lot of things that don't add up in movies if you look back at them.
Krepel Kremely It's made on purpose, as an homage to old hollywood musicals which did not rely on logical or realistic settings during the musical moments.
As you can tell by all the long red scarfs pulled out of the opposite girls pockets transforming suddenly into one large red blanket sized piece of fabric, they clearly employed clown magic in the making of this musical number.
That build in the choir and music at 2:14 is just so epic and adventurous. As a child I thought this opening was way off, but as I grew older I have come to appreciate it way more - what an opening to the best Indy ever! Yeah, I said it!
I love 1) the way it starts off with dark clouds and ominous chords - real Indiana Jones stuff - but that deceives us in terms of the bright happy song that comes next, 2) being sung in Mandarin!
i feel like this just exists because steven speilberg really wanted an old school tap dance number in one of his movies and to be fair it's a great scene
One of the greatest tragedies of the Indiana Jones films is that we never got to see the planned return of Roy Chiao's Lao Che in 2008's Indiana Jones Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Returning with Ric Young as Kao Kan(the younger son of Che and the one who unloaded his Thompson M1928A1 gun at Indy as he took cover behind the massive Gong escaping Club Obi Wan) Roy and Ric would have Antagonized Indiana again during the film and finally given a badass, long deserved resolution to Temple of Doom's two villains who stand alone as the only Antagonists in the Indiana Jones Series to not receive a deadly end. Sadly, Roy Chiao passed away in 1999 due to heart disease. Leaving behind his wife and a magnificent filmography filled with awards and an equally legendary performance. 1927-1999. RIP 🙏.
I'm 42 since January. I always HATED show tunes... but I loved this opening so much I must have seen it a bazillion times. Good stuff. Plus 'Anything Goes' was an excellent choice.
I absolutely love this. Mandarin is such a beautiful language. I used to do Lyft and picked up a group of Chinese college students and just adored listening to them chitter at each other.
Lyrics translated: 🎵In olden days, a glimpse of stocking Was looked on as something shocking. But now, God knows, Anything goes. Good authors too who once knew better words Now only use four-letter words Writing prose. Anything goes. The world has gone mad today And good's bad today, And black's white today, And day's night today, When most guys today That women prize today Are just silly gigolos And though I'm not a great romancer I know that I'm bound to answer When you propose Anything goes (DANCE NUMBER} And though I'm not a great romancer I know that I'm bound to answer When you propose Anything goes🎵
For me, watching it as an adolescent, it was the best opening I’ve ever seen. Having this classic sung in Chinese is a feat of ultimate refinement. There’s such a mysterious aura behind that, it’s magic and makes you dream all of what is ahead in the movie. Being a Spielberg, we knew that those brilliant dancers are announcing something horrific.
I was watching the movie yesterday and when the song started, my fallout-addled brain immediately went back to me walking through the Capital Wasteland with GNR blasting as I VATS's the closest raider with my Gauss Rifle. Man FAllout 3 is underrated.
This one is all time favourite Indiana Jones movie all time favourite good prequel film and best second instalment in the franchise all Indiana Jones are just spectacular and fantastic and brilliant
