'Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr.' (also known as 'Indy'), is a
fictional professor,
archaeologist, and
adventurer - the main protagonist of the
1981 adventure film ''
Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (later retitled ''Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark''), its prequel ''
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'', and sequel, ''
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade''. Jones is notable for his trademark
bullwhip,
fedora,
leather jacket, and
fear of snakes.
The character is most famously played by
Harrison Ford; however, he has also been portrayed by
River Phoenix (as the young Indiana in ''
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade''),
Corey Carrier,
Sean Patrick Flanery, and
George Hall (''
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'').
In addition to his film and television appearances, the character has been featured in novels, comics, video games, and other media. A
fourth film (once again starring Ford) is currently in production; filming is scheduled to take place throughout 2007, with the film planned to be released worldwide on Thursday, May 22nd, 2008.
Production
Indiana Jones is modeled after the strong-jawed heroes of the
matinée serials and
pulp magazines that
George Lucas and
Steven Spielberg enjoyed in their childhoods (such as the
Republic Pictures serials, and the
Doc Savage series). The two friends first discussed the project in
Hawaii around the time of the release of the first '' film.
[1] Spielberg told Lucas how he wanted to direct a
James Bond film - Lucas responded that he "had something better than that".
1
The character was originally named Indiana Smith, after an
Alaskan malamute Lucas owned in the 1970s; however, Spielberg disliked the name "Smith", and Lucas casually suggested "Jones" as an alternative.
1
Costume and equipment
The general appearance for the character of Indiana Jones was chosen before anyone was even cast. He was envisioned as an amalgam of several characters - most notably treasure hunter Fred C. Dobbs (as played by
Humphrey Bogart in ''
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre''), and adventurer Harry Steele (as played by
Charlton Heston in ''
Secret of the Incas''
[2]).
Upon requests by Spielberg and Lucas, the costume designer gave the character a distinctive silhouette through the styling of the hat; after examining many hats, the designers chose a tall-crowned, wide-brimmed
fedora, the
Herbert Johnson Poet. Although other hats were also used throughout the movies, the general style and profile remained the same. Other elements of the outfit include:
★ The leather jacket - a hybrid of the "Type 440" and the
A-2 jacket, made by Wested Leather Co.
★ The bag - a modified Mark VII British gas mask bag.
★ The whip - a 10ft Bullwhip crafted by David Morgan (although different lengths were used in specific stunts)
★ The revolver - usually a
World War I era revolver. Examples include the
Webley Mk VI (''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade''), or a .45 ACP
Smith & Wesson Hand Ejector 2nd model revolver (''Raiders of the Lost Ark''). He has also been seen using a
M1917 revolver, and a 9mm
Browning Hi-Power.
[3]
Jones' Fedora and Leather Jacket (as used in ''
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'') are on display at the
Smithsonian's American History Museum in
Washington, D.C.[4] The collection of props and clothing from the films has become a thriving hobby for some aficionados of the franchise.
[5]
Casting
Originally, Spielberg suggested
Harrison Ford; Lucas resisted the idea, since he had already cast the actor in three of his movies (''
American Graffiti'' and the first two installments of the ''
Star Wars'' series), and did not want Ford to become known as his "Bobby De Niro" (in reference to the fact that fellow director
Martin Scorsese regularly cast
Robert De Niro in his films).
1 During an intensive casting process, Lucas and Spielberg auditioned many actors, and finally cast then little-known actor
Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones. Shortly afterward
pre-production began in earnest on ''
Raiders of the Lost Ark''.
1
However,
CBS refused to release Selleck from his contractual commitment to ''
Magnum, P.I.'' (which was gradually gaining momentum in the ratings), forcing him to turn down the role.
1 After Spielberg suggested Ford again, Lucas finally capitulated, and he was cast in the role - less than 3 weeks before
principal photography began.
1
Models
Many people are said to be the real-life inspiration of the Indiana Jones character - although it should be noted that none of the following have been confirmed as inspirations by Lucas or Spielberg. In alphabetical order by last name:
★
Paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews.
[6]
★ Italian
archaeologist and circus
strongman Giovanni Battista Belzoni (1778–1823).
[7]
★
Yale University professor, historian, and explorer
Hiram Bingham III, who rediscovered and excavated the
lost city of
Machu Picchu,
[8] and chronicled his find in the bestselling book ''The Lost City of the Incas'' in 1948.
[9]
★ The
University of Chicago archaeologist
Robert Braidwood.
[10]
★ Colonel
Percy Harrison Fawcett (1867 – 1925?), perhaps the most quoted source of inspiration to the character of Indiana Jones, was a British archaeologist who disappeared in the Amazon jungle in
1925 while searching for a lost city.
[11]
★ Religious archaeologist
Vendyl "Texas" Jones once claimed that he was the inspiration, citing his names (he notes that his first name trimmed becomes Endy — very similar to Indy), but this claim has reportedly been denied by Spielberg.
[12]
★
German philologist and archaeologist
Otto Rahn (1904-1939)
[1], whose (reluctant) membership in the
SS stands in somewhat
ironic contrast to the
Americanization of the Indiana Jones character.
★ Famed adventurer and archeologist
Robert Ripley.
Appearances
Since his introduction in
1981's ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (later retitled on VHS and DVD box covers as ''Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark''), he has made appearances in two more feature films, a three-season TV series, dozens of novels,
comic books, video games,
role-playing games, and even his own
amusement park rides.
Feature films
Indiana Jones, played by Harrison Ford, was first introduced in the 1981 film ''
Raiders of the Lost Ark'', set in
1936. He is portrayed as an adventurous throwback to the 1930s film serial treasure hunters, with an alter ego of Professor Jones, a respected archaeologist at a New England college. In this first adventure, he is pitted against the Nazis, traveling the world to prevent them from recovering the
Ark of the Covenant (see also
Biblical archaeology).
The 1984 prequel ''
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'', set in
1935, took the character into a more horror-oriented story, skipping his legitimate teaching job and globe trotting, and taking place almost entirely in India. This time, Jones attempts to recover children from a bloodthirsty cult.
The third film, 1989's ''
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'', set in
1938, returned to the formula of the original, reintroducing characters such as
Sallah and
Marcus Brody, a scene from Professor Jones' classroom, the globe trotting element of multiple locations, and the return of the infamous
Nazi mystics, this time trying to find the
Holy Grail. The film's introduction, set in
1912, provided some back story to the character's fear of snakes and trademark fedora. The title was ironically fitting, as this was his "last crusade" for over 18 years, until ''
Indiana Jones 4'', which is set in
1957.
[13]
Television
From 1992 to 1996, George Lucas executive produced a
television series named ''
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' designed as an educational program for children, spotlighting historical figures and important events, using the concept of a prequel to the films as a draw. The show featured a standard formula of a 93-year-old Jones (
George Hall) introducing a story, and then an adventure with either a 17-year-old Jones (
Sean Patrick Flanery) or a 10-year-old Jones (
Corey Carrier). Historical figures featured on the show include
Leo Tolstoy,
Pancho Villa,
Charles de Gaulle, and
John Ford, in such diverse locations as
Egypt,
Austria-Hungary,
India,
China, and the whole of
Europe.
The show provided a lot of the back story for the films. His relationship with his father, first introduced in ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'', was further fleshed out with stories about his travels with his father as a young boy. His original hunt for the ''Eye of the Peacock'', a large diamond seen in ''Temple of Doom'', was a recurring element in several stories. The show also chronicled his activities during
World War I and his first solo adventures, including his first run ins with
Belloq, the villain from ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''.
Since
1999, the
canonicity of the episode introductions by George Hall has been called into question. At that time, George Lucas released a
VHS collection of the series with the introductions removed, amounting to an implicit
retcon of the segments out of existence.
Video games
The character has appeared in several officially licensed video games, beginning with adaptations of
''Raiders of the Lost Ark'',
''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'', and two adaptations of ''
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' - one action oriented, one with a more overt adventure bias.
Following this, the games branched off into original storylines with ''
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis'', ''
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine'', and ''
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb'', which sets up Indy's companion Wu Han and the search for
Nurhaci's ashes seen at the beginning of ''Temple of Doom''. The first two games were developed by
Hal Barwood and starred
Doug Lee as the voice of Indiana Jones, while ''Emperor's Tomb'' had David Esch fill the role.
A
new ''Indiana Jones'' video game is in development by
LucasArts, and is expected to coincide with the release of the upcoming fourth film.
[2]
Another game, '' is scheduled for Summer 2008.
[3]
Influence on popular culture
Whilst himself arguably a
pastiche of various prior
adventurers, the character can also be seen as a forerunner to (or in some cases direct influence on) other more recent fictional adventurers of a similar nature. These include:
★
Lara Croft, the self-styled
Tomb Raider of the eponymous franchise
★ Jack Colton, a
mercenary and treasure-hunter seen in ''
Romancing The Stone''
★ Ben Gates, a
cryptologist featured in the 2004 film ''
National Treasure''
★
Rick O'Connell, an adventurer and treasure-hunter seen in the 1999 film ''
The Mummy'' and ''
The Mummy Returns''.
★ The latter-day adventures of
Dirk Pitt, Special Projects Director of NUMA (the
National Underwater and Marine Agency)
★ Sydney Fox, a female archaeologist and
martial arts expert, star of the television series ''
Relic Hunter''
★ Johnny Thunder, an adventurer and archaeologist from the
Lego Adventurers building toy theme.
★ The "Cliffhangers" series of stories in the online comic strip ''
Irregular Webcomic!''. This includes a spoof of Indiana Jones, (Montana Jones, North Dakota Jones, and Minnesota Jones)
★ Jack West Jr. of the
Matthew Reilly novel,
Seven Ancient Wonders
★ Jake Cutter of the
Tales of the Gold Monkey
The character of Indiana Jones has been directly referenced by several video game characters , such as : -
★ Alabama Smith, protagonist of the ''
Paganitzu'' computer game series
★
Rick Dangerous, as featured in the eponymous video game by
Core Design
★ Dr. Henry "Dakota" Fanning, Ph.D, a character in the game
Kingdom of Loathing
References
1. "Making ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''." September 23, 2003. IndianaJones.com
2. http://www.spookybug.com/origins/general.html
3. http://www.indygear.com/gear/guns.shtml
4. http://smithsonianlegacies.si.edu/objectdescription.cfm?ID=125
5. http://www.indygear.com/
6. Dinosaurs in the Attic: An Excursion Into the American Museum of Natural History, , Douglas J., Preston, St. Martin's Press, 1993, ISBN 0-312-10456-1 , pp. 97–98, "Andrews is allegedly the real person that the movie character of Indiana Jones was patterned after... crack shot, fighter of Mongolian brigands, the man who created the metaphor of 'Outer Mongolia' as denoting any exceedingly remote place."
7. http://www.filmsite.org/raid.html Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
8. The trail less trampled on in USA Today by Gene Sloan, September 23, 2005: "The iconic mountaintop citadel, discovered less than a century ago by American explorer Hiram Bingham, the inspiration for Indiana Jones, is a thrilling reward after days of exertion."
9. ''Lost City of the Incas'' biographical profile from the United States Senate website
10. Obituary: Robert and Linda Braidwood Molly Schranz : "Some say he was the real life inspiration for Indiana Jones."
11. "Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett" by Larry Orcutt
12. Film Claims Disputed; Dig Shut Down: Vendyl Jones' Claims Challenged James Walker : citing Texas Monthly, "Lucas and Spielberg say they've never heard of Vendyl Jones" and the original 1973 script by Lucas predates Vendyl Jones archaeological claims that are the supposed inspiration.
13.
★ Fleurier, Nicolas, ''James Bond & Indiana Jones. Action figures'', Histoire & Collections, 2006.
External links
★
IndianaJones.com — the official Indiana Jones site
★
TheRaider.net — a major fan site of the series
★
The Indiana Jones Wiki
★
Chronology Central's Indiana Jones page — site contains a chronological reading/viewing order listing for all of the Indiana Jones films, episodes, novels, comic books and video games in the Indiana Jones continuity.
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español