Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

[ethel]

All of the people in the Indian village speak Sinhala/Sinhalese, one of the languages of Sri Lanka, as opposed to Hindi, the Indian language. The villagers are all Sri Lankans.

[frances]

George Lucas, Willard Huyck, and Gloria Katz had been developing Radioland Murders (1994) since the early 1970s. The opening music was taken from that script and applied to Temple of Doom. Steven Spielberg reflected, "George's idea was to start the movie with a musical number. He wanted to do a Busby Berkeley dance number. At all of our story meetings, he would say, 'Hey, Steven, you always said you wanted to shoot musicals.' I thought, 'Yeah, that could be fun.'"

[tammy]

The "giant vampire bats" that are shown in the movie were actually fruit bats. Vampire bats are a lot smaller.

[sandra]

The film's original title was "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Death", which was changed because it sounded too foreboding. It was retained as the film's German title ("Indiana Jones und der Tempel des Todes").

[kenzi]

Lawrence Kasdan, the screenwriter of the original, walked away from the project because he thought it was too dark; too "mean-spirited" he actually said. Both Spielberg and Lucas wound up agreeing with him after the movie was released.

[ken]

The only Indiana Jones movie where he isn't on an assignment intentionally. The plane crashed rather than flying to the destination.

[linda]

In the scene where Indy, Willie, and Short Round are falling out of the sky in the inflatable raft, they slide down a mountain and into a canyon. The canyon the production crew used was the Snake River Canyon in Twin Falls, Idaho. The same canyon Evel Knievel attempted to jump over.

[frances]

The first film to use THX's Theatre Alignment Program, which ensures that cinemas showing the film meet stringent technical and presentation standards.

[claude]

The remains of Nurhaci (traded in the opening scene for a diamond) were never actually lost and are generally believed to be inside the Fuling Mausoleum in the city of Shenyang, China.

[camila]

Philip Stone was best known for his films with Stanley Kubrick, having appeared in A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, and The Shining. Barry Lyndon also featured Wolf Kahler, who played Deitrich in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Spielberg later made reference to The Shining with the raptors-in-the-kitchen scene in Jurassic Park.

[javier]

When the two swordsmen attack Indiana on the cliff, and he attempts to reprise his response from the "basket scene" from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) by reaching for his gun, a bit of music from the basket scene is heard.

[riley]

Steven Spielberg said that he did not enjoy this film as much as the rest of the Indiana Jones films, but said that it was a great experience for him, because he met his future wife, Kate Capshaw, during the production of this movie.

[ivan]

Mola Ram's chantings of "Maaro maaro sooar ko, chamdi nocho pee lo khoon" literally translated from Hindi is "Kill, Kill the pig, flay his skin, drink his blood". This is similar to the chant from William Golding's "Lord of the Flies".

[carl]

Lawrence Kasdan (Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)'s screenwriter) was asked to write the script. "I didn't want to be associated with Temple of Doom", he reflected. "I just thought it was horrible. It's so mean. There's nothing pleasant about it. I think Temple of Doom represents a chaotic period in both their (Lucas and Spielberg) lives, and the movie is very ugly, and mean-spirited."

[francisco]

Most of the cavernous mine where the minecart chase takes place is miniature, with the walls made of painted aluminium foil.

[richard]

The insect on Willie's hand in the bug tunnel scene is a Spiny Leaf Insect (Extatosoma tiaratum).