Perfect Adventure Scenes

The release and (accompanying never-ending press) of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has caused me to get quite a bit more nostalgic for the original three films than I ought to be. I suppose nostalgia is the whole point of the new one, but it feels a bit like cheating for me, because I wasn't even born yet when Raiders of the Lost Ark was released. In fact, I've always been a bit annoyed that I arrived too late to get in on the ground floor of those three brilliant adventure trilogies from the late '70s and '80s: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Back to the Future.

Then again, catching the films on video as a young kid, with little knowledge of their impact on pop culture, probably made for purer experiences. Heck, I didn't even understand until well into my teenage years that Star Wars and Indiana Jones were elaborate homages to B-grade serial adventures of yore – I just accepted them for what they were: really awesome movies that succeeded in giving me the truest sense of gee-whiz wonder I've ever experienced. 

While the collective experience of these movies is unmatched, my mind always goes back to a couple of specific scenes – scenes so pitch-perfect that I want to capture every individual frame of film and lock them in a vault. (Or maybe in a giant warehouse, right next to the Ark of the Covenant.) Since I'm being all nostalgic, I'd like to share them.

There's so much to choose from in Star Wars, but I love the showdown in Return of the Jedi between Luke, Vader, and the Emperor. (Watch it here.) The dynamic between the three characters is startlingly complex – will the Emperor turn Luke evil? Will Vader come away from the Dark Side to help his son? How can Luke possibly get out of this? And the setting – this is all going down on a giant space station that can destroy planets, in the middle of a fierce space battle fought by Luke's friends that will ultimately decide the fate of the Rebellion against the Evil Empire. 

And then there's The Moment, when all seems lost. The Emperor is using the powers of the Dark Side to repeatedly blast Luke with what looks like very painful bolts of electricity. Luke's on the ground, screaming in pain, dying. And Vader: looking on as his master kills his son.  Cut to the Emperor. Cut back to a close-up of Vader – whose black mask, somehow portrays more emotion and depth than most regular performances. It's do or die: Save your son! You can do it, I scream in my head every time I watch it. And, of course, he does, as we always secretly knew he would: he picks up the Emperor and throws him down the shaft to oblivion, an act which will result in his own death but save his soul.

In Back to the Future, the coolest single moment is easy: it comes in the first film, when Doc Brown swings down the cable from the clock tower as that classic score is blasting and he plugs it in just in time for the lightning to surge through the cable and rescue Marty McFly from being trapped in 1955 forever. (Watch it here.) The image of the Doc swinging down on that cable was ingrained in my head when I was too little to follow the plot of the movie at all -- it simply looked like one of the most exciting things I'd ever seen. 

But then the magic continues: Marty and the DeLorean disappear, and the overjoyed Doc dances down the street, still burning from the time machine. The familiar score comes back on, but it's quieter this time, with one lone brass: some crazy stuff has gone down, but everything's all right now.

Finally, there's the Indiana Jones franchise. I can honestly think of no better stand-alone sequence in any movie ever that tops the very first sequence of the series for thrills and coolness: Indy's perilous journey in and out of a severely booby-trapped temple. (Watch it here.) The bag of sand he puts in place of the legendary idol in hopes that it will stop the alarms from going off. The traitorous companion, played by a young Alfred Molina, who meets a gruesome end as soon as he selfishly leaves Indy for dead. The temple itself coming alive: poison darts springing from the walls, the giant stone door that tries to trap Indy inside forever. And of course the legendary boulder chase. 

The structure is deceptively simply – a series of perilous setups and adrenaline-rush payoffs – but it enthralled my ten-year-old self like nothing else had. Just as important as what was happening inside the temple, of course, was who it was happening to. Indiana Jones was pretty much the coolest guy alive: he got to journey through perilous jungles and legendary hidden temples all day, and during his off-hours he made some money as a mild-mannered college professor.

Perhaps the best compliment I can give the scene is that it partly inspired me to be a writer. In fifth grade, I wrote something like five stories in a row about an adventurer who escaped from booby-trapped temples.

What are some other scenes you wish you could see again for the first time?

Michael Dance
StrandedinManhattan.com

**Read more articles by Michael Dance**

Comments

[sandy]

adventure is something we all like.the movie Indiana Jones was amazing after watching the movie i too wanted the same hats, clothes and accessories