Indiana Solo and the Temple of Bespin

What follows is a list of the remarkable number of similarities I’ve noticed between two motion pictures produced by LucasFilm. They are:

1. “Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back” (1980)
2. “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984).

George Lucas has been accused of being a notorious recycling ninja, so what follows may be of surprise to no one. Regardless, I feel compelled to continue. The first section uses screen grabs to illustrate the visual/plot similarities.

SPOILER WARNING if you haven’t seen them!

Visual/Plot similarities:

Ally of hero is killed early on into the story, shortly after being introduced

Dack rides alongside Luke Skywalker but doesn’t live long

Wu Han dies helping Indiana Jones

Hero leads heroine in a hasty escape from the bad guys.

Han Solo leads Princess Leia in escape from Vader’s wrath.

Indiana Jones leads Willie Scott in escape from Lao Che’s wrath.

Escape continues to flying vehicle.

Quick! Get into the Millenium Falcon!

Quick! Get into this airplane!

Something is wrong in the cockpit

Solo realizes that the Falcon’s hyperdrive is broken

Jones realizes that the airplane is out of fuel

Hero is pursued through rocky terrain

ILM miniature department provides the (Oscar-winning) visuals.

In the asteroid field evading Imperial TIE Fighters

In a mine cart evading Thuggee

Hero argues with heroine

And points his finger! (Harrison Ford does this in a lot of movies.)

After the arguing comes the kissing

Okay, so maybe this is common to a lot of movies….

Wizened elder tells hero about the journey ahead

In a small hut, no less.

Lead villain wears cool headgear

Very fashionable.

Lead villain wears cape while flanked by minions

Lead villain kills own minions

Deaths will continue until morale improves.

Hero explores horseback alternatives

Tauntaun

elephant

Elephant trio

ILM used elephants as movement reference for the Imperial walkers.

ILM added Pankot palace in the distance of this elephant shot.

A Place of Safety

Like the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel, our heroes take time out of their journey and seek shelter at what appears to be a safe outpost.

Bespin colony, where they mine gas.

Pankot Palace, where they (secretly) mine for magic stones.

Dinner surprises

After-dinner torture

…involving extreme heat

Welcome to Hell

Notwithstanding its pleasing appearance, Hansel and Gretel soon discover that trouble awaits within the Gingerbread House.

The pit of doom

There’s steam and a fiery glow everywhere. There are these rectangular conveyances that lower unwilling victims into a pit. And it’s all shot at Elstree Studios.

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Creatures are sliced open

And something slimy spills out. (“Great Green Gobs Of Greasy, Grimy Gopher Guts”)

Tauntaun is sliced open and guts bulge out.

Snake is sliced open and live eels squirm out

Winged creature startles heroine

mynocks startle Leia

bat startles Willie

Directions from reformed betrayer

Lando tells our heroes to go to the east platform.

Maharaja tells Short Round to escape via the left tunnel.

Holy Smoke, Crash Landing!

Luke’s X-Wing crashes into Dagobah swamp

Plane crashes into mountain.

Hero loses his gun

Climactic fall from a great height

With help from ILM.

Other similarities:

1. Second Instalment of Franchise:

Both Empire and Doom are the initial followups to what would end up being long running motion picture franchises. Their respective predecessors are “Star Wars IV: A New Hope” (1977) and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981). If these followups (Empire is a sequel, Doom is a prequel) hadn’t succeeded, it is believed that their franchises would have had no future.

2. Harrison Ford

• Ford portrays Han Solo in Empire and Indiana Jones in Doom. Both are heroic characters. Han has expertise in smuggling and as a space pilot. Indy has expertise in archaeology and grave robbing.

3. George Lucas / Lucasfilm Ltd.

• Both movies are Lucasfilm Ltd. productions, with “story by” and “executive producer” credits going to George Lucas. George is the creator of both franchises.

4. Neither are directed by George Lucas

• Empire is directed by Irvin Kershner, Doom by Raiders director Steven Spielberg

5. Music composed and conducted by John Williams

• Williams was already a regular collaborator with Spielberg and had scored the initial instalments of both franchises.

6. Reputation as “dark” instalment:

• In a behind the scenes interview shot in 1983, Spielberg warned that they weren’t making “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Roses.”
• Steven Spielberg: “George was going through a dark period. He certainly inspired [Irvin] Kershner to shoot a very dark second act in the first Star Wars trilogy and he wanted the second Indiana Jones to be very, very, dark.” [from empireonline]
• George Lucas, original creator of the Indiana Jones concept, felt this second installment ‘had to have been a dark film,’ as Empire Strikes Back was the dark second chapter of Star Wars. [from suite101]

7. In addition to Ford, Lucas and Williams, IMDb lists 69 other names common between the two movies:

• IMDb: Most Popular People Credited in “Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980)” And Credited in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)”
• (Being a Lucasfilm Ltd. production, many post-production crew regulars from Lucas companies ILM and Sprocket Systems populate the list.)

8. Both won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

• ILM won a lot of those in the eighties.
• Both also nominated for score

9. Both opened in theatres the second last Wednesday in May (21st of 1980 and 23rd of 1984)

10. Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK was the studio used for both productions.

11. Both are shot in colour 35mm in the 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio and were released in 70mm in select theatres. (I saw both in 70mm 6-track Dolby Stereo at the University Theatre in Toronto in their initial release.)