Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Raiders of the Lost Ark

Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Art Podcast

It’s not the years; it’s the mileage.

Okay, maybe it’s the years a little bit too.

Regardless of my personal expectations in regard to the impending fifth Indiana Jones installment, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” I will always love “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and for many reasons. As an “old movie nut” with a fondness for hats, globetrotting intrigue, swashbuckling adventure, thrilling stunts and big orchestral scores, Indy was right in my wheelhouse.

And more than most people my age, I am familiar with many of the series‘ classic forebears, films such as “Gunga Din,” “The General Died at Dawn,” and “The Mask of Fu Manchu;” archaeological and safari adventures like “King Solomon’s Mines,” “Valley of the Kings,” and “Secret of the Incas;” and the countless Nazi peril movies of the World War II era. So there will be plenty for me to talk about, even if I’m only talking to myself.

Of course, we all loved “Star Wars” – another film with a rich cinematic history – so it was great to see Harrison Ford again, in what would become his defining role, supported by the great John Williams no less.

They don’t make ‘em like they used to. Roy and I will talk Indiana Jones and argue the series’ ups and downs, on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. The comments will be full of mummies, asps, and Anubis statues, when we livestream on Facebook, YouTube, etc. We’ll be making it up as we go – so join us as raiders of a lost art, this Friday evening at 7:00 EDT!

https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner

June 22, 2023
Indiana Jones’ Princeton University Connection

Did you know Indiana Jones was born in Princeton, NJ? Supposedly on July 1, 1899. According to his fictional biography, he lived here until 1908, at which time his father, Henry Jones, Sr. – a professor of medieval studies at Princeton University – embarked on a lecture tour.

The Joneses returned to Princeton in time for Indy to attend Princeton High School. However, he never did graduate. While on spring break during his senior year, he fell in with Poncho Villa, while visiting the Southwest, then got caught up in World War I.

Indy himself is supposed to have taught at Princeton University in 1933. However, his longtime employer, and the one we see in the movies, is Marshall College, a fictional institution, in Bedford, Connecticut.

40 years after the release of “Raiders of the Lost Ark (on June 12, 1981), and all this is news to me. Then, I was never a follower of “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” television show or the spin-off novels or video games.

The period during which the Joneses lived in Utah, in 1912, portrayed in the opening sequence of “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” coincides with Henry Jones Sr.’s Princeton sabbatical. Henry Jones taught at Princeton from 1899 until at least 1938.

At some point, Oxford-graduate Marcus Brody, Indy’s boss at Marshall, also took courses at Princeton.

Needless to say, as a “Raiders” fan and now a Princetonian, I find this newly-acquired Indy lore fascinating.

https://indianajones.fandom.com/wiki/Princeton

https://indianajones.fandom.com/wiki/Princeton_University

In real life, William Hootkins, the actor who played Major Eaton in “Raiders” (and memorably uttered the line “TOP… MEN”) graduated from Princeton in 1970. I wrote a post about it in 2019.

PHOTO: Indiana Jones and the Princeton Tiger?

June 13, 2021
Indiana Jones 40th Anniversary

Indiana Jones first cracked his whip on the big screen on June 12, 1981. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg’s smart homage to cinematic serials of yore, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” took off like a shot to become the year’s highest-grossing film and a cultural phenomenon.

This week on “Picture Perfect,” as we anticipate the release of “Indy 5” in 2022, we’ll celebrate four decades of fedoras and five o’clock shadows. Tune in for selections from John Williams’ classic scores for the series, including “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981), “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984), “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989), and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008).

Remember, it’s not the years – it’s the mileage. Join me for a highly subjective hour of music and reflections on the Indiana Jones series, to mark the 40th anniversary of “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies, this Saturday evening at 6:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org!

June 12, 2021
Raiders of the Lost Ark Secret of the Incas & More

On the 40th anniversary of the release of “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” enjoy last night’s discussion of a movie that heavily influenced it, “Secret of the Incas” (1954).

We’re taking Friday off next week, but Roy will be back with his son, Ryan, for a special Father’s Day edition of Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner, on Sunday, June 20 – with the topic to be announced.

Then Roy and I will reunite for yet another riveting conversation, about “Dimension 5” (1966), a time travel-espionage-thriller starring Jeffrey Hunter, France Nuyen, and Harold “Odd Job” Sakata, on Friday, June 25.

Time travel always increases our chances of punctuality. The Facebook livestreams begin at 7 pm EDT.

https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner

June 12, 2021
Secret of the Incas: The REAL Raiders of the Lost Ark?

What is the “Secret of the Incas?” That George Lucas and Steven Spielberg plundered its treasure to create “Raiders of the Lost Ark!”

The archaeological quest, the Peruvian jungle setting, the cynical antihero, the bantering romance, the collegial betrayal, the cryptic secret of the burial chamber/map room, the moral tug-of-war between greed and responsibility, even the signature Indiana Jones fedora, leather jacket, and multi-day stubble. The only things missing are the bullwhip and Indy’s scoundrel charm.

Sure, “Raiders” is the slicker, more breathlessly-paced contemporary entertainment, but “Secret of the Incas” (1954) is a solid representative of the grand, old school, Technicolor, shot-on-location Hollywood adventure.

Charlton Heston is the hard-edged “hero,” Harry Steele, who frequents a local saloon while fielding business and other propositions. Nicole Maurey is the sultry woman with a past, on the run from agents from behind the Iron Curtain. Thomas Mitchell is Harry’s slippery business partner, who periodically tries to kill him. And Peruvian soprano Yma Sumac lends a touch of verisimilitude with her mind-blowing, five-octave range. Oh yeah, there’s also a supporting part for Robert Young as a nice-guy archaeologist, who’s everything Heston’s character isn’t. If you were Maurey, which one would you choose?

To mark the 40th anniversary of “Raider’s” release, on June 12, 1981, we’ll discuss “Secret of the Incas” on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner – with ample reflections on Indiana Jones along the way. So while you’re at it, be sure to brush up on those films too. The comments section will be alive with asps, as I crack the whip on Roy, livestreamed on Facebook, this Friday evening at 7:00 EDT!

https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner/

PHOTO: If adventure has a name, it must be… Harry Steele?

June 10, 2021

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