2023-05-18 09:39:31
The Cannes Film Festival will experience one of its stellar moments this Thursday with the premiere of the fifth installment of Indiana Jones, which the octogenarian Harrison Ford plays for the last time. “Indiana Jones and the Call of Destiny” is the title of this new episode of one of the great movie sagas, screened out of competition at Cannes.
At 80, Ford dons his fedora and whip at the command of James Mangold, who rose to prominence in 2005 with his film biography of country singer Johnny Cash (“Walk the Line”).
Both Ford and Disney, which bought the rights to the Indiana Jones saga, They have already assured that this time is the last.
The first four episodes were directed by Steven Spielberg, who was in Cannes for the 2008 screening of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” The action of this new episode takes place at the end of the 1960s, but the writers have included a “flashback” that has required Ford’s face to be “rejuvenated” by artificial intelligence for several minutes, another example of the changes that are coming in the audiovisual field.
The Spanish Antonio Banderas, the British Phoebe Waller-Bridge (“Solo”) and the Danish Mads Mikkelsen, who played the villain in “Casino Royal”, accompany Ford in this mega-production, which has been filmed in several countries, including Morocco. .
The six things you need to know regarding “Indi”
Since he hit the screens with “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark” in 1981, the intrepid adventurer has established himself not only as one of the great heroes in movie history, but as a popular icon. These are six essential things regarding the character, who Harrison Ford plays for the fifth time in “Indiana Jones and the Call of Fate”, presented this Thursday at the Cannes Film Festival.
1.-Born on a beach in Hawaii:
It was the director of “Star Wars”, George Lucas, who had the initial idea for this archaeologist and adventurer, an insatiable seeker of relics and objects of great symbolism in the history of humanity, such as the Biblical Ark of the Covenant or The Holy Grail.
The dream, inspired by countless B-movie heroes, comes true on a Hawaiian beach, where he spends a vacation with Steven Spielberg. The “Jaws” filmmaker wanted to shoot a James Bond, but Lucas replied: “I have something better!”
“Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark” was an immediate and worldwide success, followed by “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).
In total, those four films accounted for close to $2 billion at the box office.
2.-The explorer of Machu Picchu –
With his three-day beard, his worn felt hat, a leather jacket that resists all fights, a cloth bag to put the most precious treasures and a whip, Indiana Jones embodies the image of the explorer.
Lucas and Spielberg drew inspiration in particular from the American archaeologist Hiram Bingham, the man who discovered the ruins of Machu Picchu. But also from Tintin or Clint Eastwood’s “cowboy” movies.
The hero is called Henry, but everyone knows him as Indiana. Which was actually the name…of Lucas’s dog. That he had already inspired the prolific director to create the furry Chewbacca from “Star Wars.”
3.-Winds and anachronisms –
The nods to the “Star Wars” saga are constant in the Indiana Jones series. In a famous scene from “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark,” when Indy is in the Well of Souls, the droids R2D2 and C3PO appear among the hieroglyphs. And the seaplane’s registration is OB-CPO, alluding to Obi Wan and C3PO.
Over the years, fans have spotted other winks and anachronisms.
This is the case, for example, of the bazooka used by Indiana Jones, a weapon that in 1936, the year in which the film is set, had not yet been invented.
And the same goes for the map on which “Thailand” appears, a country that did not yet exist. The colony was then called Siam.
4.- Magnum, Sharon Stone –
To play Indiana, Spielberg wanted Harrison Ford, but Lucas was not convinced, because the public identified the actor with the character Han Solo.
Both directors probed Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges and Bill Murray and finally Tom Selleck, then little known. But this actor was committed to “Magnum.” Spielberg finally convinces Lucas: Harrison Ford is the man.
For the role of Willie, the adventuress girlfriend from Indiana, a thousand actresses filed during the auditions, including Sharon Stone. Kate Capshaw got the role, which would not lead to a great film career. Spielberg married her in 1991.
5.- “Tapón”, from Indiana’s assistant to Oscar-winning actor –
The case of the actor of Vietnamese origin Ke Huy Quan is the perfect illustration of the American dream.
RA refugee of Vietnamese origin, at the age of 12 he is chosen for the role of “Plug”, the adventurer’s assistant in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”. His success is confirmed with another film, “The Goonies”.
But then comes a long journey through the desert, for decades, until the unexpected consecration arrives in 2022, with “Everything at once everywhere”, with which he wins the Oscar for best supporting actor.
6.-Ofidiophobia –
It’s Indiana’s only weak spot: her phobia of snakes, known as ophidiophobia. It should be said that when he was young, the adventurer fell into a pit full of these reptiles.
It is a famous scene in movie history: Indiana Jones falls into the Well of Souls looking for the clue to the lost ark. A place full of snakes of all kinds, which Spielberg filmed with no less than 6,500 animals. To the pile he added, camouflaged, some hose lengths.
The most dangerous snake, the cobra, was filmed in a glass bell. After shooting the scene it was discovered that some snakes had disappeared.
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