Born on a Hawaiian beach
He was the director of Star WarsGeorge Lucas, who had the initial idea of this archaeologist and adventurer, 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 filmmaker of Jaws he 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, and was 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.
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 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.
winks and anachronisms
The winks to the saga Star Wars are constant in the Indiana Jones series. In a famous scene from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost ArkWhen Indy is in the Well of Souls, hehe droids R2D2 and C3PO appear between the hieroglyphics. 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.