Indiana Jones became a hero 40 years ago

10.06.2021

Photo: TM/1981-2021 Lucasfilm Ltd. /dpa
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On June 12, 1981, the classic movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark” was released in US cinemas. Four decades later, the heroic adventures are far from over.

If the graying Hollywood star masters dangerous adventures for the fifth time in “Indiana Jones 5”, he would be 80 years old when it opened in theaters. If the plans of producer Steven Spielberg (74) and director James Mangold (“Walk the Line”, “Wolverine: Weg des Kriegers”) work, the sequel should start at the end of July next year. In 2016, the Disney group had announced the fifth “epic adventure” for July 2019, but there were umpteen postponements, most recently because of the corona pandemic.

But now Ford (78) is back in front of the camera with the iconic Fedora hat. Photos from the set in England have been in the press in the last few days. Accordingly, filming has started on a castle on the coast of the English county of Northumberland.

Ford has played the daring professor four times since 1981, most recently in 2008 in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, always directed by Spielberg. But last year he handed over the scepter to his younger colleague Mangold (57).

The “Star Wars” creator George Lucas came up with the “Indy” figure in the late 1970s. As a writer and producer, Lucas played a key role in all four episodes from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” to “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”. But with the sale of his legendary company Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012, Lucas screwed down his film work.

The favorite for the “Indy” lead was initially the mustached Tom Selleck, but he had already signed up for the TV series “Magnum” and Ford stepped in. The role of the sleek globetrotter was tailor-made for him and made him Hollywood superhero. In “Raiders of the Lost Treasure” he battled Nazi villains in the 1930s, jetted through Peru and Nepal and brought the legendary Biblical Ark of the Covenant to safety. There were four Oscars, for production design, editing, sound and special effects.

In “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984) he fought against a sinister cult in India in 1935. “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989) led him in competition with Nazi agents on a turbulent search across Europe for the Holy Grail and his father, played by Sean Connery. It was a real pleasure to chauffeur Connery in the sidecar of a Russian motorcycle over bumpy, winding mountain roads, Ford recalled last November on a joint shooting scene shortly after the death of the Bond star at the age of 90.

In “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008), the action took place in the midst of the Cold War in the 1950s, with Cate Blanchett as the Russian agent.

The planned fifth part does not yet have a title, and the content is also a secret. “Indy” fans can speculate: Will Ford experience a deadly ending in “Indiana Jones 5” like Han Solo in the seventh “Star Wars” saga? What time do the adventures take place and who are the villains? Big names were already mentioned this spring. The Danish star Mads Mikkelsen (55, “Der Rausch”, “James Bond 007: Casino Royale”) and the British Phoebe Waller-Bridge (35, “Fleabag”) join Ford. The German actor Thomas Kretschmann (58, “Avengers: Age of Ultron”) should be there, reported the film portal “TheWrap” in April.

Paramount Pictures and Lucasfilm are using the 40th anniversary for a new edition of the four Indiana Jones films in Ultra HD resolution. According to the announcement, the original negatives were revised and the sound was remixed.

Indiana Jones’ hero status has long gone down in Hollywood history books. The renowned American Film Institute (AFI) put the character from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” at number two on its list of 50 greatest film heroes in 2003. “Indy” ranks behind the courageous attorney Atticus Finch from “Who disturbs the nightingale” (1962), but before “James Bond – 007 chasing Dr. No” (1963), played by Sean Connery.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210610-99-933713 / 3

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