The Complete Making of Indiana Jones

The Complete Making of Indiana Jones: The Definitive Story Behind All Four Films

by J.W. Rinzler, interviews by Laurent Bouzereau [791.437 qIndYr]

For anyone who's a fan of the Indiana Jones films, or who grew up going to movies in the late 1970s and 1980s, The Complete Making of Indiana Jones is a treasure. This coffee-table book is a massive history of everything that went into the filming and release of Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, its sequels in 1984 and 1989, and the much-delayed follow-up film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, released just this past May. Filled with dozens of interviews, and reproductions of script pages, call-back sheets, billing invoices, directors notes and every other form historical document associated with the productions that you can imagine, this book is a movie-lover's dream. Interested in how and when George Lucas came up with the idea for his adventurer, Indiana Smith? Curious as to who else was considered for the role of Indy before they offered it to Tom Selleck, who had to back out? Want to know how they did the incredible stunts and special effects? Want to know what was really in the monkey skulls during Temple of Doom's dinner sequence? Did Sean Connery and Harrison Ford get along off-camera? Why did it take almost 20 years to get a fourth film made? The answers to all these questions, and many more, are to be found here. Though a fascinating read, for a movie buff like me, I'm going to deduct an entire point from my score because they didn't bother to dedicate a chapter to The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. If George Lucas considers the stories told in that excellent TV series to be part of the Indy canon, they least they could do is dedicate a few of this book's 300 pages to Young Indy. Otherwise, an excellent read! -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[Also available (on DVD) -- 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 (1989).]

[ official Indiana Jones web site from Lucasfilm ] -- Don't forget...the 4th film is released on DVD tomorrow, October 14th, 2008!

Have you read this one? What did you think?

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