TOD 30th Anniversay

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I love it so much....

TOD might be more visually iconic than even Raiders. Not a better film for me, but it's right up there. And to read Spielberg saying he made Crusade to "apologize to the fans for TOD" is baffling. Or as Ron Swanson would say...."That's upsetting."
 
ToD always gets little praise. I have never understood this, for me it remains one of his 'grittiest' adventures and showed that indy was always
strong even when he was in over his head. Happy 30th ToD, hope the next indy quest is more like you.:clap
 
I usually get **** for this but I do admit that TOD is my favorite Indy movie. It's the first one that I saw in the theatres as a kid. What kid didn't want to be Short Round and get to ride shotgun for Indy's adventures? As a teenager and adult I came to realize and appreciate how dark and evil of a film it is: starving people, stolen children and Mola Ram rips out people's still beating hearts! It's nuts.
 
I love it so much....

TOD might be more visually iconic than even Raiders. Not a better film for me, but it's right up there. And to read Spielberg saying he made Crusade to "apologize to the fans for TOD" is baffling. Or as Ron Swanson would say...."That's upsetting."

Spielberg drives me crazy with that... I think TLC is incredibly flawed and Lazily made. Had Sean Connery not been in the film there would not be much to remember the film for other then one really good action scene with the Tank. Personal opinion of course but I think TOD is 10X the film as TLC... This is not just nostalgic rose colored glasses either. I have fallen out of love with many of my favs from Childhood but TOD keeps going strong. Sure it's flawed and far from perfect. But compared to the other two sequels it's a masterpiece. Ford was still into the role, the action scenes were original and fun (TLC basically took the mine car chase and put it on bikes). Short Round was perfect and the two of them playing cards together and accusing each other of cheating is one of my fav moments of the entire series. It also has some great "Lets get pumped" moments.... Like "Right... All of Us" and then the Slave Children crusade music starts and the Mine Car light pans on Indy from toe to head.... GREAT STUFF!!!

TOD was the film that mad me a HUGE Indy fan.. I saw it as the perfect age of 13 and I went nuts for Indy. I loved everything about the film.

After repeat viewings when I became a cynical older teen and in my early 20's I started to read about others opinions of the film and started to allow the films flaws to bother me and I found myself falling out of love. But when I was around 30 years I watched it again. I don't know if it's because it was WIDESCREEN or just that I was able to sit back and enjoy the magic but I fell in love again and have had no problem not only having it be my second fav Indy film but also putting it on my list of top 10 action films.

Now while I bash on TLC I should say that I did enjoy some moments... But overall I thought the film was flat.

Don't get me started on the KOTCS abomination. Though I did find with a repeat viewing that I actually somewhat enjoy the first 50 min... But the Marion shows up and the film goes downhill fast. I don't blame her... I just blame the tone of the film turning into a Thursday night sit com.

Anyways.... LONG LIVE TOD!!!! Here is to enjoying it for another 30 years.
 
Of the original 3 TOD was the distant third in the begining. Now before I get blasted, I was only 2 or 3 when it came out and it had a much darker tone than the other two so while I saw Raiders by the time I was 6 and saw Crusade in the theaters it wasn't until I the end of highschool begining of college that I finally saw the full unedited for TV version of it (I think the cult/heart removal scenes freaked my mom out so it was no allowed in the house). It has grown on me through the years and now it is right up there with the others. Raiders and Crusade will always have the childhood memories attached to them so I do not think TOD will ever overtake them but it's no longer kicked around by the other two. For whatever reason Willy just get s on my nerves at times.
 
I can't believe it's been 30 years! TOD has fallen a few notches for me, but I still hold it in high regard. Definitely better than LC and KOTCS. I still remember seeing it when I was 11 and literally being breathless at the end of it. I also remember staying in the theater and watching it again one of the many times I went back to see it that summer. Looking back at it now I see the flaws and how much more Shorty and Willie bother me (they always did, even as a kid). But what I can appreciate is that the character of Indy is still himself. He still has that angry edge that I found so intense in Raiders. He and the action were not neutered like they were in LC and KOTCS. That world still had teeth. If I could change one thing though, even above the annoying Willie and Shorty, I would want to change the happy ending and leave some ambiguity or something open ended that left you wondering and wanting more, like the warehouse scene in Raiders did. That warehouse ending added so much to the overall movie, making it feel like a real film, not just a fun afternoon flick. It would also add to the "serial" concept of the movie, leaving room for further adventures even if they were not explored in the sequel (I'm ignoring the terrible callback in KOTCS). There was something so cool about leaving the audience with the creepy Ark theme and the haunting visual of the warehouse. I wish TOD would have ended with something like that. Otherwise the movie is a blast from beginning to end.
 
I thought ToD was a blast when I first saw it in theaters, and I still do. So many things about it that I like: the dark, gritty feel of the film mixed in with the humor; a memorable villain; and non-stop action from the time Indy rescues the children to the rope bridge. Yeah, aspects of it are dated and I doubt it would fly in today's politically correct world, but ToD is up there with Raiders as two of my all-time favorite films.
 
I personally put this one on a second tier along with Last Crusade, but it still is a movie I like a lot, and it has its charms. I love the opening bit in Shanghai, the cart ride is pure fun, and the rope bridge scene is as iconic as any Indiana Jones scene.
 
This would have been the perfect time for Sideshow to have released those TOD figures including the mine car environment they told us was coming 3 years ago. Like the G.I. Joe line, Indy is dead.
 
TOD was the only good Indy sequel. Before Indy became a family affair or Lucas' rovering educational/historical where's-Waldo travelogue.

Too bad Spielberg and Lucas couldn't have cranked out a couple more episodic style sequels like TOD (like the Bond movies) that are simply different adventures without having to 'connect' it to something 'significant'. There was a wealth of adventures and locales waiting to be tapped.
 
TOD was the only good Indy sequel. Before Indy became a family affair or Lucas' rovering educational/historical where's-Waldo travelogue.

Too bad Spielberg and Lucas couldn't have cranked out a couple more episodic style sequels like TOD (like the Bond movies) that are simply different adventures without having to 'connect' it to something 'significant'. There was a wealth of adventures and locales waiting to be tapped.

They should have kept going doing one every 3 years after Last Crusade. Harrison would still have been young enough and we wouldn't have gotten the lazy abomination of Crystal Skull.
 
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