 |
| Williams |
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: (JohnWilliams) Some say that 1984's sequel to the classic Steven Spielbergfilm
Raiders of the Lost Ark nearly killed the Indiana Jonesfranchise. Indeed,
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was notreceived well by either critics or, in the same overwhelming numbers, byaudiences. Their serial format wasn't particularly different, thoughSpielberg and writer/producer George Lucas did their best to push thetitle character in completely fresh new directions to avoid claims of arehash. The adventures of America's favorite archeologist took him toIndia and the Far East, tackling a voodoo fortress, saving a villagemissing its children, and wisecracking with Spielberg's future wife intow. The director fought to avoid an "R" rating for
Indiana Jones andthe Temple of Doom, barely obtaining a "PG" rating instead by toningback some of the intense, ritual sacrifice scenes (though still, inpart, inspiring the creation of the "PG-13" rating). In retrospect, thefilm is better than many gave it credit for, especially the almostnonstop twenty minutes of action near the beginning. The incorporationof a sidekick was a tiresome aspect of the plot, however, and few wereready to accept Kate Capshaw as a replacement for Karen Allen from theoriginal film. Still,
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom hasplenty to offer, and composer John Williams was prepared to build upon
Raiders of the Lost Ark, a score destined to be considered amonghis very best, with an extensive, wall-to-wall effort that balancedfamiliar themes with an emphasis on a plethora of new constructs. Manylisteners readily agree that
Temple of Doom stands far apart fromthe other three scores in the franchise, the only one not to makereference to the theme for the Ark of the Covenant from the first filmor share another secondary construct (outside of the title theme and ashort in-joke) with another film. The thematic material in
Temple ofDoom, for instance, would never resurface in the two later scores.Also distinguishing the second score, however, is the incredible amountof source material that Williams had to write and incorporate into thescore. Add to this equation the need for chanting choral elements,performed with Sanskrit lyrics, and
Temple of Doom exists apartfrom the remainder of the franchise as a very unique entry.
One area in which Williams hit the nail directly on thehead for
Temple of Doom was in the exploration of new musicalterritory while remaining loyal to both the symphonic sound and titlemarch from
Raiders of the Lost Ark. With so much music requiredfor
Temple of Doom, the composer needed to supply several newthemes and a wealth of source material without losing the franchise'sidentity, and in this task he admirably succeeds. Fans of the titlemarch will appreciate its spirited entrance during the chase sequence in"Fast Streets of Shanghai," including a performance very similar to theearly escape sequence in
Raiders of the Lost Ark (including eventhe horn-performed bridge section of the theme). The subsequent cue,"Map/Out of Fuel," treats the franchise's famous map sequences withanother bubbly performance of the theme, meanwhile introducing two otherthemes in traditional Williams romanticism. The title theme's trumpetreminders continue in action cues like "Bug Tunnel/Death Trap" and"Short Round Helps" before being allowed extended treatment during thefinale and end titles. The only other part of
Raiders of the LostArk to inform
Temple of Doom is "The Basket Chase" cue fromthe original, translated into the percussive rhythm and wild violinfigures early in "Slalom on Mt. Humol" (with a few brass progressionsthat will also remind of the idea), as well as the humorous reference tothe infamous confrontation within "The Basket Chase" in "The SwordTrick" to match a similar scenario in the new story. There are threeprimary new themes joining the old favorites in
Temple of Doom,along with two lesser motifs. These five ideas are surprisinglyengrained in both each other and the existing material, producing a verysatisfactory level of intelligent development. The primary new identityof
Temple of Doom is the theme for the temple itself and theslave children within. This driving march is a complicated piece,consisting of a forceful primary statement in the minor while switchingto a secondary phrase that provides some of the score's most victoriousmajor exclamations. Both sections are led by a martial rhythm on snareand clanging metallic percussion. The woodwind overlays and the elegantstring bridge of this piece evoke Eastern sensibilities, the meanderingstring portion eventually used as counterpoint over the primary thematicstructure. Williams' concert version of this theme is best heard in"Slave Children's Crusade" and "End Credits."
The other two major new themes are often intertwined intheir upbeat spirit, one frequently used as an answer to the other andboth existing in fragments that appropriately accompany the returningtitle march. The first of these two is the theme for Short Round, aSpielberg favorite that represents Indy's young sidekick. Thisdistinctly Oriental-flavored theme is first heard in "Fast Streets ofShanghai" and receives its own concert arrangement in "Short Round'sTheme" (actually used in the elephant riding scene) before makingseveral noteworthy appearances in "Short Round Escapes," "Short RoundHelps," and as counterpoint to the other remaining themes in the finalebefore its obligatory reference sandwiched in the middle of the themeparade in "End Credits." First heard in two flourishing stringperformances during the flying sequence of "Map/Out of Fuel," the lovetheme is perhaps the least entertaining of the new ideas that Williamsprovides for
Temple of Doom, though it is appropriate to theperiod and, at the very least, memorable in its romantic sways.Occupying much of the first half of "Nocturnal Activities" in comicalfashion, this theme receives several fragmentary references beforerepeated attention in the finale sequence (and closing the central "EndCredits" section). Two other motific identities exist in
Temple ofDoom, neither making much impact but both of moderate interest. Thefirst of these is a five-note progression for the magical stonesworshipped and stolen in the story. Williams extends this theme torepresent the village that the main troop encounters after their descentfrom the plane. Performed on what sounds like an electronically mutatedsitar at its lowest capabilities, this theme (which some might considersimilar to the forthcoming crystal skull motif) can be heard in thissubtle form in "Indy and the Villagers" and "The Scroll" before beingtransferred to choir for scenes actually involving the stones later inthe film, including "Approaching the Stones" and "The Broken Bridge."The final theme is for the evil voodoo priest, Mola Ram, and the PankotPalace that stands above the temple. This impressive theme explodes in"To Pankot Palace" and is heard during a later exterior shot. The ideaeventually accompanies the priest in his struggle for the stones in "TheBroken Bridge." This theme, which would seemingly fit in comfortablywith Williams' later
Star Wars prequel work, is a hidden gem inthe score, taking the form of resoundingly bold brass proclamations overexotic percussion in "To Pankot Palace." It is unquestionably the most surprising highlight of the entire work.
Aside from these three major and two minor new themes,Williams' source usage yields significant influence over the straightunderscore in two portions of the film. The opening night club scene inShanghai introduces Capshaw's character through her mostly Cantoneseperformance of Cole Porter's song "Anything Goes." Williams follows asnippet of Busby Berkeley thrown into the stage rendition of the songwith a few adaptations of the theme into the score, first as straightbackground material and then as a frantic passage within the cue "TheNightclub Brawl." Unfortunately, this cue on album includes Williams'original recording, and while you can hear a piece of Porter's intro atabout 0:45 and a little more at 2:00, the actual portion of "AnythingGoes" recorded to take the place of Williams' action material (ahysterical rendering) is missing. The other section of the score highlyinfluenced by source-like material is all of the music heard in theactual Temple of Doom scenes. Most of this material is summarized by theSanskrit and percussion performances heard in the cue by that name, butthe rest of the worship and ritual-related music is unavailable onalbum. Another part of
Temple of Doom needing discussion is itsaction material. Only in "Bug Tunnel" does Williams directly emulate theNazi fighting and snake evading structures from
Raiders of the LostArk; otherwise, despite the infusion of the title march into severalplaces, the adventure rhythms and associated sounds for the chasing in
Temple of Doom are fresh. Williams' music for the opening halfhour is, like the nonstop chasing, remarkably appealing, matching thefirst score in intensity and orchestral complexity, introducing most ofthe new themes along the way. This style of material does becomeanonymous in the entire underground sequence later in the story, leadingto cues that are really only highlighted by their short bursts ofthematic grandeur (the use of the temple/slave and sidekick themes in"Short Round Help" are a good example). This changes with "The BrokenBridge," which offers massive choral interludes for the temple and stonethemes that effectively provide a body-crushing, jaw-snapping climax forthe score. In "British Relief," Williams offers a singular fanfare forthe cavalry that reminds of the composer's many pastoral concert works.Throughout the score, some of the most evocative conversational materialcomes in the form of the temple/slave theme on yearning strings in "Indyand the Villagers." Otherwise,
Temple of Doom is mostly apowerful symphonic romp of suspense and adventure from start tofinish.
In its entirety, the music from
Temple of Doomis, like the film, underrated. A poor representation of the score onalbum helped fuel such low opinions for years. The Polydor label issuedthe LP contents of the score on CD outside of the United States duringthe first ten years after its debut, with both the identical Japaneseand German editions extremely rare. These CDs presented 40 minutes froma score than ran, with all of the source recordings, over 125 minutes.Williams, as per usual, edited together several cues and chose alternatetakes over those that were heard in the film for inclusion on theproduct, yielding a basically sufficient but still unsatisfactorypresentation. For decades, fans expressed interest in a proper treatmentof
Temple of Doom, and that relief finally came in late 2008,when all four Indiana Jones scores were released together in anextensive set from Concord Records (which had purchased the rights with
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) that expandedthe amount of material available from the first three scores. For manycollectors, the cost of the $45 set was worth attaining
Temple ofDoom alone, and, true to the label's claims, the score's remasteredsound in this case is very impressive. There will still be somecontroversy involving this set's treatment of
Temple of Doom,however, for it provides 86 minutes from the score (with three lessvital cues on a fourth, compilation addendum CD), leaving at leastanother twenty of actual orchestral music unreleased. Not wellrepresented is both the palace fine dining scene and the sacrificerituals in the middle of the film. The latter is especially unfortunate,with eight minutes of missing material including a notable performanceof Ram's palace theme. Also missing is "The Child Returns" and thepercussion of "The Rope Bridge." Fans still hoping to hear the correctmerging of the "Finale" and "End Credits" will note that the 30-secondbridge connecting them is still missing. On the whole, though, theConcord presentation of
Temple of Doom is very strong, and withthe improved quality of sound, proves that the performances by the LosAngeles performers for this recording were up to the task of matchingtheir London counterparts. The primary CD of that presentation wasre-issued by Disney in 2024 as part of a useless and expensive franchiseset. Sony Classical followed similarly in 2025 for a Williams anthology. Only the most ardent fans will truly miss the 40 unreleased minutesof music from this score, and for everyone else, the set is a fantasticopportunity to finally appreciate a score that is, for those who havelittle interest in hearing Williams' frenetic scherzos, an arguablysuperior work to
The Last Crusade. Eat your heart out!
***** @Amazon.com:CD orDownload| Bias Check: | For John Williams reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is3.68(in 91 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is3.53(in 366,091 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars. |
None of the inserts for the 1984 to 1991 Polydor productscontains extra information about the score or film. The 2008 Concord and2024 Disney sets contain bloated packaging with extensive photographyand short notes from the composer and director, but they surprisinglycontain no analysis of the music itself. The book contained within the2025 Sony Classical box is extensive in its detailed notation about thefilm and score.
