What Indiana Jones got wrong about his fear of snakes.
- Carl Lane
- Nov 13, 2017
- 3 min read
Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark by Lawrence Kasdan (1979)
While the rest of the world fights total war – Indiana Jones fights his own battle against the Nazis and must reach the Ark before they do, but can he? Or will Dr Jones succumb to betrayal, love, grief or even snakes?
Set during the Second World War, the work of art that is Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark has been thoroughly researched to create a vibrant and sometimes beautiful world. If you remove the narrative from the screenplay for a moment and pay attention to the vivid descriptions you would be transported to the dense sticky jungle, or the stuffy, dusty rooms of the museum, or the swelteringly hot desert in Egypt, and despite having never been there you can imagine the sounds of the jungle, or the dust particles floating through the air of the museum, or the shimmering sea hovering just above the hot sand of the desert. Together, Kasdan and Lucas have created a world that we can be a part of.
Script Review
The story is pacy, it has to be, it is an action/adventure film, but the story flows. Each scene seamlessly leads to the next in a logical and chronological way and the story is simple. These defining features of the screenplay are what made this film become a cult film in my opinion.
Within the first scene, Indy has displayed all of his most unique characteristics and it is him that makes the reader continue reading. His wit, charm, intelligence, obsession, professionalism, unprofessionalism, and phobia are all introduced in a way that seems unforced. In fact, most of these are introduced in description.
The impressive thing is, these characteristics are introduced according to Indy’s surroundings and experiences, he doesn’t simply say he has a fear of snakes during a conversation, instead he sees one and reacts as you would expect.
The dialogue in this film is superb, it is tight, restrained, and each scene serves a plot forwarding purpose. The characters interact with each other in a natural way and according to their surroundings. One line of dialogue that sticks out the most for me in this whole screenplay comes on page 14.
Brody says, “They’re from the Army.” and Indy responds in spectacular fashion, “I’ve already served.”.
This line of dialogue comes from the time period, and could only have been written for this character, in this scene, in this film. The line is not a cliché, it is an honest gut reaction to the information that has been given to him. He could have asked what they wanted, instead his reply tells us more about him then a conversation. Indy fought in the First World War, he has absolutely no intention in fighting the Second, he mistrusts the government and Army officials, perhaps he is scared of war, but it also allows us to understand how he might find it easier than most to kill someone.
Where the problems lie
Marion is complicated. She knows what she wants and she is capable of getting it, she is powerful and her voice is heard. Yet the story treats her like a damsel in distress at times when all I wanted to see was her know something or do something that Indy didn’t know. For example, in the scene where Indy and Marion are trapped in the snake pit, we know that Indy hates snakes, but so does Marion. So it is up to Indy to get them out and keep a level head whilst Marion screams and basically serves no purpose. I felt that it would have been interesting to see Marion take charge of that situation and show that Indy is not indestructible, but also that when they get together at the end, it is more on a level playing field and less of a reward for saving her life.
Verdict
Written action was fantastic and a real learning experience for me. It was necessary and concise and vivid. Dialogue was incredible, everything that was said had a purpose, it wasn’t filler. I have to give it five stars out of five, it was essentially faultless and good for my on going understanding.
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