Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom trivia picture

Trivia: After the fight in the nightclub, when Indy and Willie make their escape, the name of the club is visible as they drive away - Club Obi Wan - a reference to Star Wars, also by George Lucas.

Trivia: Just like Indiana was named after George Lucas' dog, Willie was named after Steven Spielberg's dog and Short Round was named after screenwriters Bill Hyuck and Gloria Hatz's dog.

Trivia: When Indiana Jones is confronted with the two swordsmen and goes to draw his gun to repeat his easy kill from the first Indy movie, listen to the music. It's the same music that was played in Raiders of the Lost Ark in the marketplace shortly before he pulled his gun on the big twirling swordsman.

Lynette Carrington

Trivia: According to the (excellent) novelization of the movie, when Indy is under the Thuggee spell, he believes that there is a black snake coiled in his chest. When he is given an order by Mola Ram, if he tries to resist, the snake squeezes his heart until he complies with the order.

Mark Bernhard

Trivia: Due to a severe back injury, Harrison Ford was not even present for most of the conveyor belt scene. It was mostly done using his stunt double. Harrison was added in later with close ups and reactionary shots.

Lynette Carrington

Trivia: When the life raft crashes into in the river you can see for a second that its bottom rips apart. So Willie has much more reasons to complain about being wet ... (00:17:45)

Trivia: There was only one red sequined dress for Kate Capshaw to wear during filming. This practice is literally unheard of today. There are typically multiple pieces of movie wardrobe produced in case of damage, staining or loss.

Lynette Carrington

Trivia: The little boy, Ke Huy Quan, didn't initially intend to try out for Short Round. He was merely accompanying his brother who auditioned for the character, but Ke Huy called out so much advice to him that he caught the directors' notice.

Trivia: Willie's sequined dress in the opening "Anything goes" scene was damaged by an elephant in the jungle scene when it ate the back of the dress. As the opening scene had not yet been shot, the dress had to be repaired.

Trivia: Something a lot of people don't necessarily pick up on. Temple of Doom is actually set before "Raiders".

Trivia: Star Wars reference: When the lava pit is opening to sacrifice Willie, listen for the same sound as Darth Vader igniting his lightsaber. (01:22:25)

Trivia: When the first sacrifice victim is being lowered into the lava pit, he is chanting "Om Nam Shiva" over and over. This translates very roughly as "Universe, Earth, Shiva," though the words themselves refer to complex concepts. This is a mantra from a Hindu practice called Shiva Yoga. Shiva Yoga also involves the use of Lingham stones, like the ones Indy is after in the movie.

Mark Bernhard

Trivia: Harrison Ford injured his back when he was fighting with the Thuggee inside his suite in Pankot Palace, who was trying to choke Harrison but Harrison flips to knock the guy off. It took two weeks for Harrison to come back from his herniated back injury (after surgery).

Trivia: The sacred stones that Mola Ram is searching for actually have some basis in fact. The real stones are called "lingham stones", and are symbols of Shiva. They occur naturally and are found in rivers throughout India.

Mark Bernhard

Trivia: In the novelization of the movie, Short Round believes that the elephant he is riding on is actually the reincarnation of his dead brother.

Mark Bernhard

Trivia: Kate Capshaw got a black eye when Ke Huy Quan (Short Round) hit a Thuggee, who was trying to capture Kate before she could get on the mine cart, with a stick (which was actually balsa wood) that broke in half and part of it hit her in the eye.

Trivia: Star Wars Reference: Indy charges after the guards with a sword just before going on the bridge, then has to make a quick retreat when they chase him. Remember Han Solo and the chase of the stormtroopers on board the Death Star? Harrison Ford is one brave man...

Trivia: Some of the action scenes in in this film were actually written for 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', but were dropped and incorporated into this one.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom mistake picture

Visible crew/equipment: After Willie spits in Indy's face it cuts to Short Round running through the mine, and just as Shorty turns his head toward the camera behind him, we can catch a glimpse of something blue which does not belong in this dark dreary environment, at the right side of the screen. There is a tall spotlight and two crew members, one is wearing a solid blue shirt and a cap, and the other a blue/white striped shirt with white pants. (01:21:25)

Super Grover

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: This takes place in milliseconds and there's no way to see it unless you pause the image or play it in slo-mo. It should be under trivia.

Sacha

Right now I have it playing on Netflix, and there is no slow motion. The striped blue shirt is noticeable as it plays without any slo-mo. If something catches my eye onscreen, it is fair game to go back and rewatch what was noticed in the first place. And in order for me to confirm what I find, I do pause, and may take screenshots. By the way, I've seen this movie countless times over the years, and it was just a matter of catching that glimpse of the color blue because it popped out against the dreary surroundings. I'll leave it up to Jon whether to move it to trivia or not.

Super Grover

Fair enough :).

Sacha

More mistakes in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Willie: There are two dead people down here!
Indy: There's gonna be two dead people in here!

More quotes from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Question: Does anyone have a translation as to what the Mullaram says during the human sacrifice scenes? He chants something like 'Cully-ma, Cully-ma, Cully-ma sha-ti-day.' Also, what does the human sacrifice say? It sounds like 'Oh num-shi-vye.'

Answer: He says "kali ma, shakti day". This is hindi and means (literally) "black mother, give me power/strength". "Ohm nama Shivaya" means "I bow to Shiva." Both are Hindi.

More questions & answers from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

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