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 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.

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Mistakes

Continuity mistake: When Indy tries to grab the antidote vial from the table, in the closeup just as the vial falls off the table the camera follows the vial as it lands in the empty area to the left of Lao Che's chair where Kao Kan's chair should be, but it's not, and the rug's edge with wood floor beside Lao Che's chair though it shouldn't be. Then Indy hits Kao Kan who is again seated closely to Lao Che's left, as he should be, and when Kao Kan falls backward we see the rug edge is nowhere near Lao Che's chair, also as it should be. (00:08:20)

Super Grover ★

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

Suggested correction: Actually it appears the vial falls to the left of Kao Ken's chair, not Lao Che's. It appears after Indy pierces the other guy with the shishkebab, Kao Ken, off camera, takes the vial and puts on his left side. Indy jumps on the table and after missing the vial he slides further and then elbows Kao Ken who is on the right side now. The vial is still on the left side of Kao Ken's chair when it's kicked onto the wooden floor.

lionhead

You're very much mistaken. Lao Che is wearing an embroidered dinner jacket and has a pinky ring on his left pinky, and Kao Kan's left hand is bandaged in gauze. After Indy skewers Chen, in the closeup of Indy's hand just as it knocks the vial off the table, it's Lao Che's hand (note the pinky ring, etc) that we see on the table next to Nurhachi's urn, the stack of money, and the vial. That is not Kao Kan's hand/arm, remember his left hand is bandaged. And as this closeup continues to pan down it follows the vial as it lands on the floor in the empty space where Kao Kan's chair should be, but it isn't.

Super Grover ★

Yep, you're right I see it. There are 2 shots of Indy trying to grab the vial off the table and the second one is followed through with the vial falling off it and that one is wrong. Alright.

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Quotes

Short Round: I keep telling you, you listen to me more, you live longer!

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Questions

Question: Why did Spielberg make Temple of Doom a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark? I read somewhere that he didn't want to make the Nazis the villains again, but that wouldn't be a problem since the Nazis never went to India or China.

MikeH

Answer: This is conjecture, but it seems the general function of setting Temple of Doom before Raiders of the Lost Ark is that it helps set audience expectations that the two movies are self-contained episodes. For instance, Karen Allen has said she wasn't disappointed about not being asked to return because she'd already been told that the next installment was being set in the past before her character is reunited with Indy. Conversely, since we're already aware Raiders makes no mention of the events of Temple of Doom, we know we shouldn't necessarily expect any further installments to continue directly from prior movies' storylines regardless if they are set forward in time.

TonyPH

Chosen answer: It was actually George Lucas who wrote the story, made it a prequel, and has stated it was because he didn't want the Nazis to be the villains again. The idea most likely seems if it wasn't a prequel, the Nazis could still be after Jones, even in China or India. But alas, there is really no other insight as to Lucas' prequel decision.

Bishop73

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