The second rope bridge scene to enter the best stunt awards. I will have to admit that the first time that I physically left a movie so drained because the adrenaline made the experience sitting through the movie feel like you had just sat through five trips on a roller coaster with no rest in between. I asked my dad why I felt this way and he explained that I was so involved in the movie that I was on the edge of my seat, a nervous wreck by the time the movie ended. I was 14, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was that movie. It was an exhilarating but exhausting experience.
The actors and stunt performers all receive this award as it was one of the hardest shoots stunt-wise for all involved. For example, Harrison Ford herniated a disc in his back during the tough shoot and had to fly to the US for surgery. Vic Armstrong did the majority of his stunts while he was gone. Also, Kate Capshaw had over 2,000 bugs crawling all over her for a specific scene they spent days shooting as well as a very physical time shooting a mine car fight scene, during which she obtained a black eye. The next day on the set, she walked in to find everyone in the crew had put a black smudge under one eye. Even Steven Spielberg had a hard time because of his fear of heights, he couldn’t step foot on the rope bridge and spent the whole shoot driving a mile and a half every time he had to get to the other side.
Vic Armstrong covers this film effectively in his autobiography, The True Adventures of the World’s Greatest Stuntman: My Life as Indiana Jones, James Bond, Superman and Other Movie Heroes. A truly great read. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was directed by Steven Spielberg for LucasFilm.
Things to look up (go to IMDB page):
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
- Steven Spielberg
- Vic Armstrong
- Kate Capshaw
- Harrison Ford
Check out our new Book, 100 Years of the Best Movie Stunts!