Academy Awards — 1 win, 2 nominationsAll 1 wins · 2 nominations on record
Academy Awards: Best Visual Effects
Scholarship
Named in the title of 3 peer-reviewed works
Examples
9. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: anything goes — Columbia University Press eBooks, 2007
Masculinidades en Indiana Jones and the temple of doom (Spielberg 1984) — Revista de Ciencias de la Comunicación e Información, 2007
The Adventures of Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark/Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom/Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade — Sight & sound/Sight and sound, 2004
Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex · Library of Congress. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom arrived from Lucasfilm and Paramount in 1984, the second entry in the Spielberg-Lucas adventure series and, by design, its darkest turn. Released as a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark, it pushed the franchise's tone into gothic horror and jungle peril, a choice that unsettled some audiences but cemented the saga's range. It remains a touchstone of 1980s studio filmmaking, prized for practical stunts and Spielberg's control of large-scale action.
This cell pairs Indiana Jones with Willie Scott, the nightclub singer thrown into his world of temples and blood sacrifice. Their pairing is central to the film's uneasy comic friction, two mismatched personalities forced together across Shanghai, the jungle, and the Pankot Palace. For collectors, a frame naming both figures together captures the core relationship of the picture, the reluctant partnership that carries much of its momentum and humor through the darker chapters of the story.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack
Two variable-area optical tracks visible as a dual-bilateral stripe running along one edge beside the picture area.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base shows a warm golden-amber tint consistent with an acetate safety stock; dye image appears rich with no obvious fading or colour shift.
Projection history
Light longitudinal lines are visible running parallel to the film length, consistent with projection wear; no splices or cue marks seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, consistent with a release print of the film on record.
Era check
The dual variable-area optical soundtrack, warm amber acetate base, and positive colour print format are all consistent with a mid-1980s theatrical release print.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000063302
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
