SCENEIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Title Card
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR1984
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000001459
Film RecordPublic record
Directed by
Steven Spielberg
Studio
Paramount Pictures · Lucasfilm · 116 min
Box office
$333.1M worldwide on a $28M budget
Honors
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 in 1984 from Paramount and Lucasfilm, the second entry in Steven Spielberg's adventure series and a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark. Directed by Spielberg and produced by George Lucas, it pushed the franchise into darker territory, so much so that its intensity contributed to the creation of the PG-13 rating. Harrison Ford returned as the iconic archaeologist-adventurer, and the film's blend of pulp serial energy, exotic locales, and set-piece spectacle cemented its place in 1980s blockbuster history.
This piece marks the opening title card, the frame where the film formally announces itself before the story unfolds. Such a moment holds particular value for collectors, as it represents the picture's first handshake with its audience, the point where studio, director, and franchise identity converge on screen. As a title card rather than a story beat, it carries the weight of anticipation itself, the threshold moment that precedes Indiana Jones's descent into adventure.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge; spacing appears even and the punched edges look clean throughout the visible strip.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual-track variable-area format.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base shows a warm amber-orange tint consistent with a colour dye image; no obvious fading or red shift is apparent.
Projection history
Light longitudinal lines are visible running parallel to the film length, consistent with projection wear; no splices or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to show the same title-card composition, consistent with a title sequence from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Era check
The dual variable-area optical soundtrack, warm colour base, and 35mm four-perforation format are all consistent with a theatrical release print from the mid-1980s.
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 000063303
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
