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What action set piece do you prefer on The Indiana Jones Saga?


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What action set piece do you prefer on The Indiana Jones Saga?  

62 members have voted

  1. 1. What action set piece do you prefer on The Indiana Jones Saga?

    • Desert Chase from Raiders of the lost Ark
      23
    • Slave children's crusade & Short Round helps from The Temple of Doom
      22
    • Belly of the Steel Beast & The Pen is Mightier than the Sword & On The Tank from the last Crusade
      11
    • The Jungle Chase from The Kingdom of the Crystall Skull
      6


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Desert Chase, easy.

 

TOD is the runner-up for me - other than Hook, I haven't found its equal in Williams' work in terms of over-the-top, super-energetic climactic action sequences. But I still prefer the rather leaner, more focused Desert Chase, which still packs quite a wallop. The intensity is allowed to build in a way that TOD never manages.

 

TLC is a little anemic by comparison. There's still great stuff in there but I would never put it in anywhere near the same league as Desert Chase.

 

Jungle Chase features some of my favorite writing in KOTCS. That ostinato he brings in toward the end has a classic Williams vibe that I enjoy, and that's otherwise in pretty short supply in this score. But again, it's just not enough to rival Desert Chase, which never fails to dazzle me.

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Desert Chase.  With an honorable mention to the Bug Tunnel/Death Trap, which I consider to be the most fun, effective scene of all four movies. 

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The Temple of doom would be my choice in first position, because of the theme of the Slave children parade is better than any other theme of the Desert Chase (except the main indy theme obviously)

In second place, I choose The Last Crusade action theme because is so dramatic at the end and in the beggining, but i think that is worse in the medium of the cue.

Desert Chase in the third position because it's so obsesive with the Indy theme but this theme not sound as brilliant as it sounds in the action of the temple of doom

Jungle chase would be my fourth option but I like it also very much.

 

Notes:

 

Indy2 -> 10

Indy3 -> 8,5

Indy1 -> 8,5

Indy4 -> 7,5

 

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37 minutes ago, igger6 said:

I've always been more lukewarm on the Desert Chase than most, I think.  The sequence is amazing in the film, but so much of the Nazi music is (by design) plodding and pounding that it's just less fun away from picture.

 

Meanwhile, where's the love for "Escape from Venice," "Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra," "The Basket Game," and "The Mine Car Chase"?

 

I disagree with your feelings on Desert Chase, but I 100% share your love for those other excellent pieces!

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I went for The Jungle Chase because I think that musical set piece deserves more recognition (But also because I'm thinking in the alternate "Ugh, Vines" part, I enjoy less the film version of the cue).

 

The second would be The Desert Chase, after that The Belly of the Steel Beast + On The Tank, and last the set piece from Temple of Doom. For some reason I slightly prefer these "on the move" action pieces in Indy's films. The music is more vibrant.

 

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Temple of Doom thanks to that stunning Slave Children's theme.

But both Raiders and Crusade are pretty much on par.

 

If we count the ALTERNATE "Ugh, Vines!", even KotCS makes a deserving entry.

(Though most of the stuff prior to that in Jungle Chase is quite meandering really; and brings the whole down...)

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I'd chose Mine Cart Chase from TOD instead of Parade of the Slave Children.

 

Overall, I like them all. I voted for TLC because of how melodramatic it is, and also because of the cool synths JW used - probably one of the best uses of synth in a JW score.

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On 6/18/2020 at 11:07 PM, Gruesome Son of a Bitch said:

 

PSX_20200618_230739.jpg

 

Okay, who's the jerk??


I’m the spy jerk.

 

I love all four, but this happens to be my favorite at the moment. And why not? It helps that I haven’t seen the ridiculous movie since it came out, but in my opinion, divorced from all that, it’s just as inspired as any of the others. It’s melodic  but still has plenty of rhythmic energy to spare, and the Hollywood Studio Symphony plays their butts off!

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On 6/20/2020 at 6:16 PM, Falstaft said:

Speaking of, anyone else remember this one? Pure, undisguised Williams pastiche, but great stuff all the same. I guess my love of Belly of the Steel Beast is so strong I really like hearing what essentially amounts to a full-scale variation on the cue (with some dabs of Desert Chase too), at least for its first half or so. 

 

Of course! I've had all four volumes on CD since the 90s. Love 'em all, especially the first.

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My favorite set piece is the collapsing roof sequence with all those bugs from TOD.  Excellent musical cue, very funny scene, very exciting, and I don't think I've heard anything quite like this from JW elsewhere.  It's always one of my favorite set pieces for that film if not a top 10 favorite from the franchise.

 

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On 6/19/2020 at 5:53 AM, igger6 said:

I've always been more lukewarm on the Desert Chase than most, I think.  The sequence is amazing in the film, but so much of the Nazi music is (by design) plodding and pounding that it's just less fun away from picture.

 

Meanwhile, where's the love for "Escape from Venice," "Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra," "The Basket Game," and "The Mine Car Chase"?

 

I'm glad I'm not the only person whose first choice of action sequence from Raiders isn't the Desert Chase. Don't get me wrong, it's great, but it's surprisingly repetitive and unsophisticated compared to a lot of his other action scoring of the period. I get much more enjoyment from the Basket Game or Airplane Fight. Although shout out to Flight from Peru, the stinger opening, then the pizzicato strings, gradually building to the first proper rendition of the Raider's March. More invention in those 2 and a half minutes that some composers manage in a lifetime. Magic.

 

But definitely plenty of love for Indy's First Adventure from Last Crusade (I think I just love that kind of fun, scherzo action writing rather than the grinding intensity of Desert Chase), but Escape from Venice, Belly Of The Steel Beast and Scherzo For Motorcycle And Orchestra are all terrific. Funnily enough, from Temple of Doom, my most listened track (outside of the credits) is Fast Streets of Shanghai, but the mine car sequences are crazy fun.

 

Insert obligatory complaint at lack of lavish complete scores boxed set...

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5 hours ago, Madmartigan JC said:

No love for "Indy's Very First Adventure"?

 

It's amazing, but I think the intention of the poll was to compare each movie's signature action set that ultimately leads to the movie's finale.

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