Cinema Memoir #38

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (May 24th, 1989)

The epitome of total awesomeness! The first ad I saw for this movie was not a standard trailer about the movie, but rather a trailer about the making of the movie. What better way to strengthen my interest in filmmaking? Plus Harrison Ford stapled his fedora to his head, come on!

I do remember getting really nervous at the beginning of the movie when I saw some strange man (not Harrison Ford) wearing the fedora and leather jacket. I thought maybe they had recast Indy or something, but it didn't take me long to figure out what was going on.

Also, I remember the moment when Sean Connery stepped into the frame for the first time in the movie and the audience applauded. That was the first time I ever witnessed an audience react to a movie like that.

Watching this movie in the theater is one of my favorite cinematic memories of all time, and Indiana Jones remains my favorite character of the silver screen.

(Image from impawards.com)

Cinema Memoir #3

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(May 23rd, 1984)

The thing I remember most was walking out of the theater wishing I was Short Round. I suppose most kids wanted to be Indy, but this was the first time I'd seen a kid with the power to thwart evil. This was the genesis of my love for "kid's movies".

Much like Return of the Jedi, Temple of Doom generally ranks as the least favorite of the original three Indy movies. I would recommend watching this movie again with someone who's never seen it (ideally a child).

Indiana Jones was my childhood hero. My desire to be a filmmaker can be directly attributed to the Indiana Jones movies and the impact they had on me as a child.

(Image from impawards.com)