Embrace the Differences: The Raiders of the Lost Ark Novelization

Raiders of the Lost Ark turns forty today. Hard to believe, sometimes. I still remember watching Siskel and Ebert gush over the movie. Youthful though I was--twelve--Harrison Ford had already become my favorite actor because he was Han Solo. Who knew Indiana Jones was just around the corner.

To commemorate the movie's anniversary, I decided to do something I had never done before: read the novelization by Campbell Black. Yeah, I had the book back in the day. Yeah, I remember cracking it open. But I also know I never finished it. Heck, I don't even remember getting that far into the book before stopping it. I have no memory why. Unlike Star Wars--where I devoured every morsel of news, read every book, and bought every comic--I don't remember doing the same thing with Raiders. It is possible I didn't continue with the novelization because of the differences. Now, forty years later, those differences are fantastic.

Raiders is one of my Top 5 all-time movies. I have no idea how many times I've seen it, but those clips in the Siskel and Ebert segment are all familiar. It's probably one of your favorite movies, too. I can "see" the movie in my head when I listen to John Williams's brilliant score. But the novel was a nice breath of fresh air. 

Early Days of the Canon

Campbell Black is the pen name of Campbell Armstrong, a Scottish writer, who wrote over twenty-five novels. Few pieces of information exist on the internet about him, but his bibliography notes Raiders was this third, and final, movie novelization. 

In the one interview he did for TheRaider.net, Black comments that he "wrote Jones as I saw him. An adventurer, yes, but I always felt there was a slight melancholy side to him. I don't think Lucasfilm really approved of this, but from my point of view I couldn't write the novel if I had to base it on the character in the script - I found him shallow and shadowy, all action and no thought, and I wanted to add some kind of internal process to him, which I think I did. Up to a point."

As much as I enjoy the extensive universe other writers created with Indiana Jones (and Star Wars, too), there's something special about a single writer, very early on, looking at stills and the script and crafting a story as he sees it. No canon, no interlaced movies, no franchise, no established backstory, just a script and one writer's ideas on how scenes of a movie can be stitched together into a coherent novel.

Like Alan Dean Foster, who ghostwrote the Star Wars novelization, Black must have had access to an earlier script because the differences between the movie we know so well and the events in the novel are sometimes striking, but that's what makes the experience so rewarding. 

The Movie is Not the Novelization

I'm not sure what happened to my original copy of the novel. I had the version with black on the cover. The paperback I read this week was published in 1989, after Last Crusade, so it has a white cover. Soon after I started reading the South America prelude, I took a pencil and began annotating the differences.

In a movie, editors can make cuts and swipes and change scenes. You can do the same in a novel, but Black provides a lot of connective tissue between scenes. Just how did Indy get to Nepal? Well, Black describes in detail all the travel and driving Indy did, even throwing in a new character, Lin-Su. Granted, he doesn't do the same for the journey from Nepal to Cairo, but who cares.

I enjoyed the languid pace of the novelization. As much as I enjoy the movie and all that it delivers, there's something to be said for the same story delivered via text over a number of days. What Black does is what novels do well: get into the heads of the characters. We hear the inner thoughts of Indy, Marion, and Belloq. They all prove quite compelling in Black's hands, adding layers and nuances to each character. 

Belloq, for example, proves himself more competitive and mercenary than Paul Freeman portrays him in the film. With Freeman, you could almost side with Belloq in his quest for the Ark and the secrets it holds. In the novel, he's depicted very much as borderline insane with his single-minded devotion to getting the Ark and using it before Hitler gets his hands on it. 

Speaking of Belloq, something occurred to me that I never considered in forty years. It's regarding the headpiece to the staff of Ra. Belloq gets his version of the headpiece because the words are burned into Toht's hand. With that, Belloq makes his calculations. Indy, however, needs the Imam to read and interpret the words on the headpiece. Did Indy not know that language?

Key Differences

This is what you want to know, right? Well, let me get to it.

South America 

- The pit over which Indy and Sapito swing is actually obscured. Sapito nearly falls into the pit because he steps into the cobwebs covering the pit.

-Indy takes a swig from a flask as he reaches the idol. [Love this]

Berlin

There are a few scenes not at all in the movie. They are from the point of view of Dietrich, the main German officer as played by Wolf Kahler. Dietrich never trusts Belloq and we get many internal thoughts from the German. It also explains how Belloq came to be employed by Hitler. Later, during the Cairo scenes, we get a few more scenes from Dietrich's POV, irritated at Belloq's pomposity.

Connecticut

It is certainly implied that Indy is a womanizer, all but taking an undergrad per semester. This is part of the apparent--but never explained--backstory with Indy and Marion. Based on the book, she might as been as young as sixteen when the mid-twenties Indy had a relationship with her. 

Cairo

-There's a nighttime scene between Indy and Marion and whether or not they they'll hook up. It includes their actual first kiss and we get the skeevy take from Indy about how well the woman kisses versus the child from his past.

-The Imam who reads the markings on the headpiece is the one who puts into Indy's head the idea that no mortal should look at the contents of the Ark. It is the Imam's warning Indy remembers at the end.

Tanis Dig

-There is no scene between Belloq and Marion where she puts on the dress and tries to drink him under the table. In its place is Marion's seemingly being under Belloq's spell. They actually kiss and she all but succumbs to him. 

-Belloq actually sees all the lightening that floods the sky when Indy and his friends open the Well of the Souls. 

Truck Chase

-Toht is in the car that flies off the cliff. He dies here and doesn't get his face melted at the end.

-Black describes how the Germans discovered which pirate ship is carrying the Ark.

The Island

-We learn how Belloq arranged for him to open the Ark before delivery to Berlin.

-The scene where Belloq challenges Indy to blow up the Ark isn't here.

Verdict

The novelization is a nice addition to the wonderful movie. There is a place for both. Campbell Black's novel is a good story and a worthy addition to the canon we now have, even if much of what he comes up with (how Indy got the bullwhip) is overridden with subsequent movies and books. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and actually might continue with the novelizations of the next three films. 

Side Note

I went and located my copy of the comic adaptation and many of the scenes mentioned here are in there. Perhaps the Marvel comics folks and Black read from the same script.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade at 30

The first major movie of the summer of 1989 was the third Indiana Jones film. It was five years since the second film of the trilogy--Temple of Doom--and the buildup was pretty intense.

It was also well worth the wait.

A Return to the Original Vibe

After my recent re-watch of Temple of Doom on its 35th anniversary, I naturally migrated to Last Crusade for its 30th. Of the two, I know Last Crusade much better largely for two reasons. One, the soundtrack is, more or less, chronological with the film. Since it is one of my favorite soundtracks John Williams ever wrote, I listened to it constantly, internalizing much of it. Two, I had the best summer job ever in that magical year: I worked in a movie theater. I got to slip inside the theater and catch snippets of the movie. In an era before the Internet, I was able to memorize chunks of the movie.

For obvious commercial reasons, Spielberg and Lucas turned their attention back to a Middle Eastern setting and a Judeo-Christian artifact. It worked. They also added Indy's father to the mix, which was brilliant. Loved it in '89. Still love it in '19.

Brody and Sallah Return

It was always great to have these two characters return for the third film. Sallah was pretty much the same, but Brody changed. Well, not entirely. In Raiders, he was the man who said if he was younger, he'd go with Indy. In Last Crusade, right up to the point where he says, "I'll tell him [Donovan] we'll take two [tickets]," he's the Raiders version of himself.

The very next scene, he's already a worry-wart. What gives? Sure, the punchline after Indy convinces the Nazis that Brody could blend in is funny--as is the comment about getting lost in his own museum--but it does disservice to the character. Would have liked him to remain as he was.

The Music is Magical

Still remains one of my all-time favorite soundtracks. Especially loved the music accompanying the motorcycle chase. "Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra" I believe it's called. We even played it in college marching band.

Love the musical cue when Donovan opens his eyes after drinking the water from the fake grail.

New Things I Noticed/Wondered

Speaking of that scene, I wondered if Elsa picked the wrong grail on purpose?

When Indy returns with the magical water, Brody crosses himself. Never noticed that before.

This is the first time I've seen this film all the way through since I became a dad. Henry's calm mention of Indy's preferred name, "Indiana," at that crucial moment brought the emotions to the front. I knew it was coming, but I hadn't experienced it from this side of parenthood. It means everything.

The Sunset

In 2019, we are on the other side of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and still awaiting a potential Indy 5. This re-watch of Temple of Doom and Last Crusade pretty much means I'm going to re-watch Crystal Skull. But I still contend they should have stopped with Last Crusade.

They literally rode off into the sunset. What better ending is there?

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. What better way to kick of the Summer of 1989?

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom at 35

I didn't get to see Indiana Jones at the Temple of Doom on opening day because of school. And my parents.

Back in 1984, I was finishing my freshman year of high school. It was Finals Week. Some of my friends were going to see the movie opening day. My parents said no. It wasn't a full no. It was a no until after finals. I grumbled, knowing I wouldn't be able to see it opening day. But I ended up seeing it.

As a youth, I loved it. It was an Indiana Jones file. What's not to love? Temple of Doom was different than Raiders of the Lost Ark. Not bad. Different. I loved seeing Short Round, a few years younger than my fifteen-year-old self. The love interest, Willie Scott, was not Marion Ravenwood. The music was fantastic. And seeing Indy/Harrison Ford react to the blood of Kali was pretty gripping stuff.

Over the years, I've rarely rewatched Temple of Doom. Once Last Crusade came out, it eclipsed the second movie in my list. Then, when Crystal Skull was released, Temple of Doom was no longer the "worst" Indy film. That's a misnomer. Temple of Doom was never the worst. It was just third in a great trilogy of films.

Now that we've had the 35th anniversary, I felt it was long past time to revisit the movie. I've got a lot more years in me--and a many more stories--so I was able to appreciate Temple of Doom on its own.

The 2019 Verdict

And I really enjoyed it. Yes, it is definitely different in tone, but that's what Lucas and Spielberg wanted. They wanted the darker sequel/prequel to the bright first entry. Granted, Raiders was plenty dark. The vibe Lucas and Spielberg seemed to be going for was the scary adventures of the pulp magazines of the 1930s. I've read and studied much about the pulps by now, and I can easily see they got what they wanted.

I also appreciated Indy's choices in the movie. For all of his heroics in Raiders, he was on a mission for someone else. Well, something else: the US government. In Temple of Doom, Indy is out for himself. He's figured out the missing sacred rock of the village is one of the Shakara Stones. "Fortune and glory" is what prompts him on the journey, but the missing children is what grips his heart.

This is the first time I've watched this movie as a dad. I viscerally felt the anguish of the parents this time. What if some ancient evil took all the children? What if it took my child? What would I do?

What Indy did. His utterance of "All of us" right as he starts the children revolt is striking. Always was, but when you're a fifteen year old, you don't get it as much as you do when you're fifty.

Which made the reunion of the kids with the parents so much better this time. I know all those folks were actors but dang, did the emotions come during that scene. Well done.

I noticed how Ford lightened up Indy a little bit. Despite the darkness of the film, Indy himself is mostly light, especially with the interplay between him and Willie and him and Short Round. I'm sure Ford shaped the character in this manner, and I enjoyed it.

The music! 

I haven't heard this music in a long time, but I was humming it all the time after the re-watch. "Short Round's Theme" and "Mine Car Chase" are as great as always, but "Slave Children Crusade" was extra special this time. 

And I didn't even mind Willie's screaming all the time.

In all, I again thoroughly enjoyed re-watching Temple of Doom.  And no: I cannot believe it has been thirty-five years!

With the Temple of Doom anniversary and Last Crusade anniversary (30, all part of the magnificent Summer of '89 at the movies), I think you know what's coming next.