IF ADVENTURE HAS A NAME… IT MUST BE INDIANA JONES.

In 1930s India, Henry Jones (Harrison Ford), a young partner of his (Ke Huy Quan) and a nightclub singer (Kate Capshaw) get involved in the search for a stolen, mystical stone.

The prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) benefits from Ford’s charm, a sense of fun and a few hair-raising action sequences. However, the noisy kid and the whiny singer become overbearing and some aspects of the adventure are just silly (not to say bigoted in the depiction of Indian culture).

The dark part where Indy falls under the spell of an evil cult sucks the old-fashioned fun out for a while.

1984-U.S. 118 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Story: George Lucas. Music: John Williams. Visual Effects: Dennis Muren, and others. Cast: Harrison Ford (Henry “Indiana” Jones), Kate Capshaw (Willie Scott), Ke Huy Quan (Short Round), Amrish Puri, Roshan Seth, Philip Stone… Dan Aykroyd.

Trivia: Sharon Stone was considered for the part of Willie.

Oscar: Best Visual Effects. BAFTA: Best Special Visual Effects.