There are few movie heroes as iconic as Indiana Jones. From the fedora to the jacket to the whip, the tenured professor of archaeology at Marshall College stands tall as America's James Bond. But unlike the famous spy, Indiana Jones isn't the creation of a single man.
While the concept for Indiana Jones was born from the mind of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, who has directed four of the five Indiana Jones films, is just as responsible for the character's iconic status, if not more so. These two titans of filmmaking came together to blend their interests and styles, and what came from it was a guy from New Jersey who hates snakes, loves punching Nazis, and is just as comfortable being involved in an epic adventure as he is reading a book with a nice cup of tea. But which parts of Indiana Jones come from Lucas, and which come from Spielberg?
10 Lucas Wanted To Pay Homage To The Past
Much like with Star Wars, Lucas was thinking about the old movie serials of his childhood when he came up with Indiana Jones. These films, like The Adventures of Captain Marvel and Buck Rogers, were broken into weekly segments that always ended on a shocking cliffhanger that would keep audiences coming back to the theater.
Lucas took the basics of the classic serials - the thick-jawed hero, the damsel in distress, the exotic locations, and the touches of magic or myths - and turned them into the hero that Harrison Ford would play for forty years.
9 Spielberg Brought A Touch Of The Present
Spielberg also had a love for the classic movie serials, but the director was much more of a modern-day filmmaker coming of age during the rise of independent film in the 1970s. Spielberg brought much of that rebellious filmmaking style to big studio productions, launching the summer blockbuster with Jaws by mixing classic big-screen style with heroes who were very much human.
Spielberg made Indy a fallible character. Indiana Jones isn't an all-knowing hero like so many prior adventure movie icons. He often gets things wrong, messes up during the fight, and can't seem to keep any relationships - be they romantic or platonic - in good shape. Spielberg made Indy into a man who every person in the audience could identify with.
8 Lucas Brought In The Adventure Hero
In the classic serials of the past, the hero was almost always a professor or scientist of some kind. Their fisticuffs were what brought the kids to the theater, but it was their intelligence that made the story work. Lucas made sure that Indiana Jones had this aspect to his persona. Jones is a well-respected professor who gets excited about his work and loves teaching. The wild adventures that the movies focus on are Indy's hobby, not his life's work, but that is an important part of the classic adventure hero and one that this series has kept alive.
7 Spielberg Made Indiana Jones A Realistic Hero
Spielberg knows that for an audience to really connect to an action hero, that hero has to go through hell and back by the end of the movie. Viewers like to see the hero keep fighting after being knocked down again and again. Characters like Sylvester Stallone's Rocky are the perfection of this kind of hero.
With that in mind, Spielberg made sure that nothing was easy for Indiana Jones. Every punch left a bruise, every gunshot left a scar. James Bond may walk out of his movies in perfect dapper condition, but Indy always looks beat up by the end of his films.
6 Lucas Loves The Mythology
With Star Wars, Lucas proved that he could create an operatic story filled with amazing mythology and characters who all interconnect. And while he didn't create every piece of the mythology for these films, Lucas brought same style of universe building to Indiana Jones. The Indy universe is filled with amazing true history, mythology and magic, mostly taken from pre-existing stories, like the Ark of the Covenant from the Old Testament that is used for Raiders of the Lost Ark and the Thuggee cult from Temple of Doom.
5 Spielberg Kept The Movies From Connecting
After making Jaws, Spielberg famously said he would never make any sequels to his films. And while he broke that promise with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Spielberg made sure that for the most part, each Indy movie can stand on its own. Aside from Indy, most of the movies have few returning characters, and the ones that do return are redefined for each film they appear in.
Even the timeline of the movies is mixed up, with the second film, Temple of Doom, taking place a year before Raiders of the Lost Ark. By keeping the movies from being direct sequels to one another, Spielberg makes sure that anyone can watch any of the movies without having seen the previous ones and not be confused.
4 Lucas Loves To Go Everywhere
George Lucas loves stories that travel all over the place. For him, the stranger the locations are, the better. Every Star Wars movie that he was involved with introduces new planets and alien species, expanding the universe in fun and exciting ways.
With the Indiana Jones movies, Lucas is kept to just one planet, but that hasn't stopped him from finding ways to mix up the locations. Indy's adventures find the hero constantly dealing with new and exciting places, from jungles and swamps to snow-covered mountains to vast deserts. The constant changes in scenery help make the movies more exciting, keeping the audience on their toes wondering what they'll see next.
3 Spielberg is More Interested In The Characters
While Spielberg also loves to bring audiences to new places in his films, he is more interested in the characters and their personal relationships. Across his four movies in the series, Spielberg has taken the time to show a maturing Indiana Jones, and not just because Harrison Ford has gotten older.
The interpersonal relationships that Indiana has from movie to movie help inform the audience about the character. Much of the humor comes from these little moments as well, sprinkled in between the big action scenes. Viewers love Indiana and his rotating cast because Spielberg takes the time to flesh them out and make them feel real.
2 Lucas Is All About Family
Star Wars is, to George Lucas, the story of a family, the Skywalkers, and their place in the galaxy. In many ways, Lucas brings that same sense of family to the Indiana Jones series. From the start of Raiders of the Lost Ark, we know that Indiana has issues with family - even the one he built with Marion Ravenwood and her father. In Temple of Doom, we see Indy's poor parental instincts in the way he treats Short Round.
But by Last Crusade, we see an older Indy reconciling his differences with his father, and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull concludes with the hero finally bringing his family together. For Lucas, the connecting tissue of the Indiana Jones films is Indy's ability to become a family man.
1 Spielberg Isn't As Kid Friendly As Lucas
While Lucas likes to make films the whole family can enjoy, Spielberg isn't afraid to get a little nasty with his work. And while nothing in his Indiana Jones movies is as dark as a film like Saving Private Ryan, Temple of Doom is partly responsible for the creation of the PG-13 rating.
Almost every Indiana Jones film that Spielberg directed has at least one scene that would give the little ones serious nightmares - from the Nazi's having their faces melted off in Raiders, to Mola Ram pulling a man's heart out of his chest in Temple of Doom, to Walter Donovan rapidly aging and dying in Last Crusade.