Indy's hero theme music. A theory regarding the 'Raiders March.'

Posted by KyleS from ? (209.191.163.10) on Monday, July 22, 2002 at 5:15pm :

Here's something that I've thought for years. I don't think that John Williams intended the 'Raiders March' to become the Indiana Jones character theme.

We all know that Lucas' and Spielberg's love of serialized adventures drove the feel and inspiration of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, right? Well, when the film begins we are introduced to Indy by coming in on the tail end of one of Indy's adventures. We are told that Indy's search for the Golden Fertility Idol had a beginning and middle unfold prior to what we are seeing because of the characters of Barranca, Satipo, Forrestal, Belloque and Jock. All we are seeing is the resolution to that story arc. All of these characters in either their dialogue or in how Indy refers to them have been established and are/were part of this adventure long before we (the viewers) were introduced to them. Yet nowhere in "this adventure" do we hear the well known March. Why not? It's obvious that the Indy we meet in the beginning is the same man who goes after the Ark later. So why didn't Williams blast his heroic theme song when Indy is running through the darts or jumping across the chasm? Because this is NOT Indy's theme for this adventure. Listen carefully through out this entire opening sequence and you'll hear themes and motifs not heard in the rest of the movie. There's a motif that I believe is associated with Indy that you hear first when the screen says, 'South America, 1936.' You hear this theme in various guises through out Indy's trials in the temple like jumping the chasm and even as a scherzo while out running the boulder. There is also a motif which I like to call Indy's 'Escape Motif.' You hear this motif for the first time when Indy whips the gun out of Barranca's hand. You can hear it again as Indy climbs out of the chasm and when he takes off running from the Hovitos. There are also various other themes through out this adventure for the jungle, the temple and even the Golden Idol. It is not until Indy makes both the literal and symbolic jump from this chapter to the next that we hear the 'Raiders March' played for the first time. The March being played in full as the plane lifts off from the river signals us to the beginning of Indy's newest adventure. Even the title of this piece of music implies the race for the Ark and not Indiana Jones.

By the time the film makers got around to the Jones' sequels, the 'Raiders March' had become so ingrained in the public psyche as being identified with Indy that they had no choice in continuing it's use as the hero's theme. You'll notice that in THE LAST CRUSADE the 'Raiders March' is used very little. I believe that if Williams had been able to do it his way that Indy would have had a new hero theme in every film.

Anyway, now that I've gotten that off my chest I'll leave it to you to decide whether it's worth anything or not. Talk amongst yourselves...

-Kyle

Follow Ups: Wait a sec.. - Indiana Slick 9:03am 07/23/2002 Re: Wait a sec.. - KyleS 11:58am 07/23/2002 Raiders March - IS Indy's theme, imho... - bamindy 7:27am 07/23/2002 I am not talking about the Ark's theme. - KyleS 12:33pm 07/23/2002 Post a Followup Name: E-Mail: ( default ) Subject: Message: : Here's something that I've thought for years. I don't think that John Williams intended the 'Raiders March' to become the Indiana Jones character theme. : We all know that Lucas' and Spielberg's love of serialized adventures drove the feel and inspiration of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, right? Well, when the film begins we are introduced to Indy by coming in on the tail end of one of Indy's adventures. We are told that Indy's search for the Golden Fertility Idol had a beginning and middle unfold prior to what we are seeing because of the characters of Barranca, Satipo, Forrestal, Belloque and Jock. All we are seeing is the resolution to that story arc. All of these characters in either their dialogue or in how Indy refers to them have been established and are/were part of this adventure long before we (the viewers) were introduced to them. Yet nowhere in "this adventure" do we hear the well known March. Why not? It's obvious that the Indy we meet in the beginning is the same man who goes after the Ark later. So why didn't Williams blast his heroic theme song when Indy is running through the darts or jumping across the chasm? Because this is NOT Indy's theme for this adventure. Listen carefully through out this entire opening sequence and you'll hear themes and motifs not heard in the rest of the movie. There's a motif that I believe is associated with Indy that you hear first when the screen says, 'South America, 1936.' You hear this theme in various guises through out Indy's trials in the temple like jumping the chasm and even as a scherzo while out running the boulder. There is also a motif which I like to call Indy's 'Escape Motif.' You hear this motif for the first time when Indy whips the gun out of Barranca's hand. You can hear it again as Indy climbs out of the chasm and when he takes off running from the Hovitos. There are also various other themes through out this adventure for the jungle, the temple and even the Golden Idol. It is not until Indy makes both the literal and symbolic jump from this chapter to the next that we hear the 'Raiders March' played for the first time. The March being played in full as the plane lifts off from the river signals us to the beginning of Indy's newest adventure. Even the title of this piece of music implies the race for the Ark and not Indiana Jones. : By the time the film makers got around to the Jones' sequels, the 'Raiders March' had become so ingrained in the public psyche as being identified with Indy that they had no choice in continuing it's use as the hero's theme. You'll notice that in THE LAST CRUSADE the 'Raiders March' is used very little. I believe that if Williams had been able to do it his way that Indy would have had a new hero theme in every film. : Anyway, now that I've gotten that off my chest I'll leave it to you to decide whether it's worth anything or not. Talk amongst yourselves... : -Kyle Optional Link ( default ) URL: Title: Optional Image Link ( default ) URL: This board is powered by the Mr. Fong Device from Cyberarmy.com