Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: The InfoDroid Edit

I loved TEMPLE OF DOOM as much as the other Indiana Jones movies growing up, but now as an adult, the flaws in it have become more apparent. The massive amounts of blood and gore seem more appropriate for an R-rated horror movie, while Short Round goes too far the opposite direction tonally, seeming like something out of a kids' movie. And don't even get me started on Willie Scott.

Infodroid has created an edit that mercifully removes much of the most embarrassing moments from the film. However, he leaves in some moments that are just as annoying as the ones he took out. And he cut some scenes that I really liked. It's not a matter of him doing it wrong so much as my taste differs from his on those points.

Some people disagreed with Infodroid on removing some of the gore from this movie. I wholeheartedly support it. I think that the Indiana Jones movies should be able to enjoyed by kids at least 10 years old and up, since that's the age I was (when I watched the TV versions), and this cut makes the film more in line tonally with the other Indy films.

This isn't a definitive version for me, but if you've watched TEMPLE OF DOOM a number of times, you owe it to yourself to see this alternate version.

August 10, 2008

In my opinion this aggressive edit is precisely what “Temple of Doom” required. The cuts were well executed and if I weren’t so familiar with the original disaster I wouldn’t have missed any of it.

My one complaint comes at the end fight on the severed bridge where there is a microsecond of Indy grasping at his heart for no apparent reason. It makes very little sense with the earlier heart-ripping sequence cut.

I love the new Paramount Mountain transition. This is the edit I now consider official. Try this edit out! If you think it is too much try the less aggressive ADM cut.

*Minor Spoilers!*

Indy's back! Temple of Doom was always the weakest of the Indy films for me. (Yes even more than Indy 4) The Indian cult is even more outside of Indy territory than aliens (again, IMO). But this edit brings a sense of realism and grit to them while keeping the terror without showing a guy's heart get ripped out of his chest. The new beginning brings the film in line with the rest of the Indy movies and while I may not have liked going back and reusing almost all of the footage in and around Club Obi Wan and the plane crash, the more I thought about it there was no other way.