Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Jonathan Ke Quan, Amrish Puri, David Yip
Continuity mistake: The scene in the Obi Wan nightclub when Indiana runs out of the window with Willie Scott. Indiana is running behind the gong and we see him collect Willie. In the next shot seen from behind the gong Indiana has yet to reach Willie before they jump out of the window.
Continuity mistake: During the palace dinner scene, the "snake surprise" is laid down at Willie's left side. A few shots later it's on her right.
Continuity mistake: When Short Round rams the car into the back of the rickshaw, in the next shot facing the rickshaw driver we can see that he loses his right shoe (viewer's left) just as he's lifted into the air, but his shoe returns in following shots. (00:12:05)
Trivia: When Indiana Jones is confronted with the two swordsmen and goes to draw his gun to repeat his easy kill from the first Indy movie, listen to the music. It's the same music that was played in Raiders of the Lost Ark in the marketplace shortly before he pulled his gun on the big twirling swordsman.
Question: Why did Spielberg make Temple of Doom a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark? I read somewhere that he didn't want to make the Nazis the villains again, but that wouldn't be a problem since the Nazis never went to India or China.
Chosen answer: It was actually George Lucas who wrote the story, made it a prequel, and has stated it was because he didn't want the Nazis to be the villains again. The idea most likely seems if it wasn't a prequel, the Nazis could still be after Jones, even in China or India. But alas, there is really no other insight as to Lucas' prequel decision.
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Answer: This is conjecture, but it seems the general function of setting Temple of Doom before Raiders of the Lost Ark is that it helps set audience expectations that the two movies are self-contained episodes. For instance, Karen Allen has said she wasn't disappointed about not being asked to return because she'd already been told that the next installment was being set in the past before her character is reunited with Indy. Conversely, since we're already aware Raiders makes no mention of the events of Temple of Doom, we know we shouldn't necessarily expect any further installments to continue directly from prior movies' storylines regardless if they are set forward in time.
TonyPH