In 1980, a couple of film buffs named George Lucas (“Star Wars”) and Steven Spielberg (“Jaws”) were sitting on a beach in Hawai‘i tossing around ideas. They both loved action films, cliff-hangers and B-movie serials. By 1980, they were already
In 1980, a couple of film buffs named George Lucas (“Star Wars”) and Steven Spielberg (“Jaws”) were sitting on a beach in Hawai‘i tossing around ideas. They both loved action films, cliff-hangers and B-movie serials.
By 1980, they were already famous, having changed the way movies were made with their blockbuster adventures, but not specifically with their art.
Then came “Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark,” which Lucas produced and Spielberg directed. It spawned a billion-dollar franchise of movies, toys and video games. The first “Raiders” would lead to three more films, with the fourth being filmed on the Big Island.
The first of the “Raiders” movies is your classic action movie with great car chases and explosions, as well as comedy and adventure mixed with drama.
The “Indiana Jones” story is based on an archeologist, who is searching for the lost Ark of the Covenant.
The plot involves bar brawls, airplanes, guns and even Nazis — many years before Spielberg directed “Schindler’s List.”
The opening scene of the film features the famous Paramount Pictures mountin dissolving into King Kong Mountain in Anahola. Then you see Harrison Ford ( “American Graffiti “) as the main character, Indiana Jones, being chased near Kipu Falls in Puhi.
Filming on Kaua‘i must have inspired Spielberg to return to the island when he was looking for a location for “Jurassic Park.”
The director also was on the island for Hurricane Iniki. In fact, there are scenes in “Jurassic” of Iniki.
Send an email to pkb_1@hotmail.com if there’s a Kaua‘i movie you’d like to see reviewed in this column.
