‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’: Harrison Ford Says ‘Goodbye’ to Indiana Jones

For the first time, a IndianaJones is not directed by Steven Spielberg, but James Mangold, the director of Ford versus Ferrari or even of Logan. In an interview, the filmmaker talks to us about Harrison Ford, Mads Mikkelsen and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, special effects and his directing style…

It was on June 12, 1981 that a new hero entered the dark rooms in The Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indiana Jones, archaeologist and teacher whom all his students are in love with, is played by Harrison Ford. At 39, the former carpenter actor is best (re)known for his role as Han Solo – The Empire Strikes Back came out the year before – and not yet for blade runnerlet alone his role as Jack Ryan in the two feature films based on the works of Tom Clancy.

Passing time…

The saga of IndianaJones, The Dial of Destiny being the fifth installment, grossed no less than US$1.98 billion at the international box office and Indy with his hat and whip quickly became an icon of popular culture, featured in television series and video games. A few weeks ago, the entire film crew was at the Cannes Film Festival, where the now octogenarian Harrison Ford, on the verge of tears of emotion, received an honorary Palme d’or.

The throat knotted, the look incredulous in front of the ovations of the journalists during the press conference of presentation of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destinythe actor made no secret of his involvement in the project, and this, from the beginning.

“I wanted to see a good film, a finale to the saga. I wanted the script to be complete. I wanted to see the weight of life on the face of this man, he who has always relied heavily on his youth and vigor. I wanted us to see him needing to reinvent himself, needing support, and I also wanted him to have a relationship that wasn’t a relationship like you see in so many movies. And I couldn’t have been better served,” Harrison Ford told reporters.

Questioned by the QMI Agency a few days later, face to face, James Mangold indicated that he had “been invited to a series of meetings by Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford”. It was the two men who convinced him, then he set to work, working on the screenplay for more than a year.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny begins with scenes putting Indy back in the middle of the Second World War, when he steals the Holy Lance – the one that would have pierced the side of Christ – from the Nazis and in particular from Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), with the help of his friend Basil Shaw (Toby Jones). A quarter of a century later, in the 1970s, Indiana Jones is retired when his goddaughter, Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), comes looking for him asking for help in finding the Antikythera Machine, a mechanism that would have been invented by Archimedes.

“When I joined the project, adventures had already been imagined, but I found that there was missing a connection, a reason why this story had to take place at this precise moment in the life of Indiana Jones. This is when the notion of time appeared, and not only because of the artifact, but also as a theme since all the characters in the film feel regrets, think about their past and their future. detailed James Mangold, who wrote the screenplay with collaborators Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and David Koepp.

Classic

Invented by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, Indiana Jones lives its last adventure in The Dial of Destiny. Placed under the sign of nostalgia, the classic feature film allows us to see again Karen Allen in the role of Marion or John Rhys-Davies in that of Sallah, the friend of Indy who allowed him to find the Ark and the Graal.

And one can’t help wondering, looking at this new IndianaJonesif the Spielbergian cinema of our childhood is not doomed to disappear… a question to which James Mangold has given his answer.

“I feel like I grew up hearing Steven Spielberg whisper in my ear even before I became a director, as his films touched me deeply. His love of cinema from the golden age of Hollywood marked me. I am a classic director. I like well-crafted stories with broad points of view, typical of the golden years of American cinema.

“I am not at all a fan of mega-productions with multiple cameras and frantic editing. I always feel like I’m learning to tell classic stories, so this movie gave me the opportunity to have fun on a playground that I love. Is this style doomed to disappear? Maybe. And if so, then I am one of the last winemakers who wants to continue to offer good bottles of wine on their shelves.”

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will make its cinema on the screens of the province as of June 29.

Riding in the subway!

In one of the memorable scenes of the feature film, reminiscent of the first feature film, Indiana Jones finds herself in the New York subway… on horseback. James Mangold explains how he shot this moment.

The idea came to me thanks to McCloud, an old American series that I watched when I was 13 and in which Dennis Weaver plays a Texas Ranger who rides horseback through Manhattan. I thought it might be a typical Indiana Jones moment.”

“We used two sets from Pinewood Studios in England to shoot these scenes. One, that of the metro station and which is the largest plateau in Europe, had the shape of a hickey. The rails were on the right side and continued outwards. The horse could therefore gallop without having to stop in front of a wall.