lucas Tagged Articles at Cinematical

According to a recent report that surfaced over at Dark Horizons, stalwart Indiana Jones sidekick Sallah, played by John Rhys-Davies in both Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade will not be appearing in the fourth installment of the franchise. I'm not sure if this exactly qualifies as a "travesty" or not, but it is a little disappointing, especially as Sallah was a very important part of Raiders and provided the film with some of its best lines, like: "Snakes, you go first" and the classic "Bad dates." So, why is he reportedly not being included in Indy 4?

According to the site, Rhys-Davies was asked about his appearance in the film at a recent Sci-Fi convention in New Zealand. He answered that, through a third party, he was told his character was written out of the script in favor of "a younger cast." If that's really the reason he was given for not being in the film, I have to wonder a little about it. And, if his character was "written out," could it be that at one point it was "written in?" Not to be a nit-picker but according to IMDB, Rhys-Davies is actually two years younger than Harrison Ford. Although, I guess you can't really have an Indiana Jones movie without Indiana Jones. Plus, Lucas and Spielberg probably decided that one old guy running around getting into fights, swinging from a bullwhip, shooting bad guys and protecting antiquities was enough for one movie. Thinking about it like that I guess I can't really blame them. Still, what's next, no Short Round either?

What do you know ... it works! Granted, a true silent movie would feature a lot more dramatic looks and inserts of title cards with the lines on them like, "Look! Han! A TIE fighter! Eek!" and so on. Yet strangely, this holds together real well and drops the Star Wars universe into uncharted territory. If George Lucas had been around when movies were first invented, what sort of stuff would he be putting out? Would it have looked anything like this?

The world may never know, unless of course time travel is invented and someone shoves George through. Of course, he would probably re-release his movies each time a new musical instrument came out. "Battle in the Stars -- now with musical accompaniment on new Lucas Harpsichord!" Plus he'd splice in a lot of new footage and force theater patrons to come see it again.

Anyhow, I hope I don't sound bitter. Too much. I love the original Star Wars flicks, and this little silent film mashup that condenses all three of them into a little over a minute long is a fun diversion for a Monday. Give it a whirl and take a break from your day.