January 2, 2010 - The Adventures of Indiana Jones

My favorite film of all time is the spotlight feature of day 2 of our 40/40 series.

On June 12, 1981, I was among those at the first screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark at Century 21, the finest single screen theater in Northern California. As a member of the Star Wars Fan Club, I had received a flyer advertising the film in advance of its release, and the fact that it was a new film from George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, starring none other than Harrison Ford, it seemed like a no-brainer that we were in for a grand adventure. Who would have guessed that my high expectations were exceeded at every turn. It remains unparalleled, in my opinion.

When Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was released in 1984, it was another camp-out adventure at Century 22, this time joined by a couple of Swedish foreign exchange students who took pleasure in telling people who asked what we were doing that we were lined up to see "Fanny & Alexander."

Vonna and I caught a dry run of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade the night before it opened in 1989, once again at Century 21.

Years later, in the summer of 2008, we attended a midnight screening of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull at the Century Theaters in Mountain View.

For this event, we'll be watching the films in their chronological order - staring with Temple of Doom (1935), Raiders (1936), Last Crusade (1938), and Crystal Skull (1957).

By the end of day two, we'll have watched 10 movies; one quarter of the 40/40 series. Easy as pie, right?

We hope you'll be able to join us.