Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Original and Limited Edition Art (1984)
In 1935, Indiana Jones narrowly escapes the clutches of a crime boss called Lao Che in Shanghai. With the gold-digging nightclub singer Willie Scott and his eleven-year old Chinese sidekick Short Round in tow, Indiana flees Shanghai on a plane that, unknown to them, is owned by the crime boss. The pilots leave the plane to crash over the Himalayas, though the trio manage to escape on an inflatable boat and ride down the slopes into a raging river. They come to Mayapore, a desolate village in northern India, where the poor villagers believe them to have been sent by the Hindu god Shiva and enlist their help to retrieve the sacred Sivalinga stone stolen from their shrine, as well as the community's children, from evil forces in the nearby Pankot Palace. During the journey to Pankot, Indiana hypothesizes that the stone may be one of the five fabled Sankara stones (a reference to Adi Shankara), which promise fortune and glory.
The trio receive a warm welcome from the residents of Pankot Palace, who rebuff Indiana's questions about the villagers' claims and his theory that the ancient Thuggee cult is responsible for their troubles. Later that night, however, Indiana is attacked by an assassin, leading Indy, Willie, and Short Round to believe that something is amiss. They travel through an underground temple where the Thuggee worship the Hindu goddess Kali with human sacrifice. The trio discover that the Thuggee, led by their evil high priest Mola Ram, are in possession of three of the five Sankara stones, and have enslaved the children to mine for the final two stones, which they hope will allow them to rule the world. As Indiana tries to retrieve the stones, he, Willie and Short Round are captured and separated. Indiana is forced to drink a potion called the "Blood of Kali", which places him in a trance-like state called the "Black Sleep of Kali Ma". As a result, he begins to mindlessly serve Mola Ram. Willie, meanwhile, is kept as a human sacrifice, while Short Round is put in the mines to labor alongside the enslaved children. Short Round breaks free and escapes back into the temple, where Willie is about to be lowered into a pit of lava. He burns Indiana with a torch, shocking him out of the Black Sleep. While Mola Ram escapes, Indiana and Short Round save Willie, retrieve the three Sankara stones and free the village children.
After a mine cart chase to escape the temple, the trio emerge above ground only to be cornered by Mola Ram and the Thuggee on a rope bridge over a crocodile-infested river. Using a sword stolen from one of the Thuggee warriors, Indiana cuts the rope bridge in half, leaving everyone to hang on for their lives. In one final struggle against Mola Ram for the Sankara stones, Indiana invokes an incantation, causing the stones to glow red hot. Two of the stones fall into the river, while the last falls into and burns Mola Ram's hand. Indiana catches the now-cool stone, while Mola Ram falls into the river below, where he is killed by crocodiles. A company of British Indian Army riflemen from Pankot arrive to apprehend the remaining Thuggee. Indiana, Willie and Short Round return victoriously to the village with the missing Sivalinga stone and the children. Read More about Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)