Making a movie cannot be possible without the help of the crew that takes care of each and every little thing on the set. However, sometimes things go horribly wrong on a film set and accidents occur all the time, some way more serious than others. Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones franchise was no stranger to this.
Harrison Ford himself has been injured multiple times while taking over the persona of Indy. Luckily, nothing has been too major. However, there was a time when the film’s cinematographer almost plunged to his death owing to his unawareness of the surroundings. Luckily, he had co-workers who looked out for him otherwise Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones would’ve had a haunting memory attached to it forever.
Harrison Ford’s Cinematographer and a 350-foot Drop
Late cinematographer, Douglas Slocombe, is best known for his work on Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones franchise with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade being the last. Those who have worked with Slocombe will tell you just how the cinematographer would be transported into a completely different world while shooting, being totally unaware of his surroundings. This led to Slocombe almost coming in close contact with some serious catastrophes.
While recalling the filming of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Spielberg wrote a long essay for American Cinematographer, where he did not forget to talk about Slocombe and his awe-inspiring yet dangerous filming method. Spielberg stated that when Slocombe had his eyes on his camera lens, he would be in a completely different world.
In fact, since they were filming around dozens of cliffs, Slocombe would almost walk off one of them, which was 350 feet, above the ground. While this could have ended horribly for Harrison Ford’s beloved franchise, those who had worked with Slocombe for a long time and were aware of his wandering tendencies, would always look out for him.
Spielberg wrote,
“Dougie would walk around — he’s never fallen off a cliff or off of a camera car — but throughout the shooting of Raiders of the Lost Ark there were dozens of cliffhangers all involving Dougie Slocombe and a sense of balance. Dougie would have his eye screwed into his contrast glass, looking up at the sun and the clouds, walking backwards…
Sure enough, there would be a 350-foot drop and, sure enough, Robin or Chic, who have worked with Dougie for an average of 25 years as a team, would reach a hand out and keep Dougie from falling into Roadrunner and Coyote oblivion. When Dougie has his eye to the camera, he’s in another world. He is in the land of motion picture fantasy and he doesn’t realize that he’s a mere mortal. He’s the perfect audience.”
We can only imagine just how worried the cast and crew would have been for Slocombe’s well-being. But as far as the cinematographer was concerned, there was nothing that could come between him and the perfect shot.
Douglas Slocombe Was the Most Active Man on Set
While filming was going on for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Slocombe was well in his mid-sixties. However, that did not mean that the difficult requirements of the shoot were going to dull his enthusiasm. In fact, he was one of the most, if not the most, active person on the set. Praising Slocombe for his youthfulness, Spielberg wrote,
“Everybody worked very quickly. They just ran around. Dougie Slocombe, who is in his mid-sixties, ran faster than everybody. When I said, “I’d like the third camera on the hill” — I’d turn around and Dougie would be on the hill with a third camera two minutes after I had spoken. I found that rather amazing.”
“Amazing” sure seems to be the perfect word to describe the late cinematographer. There aren’t many who can do what he did at his age. Twenty-seven years after working on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Slocombe passed away in a hospital on February 22, 2016, at the age of 103.
You can stream Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark on Disney+.
Source: American Cinematographer
