Indiana Jones, the eternal return to TV of the "scientist" of pop culture

His whip has not slammed for fifteen years on cinema screens. Attention, Indy, his eternal bumpy Stetson, his foolproof phlegm, his inimitable smile and his scar on his chin are back. Before discovering the fifth part of the adventures of Indiana Jones, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 18, and whose theatrical release is scheduled for June 28, M6 has put the small dishes in the big ones!

To discover

• Survey - What are your 10 favorite series?

The channel reprograms the mythical quadrilogy, forty-two years after the release of the first part, all accompanied by a new documentary, which goes back behind the scenes of the creation of a saga that has become an essential reference of the seventh art. If Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, was directed by James Mangold (Copland, Logan, LeMans66), the first four films of the series are the work of Steven Spielberg. For the anecdote, in this fifth part, Harrison Ford has been digitally rejuvenated for a flashback thanks to artificial intelligence and old sequences of the actor, some of which are unpublished rushes of Lucasfilm productions.

" READ ALSO What is (really) Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the latest opus of the cult saga?

This is the last time that Ford, dashing octogenarian, puts on the costume of the famous adventurer. It seems, however, that his charisma has remained intact. Produced and directed by the duo George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, the saga of the famous adventurer-archaeologist has garnered nearly $ 3.5 billion in revenue worldwide since its creation. Released in 1981, the first film, Raidersof the Lost Ark, was awarded five Oscars.

Tribute to Tintin

According to legend, the idea for the film was born on a sandy beach in Hawaii, the summer of the release of Star Wars. At the time, Steven Spielberg, who dreams of directing a James Bond, has just been refused by British producer Cubby Broccoli. Reason: Spielberg is not English! The director of E. T., depressed. then joins George Lucas in the sun. It is a ritual between their two families. Faced with his friend's displeasure, George then has an idea: "I have better than James Bond: Raiders of the Lost Ark." This is how the adventurer-archaeologist Indiana Jones was born, who can be placed in the category dear to Jules Verne: that of "scholars". When the first film was released, Harrison Ford was already famous thanks to the character of Han Solo from Star Wars. But Indiana Jones allows him to become a global hero.

Read alsoHarrison Ford confides in Le Figaro: "I came out of Indiana Jones 5 rejuvenated, revived!"

This was followed by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989 (where we learn that Indy's father is none other than... James Bond, aka the eternal Sean Connery), not to mention Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, released in 2008, where Indy has a lot to do with the Russians and the mythical Area 51.

With the character of Indiana Jones, Spielberg and Lucas have fun merging two mythical heroes who marked their childhood: Tintin and James Bond. Thus, the man with the whip carries within him a DNA with double helix. In addition to the reference to the "serials" of his childhood, coupled with a dive into the world of fantastic archaeology, the Indiana Jones series brilliantly imposes this incomparable mix between James Bond, Tintin and the explorers of the 1940s. Between the little Chinese Half-Moon evoking Chiang and the truculent Sean Connery as Indiana's father, but more surely evoking Captain Haddock, Spielberg's saga pays more than ever a vibrant tribute to the famous reporter of the Petit Vingtième.

Great moments

Except for the dazzling opening scene with the giant cannonball, one of the highlights of Raiders of the Lost Ark remains Indiana Jones' pursuit of the truck. Not only because we learn that it is not advisable to cling to the Mercedes acronym (which folds for nothing), but especially because we risk going under the chassis.

This pure action sequence that lasts nearly eight minutes, where Indiana Jones slips under the Nazi van, carrying the Ark of the Covenant, launched at full speed, remains an incredible feat today. It is above all a nod to one of the most famous stunts of American cinema, the one performed in the western TheFantastic Ride, signed John Ford, released in 1939, with John Wayne. By offering him an update worthy of the legend, Spielberg brings this piece of bravery into the firmament of the cult moments of the seventh art.