How Spielberg was inspired by Jean-Paul Belmondo to invent Indiana Jones

INTERVIEW

"Raiders of the Lost Ark", the cult film directed by Steven Spielberg released in 1981 and which brought out the favorite character of spectators around the world, Indiana Jones, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

To celebrate this event, Arte is broadcasting this Friday evening in the second part of the evening the documentary "Indiana Jones: in search of the lost golden age".

Guests on Friday in

on Europe 1, the directors of this documentary, Clélia Cohen and Antoine Coursat, recalled that Steven Spielberg had a source of French inspiration to create the character of Indiana Jones.

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Steven Spielberg reproduced some scenes from "The Man from Rio"

Because the American director was a big fan of the film

, directed by Philippe de Broca and whose main role, that of a soldier in Paris, is played by actor Jean-Paul Belmondo.

This film, he saw it and saw it again during his adolescence.

Released in 1964, it is the "very pop, very rhythmic and very hopping" side of the production that would have pleased Steven Spielberg, according to Clélia Cohen.

So much so that he reproduced certain scenes of it, like the moment when Indiana Jones finds the little idol in the cave, at the beginning of the film.

"He was inspired by the mixture of comedy and adventure"

"It really marked him. I think he was inspired by the mix of comedy and adventure which is something that, really, is representative of the adventures of Indiana Jones and that was not necessarily in the adventure cinema of the time ", decrypts Clélia Cohen. "The very pop, very funny side of Jean-Paul Belmondo and very athletic of the character who jumps everywhere and who escalates things, he really took it from Philippe de Broca and from Belmondo", she concludes.