Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (partially found deleted scenes of Steven Spielberg adventure film; 1984)

The film's poster.

Status: Partially Found

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Robert Watts. It serves as a prequel to 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark and follows the titular Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) becoming stranded in India after escaping a perilous situation in Shanghai. Partnered with an American diva named Willie (Kate Capshaw) and a young boy named Short Round (Ke Huy Quan), he comes across a rural Indian village. He is given the task of rescuing both their sacred artifacts, the Sankara Stones, and children from a sacrilegious Hindu cult led by Mola Ram (Amrish Puri).

While it was a financial success at the box office, the film has had a highly divisive reputation amongst fans and the general public. The film's major criticism was how it featured orientalist caricatures of East and South Asian people, the usage of the "white savior" trope, and its widely condemned portrayal of Hinduism. While the film's racist nature has left a large shadow over the finished film, fans of the previous installment, Raiders of the Lost Ark, were turned off by how dark and violent it was in contrast to its preceding installment. The violent content featured in the film was also highly controversial amongst focus groups and led to the creation of the MPAA's PG-13 rating.

Unsurprisingly, the film was heavily toned down from its original cut which removed several scenes featuring violence. Other scenes were removed from the final cut not because of their content but rather due to issues surrounding the film's overall pacing.

Lost Scenes

A scene where the pilots of Lao Che's plane argue over how the main trio (who are boarding it) should be killed, before deciding to empty the plane's fuel.
A longer sequence of the ride to Pankot Palace where the main trio sing songs together, which sparks a dissatisfied reaction from Willie's elephant.^[1]
Extra scenes set at Pankot Palace, including an extended version of the dinner and bedroom scenes.
Extra shots during the sacrifice scene where after being dipped in a pool of lava, the face of a sacrifice offered by the Thuggee cult is seen dissolving in the lava. The existence of these shots was revealed by British-Indian character actor Nizwar Karanj who played the sacrificial victim in an online interview.^[2]
A shot of Indiana Jones gazing in awe at the sight of a cobra head embedded in the Thuggee temple's shrine. Reshot in the final film with Indy greeting the cobra head after being startled by it, referencing his phobia of snakes.
A scene where Willie returns to Pankot Palace to alert Chattar Lal (Roshan Seth) about the presence of the Thuggee Cult before being captured by a group of cultists as Lal reveals himself to be a part of it.
A scene where a Thuggee captor is seen whipping slave children before being burnt by exposed lava (which came from a piece of rock that Short Round was forced to mine). He is awakened from the "black sleep" that made him a mindless goon, but he is then taken away shortly after by the other cultists. This scene explains how Short Round is able to save Indy from the same spell. ^[3]
An extended fight scene with Indiana Jones and Chattar Lal that ends with Lal being lowered into the lava pit.
A scene where Indy builds a makeshift bridge in order for the freed children to escape from the temple. As Short Round attempts to cross it the bridge catches on fire and collapses, forcing the trio to use the mines to escape.

Availability

Several of the missing scenes (the extended trip to Pankot sequence, Willie confronting Chattar Lal, the alternate shrine shots, and a miniature shot depicting Lal's death) have surfaced online primarily through excerpts that were made available through bonus material such as "The Adventures of Indiana Jones" DVD boxset and the Blu-Ray releases. The full scenes, however, remain lost.