Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (score)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a 2008 film, scored by John Williams and directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the fourth in creator-producer George Lucas’ Indiana Jones film series, all entries of which are scored by Williams and directed by Spielberg, and feature Harrison Ford as the titular character, an archaeologist-adventurer and schoolteacher often on the trail of a supernatural artifact.

Score overview
Unlike the first three Indiana Jones films, which were set between 1935 and 1939, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is set in the late 1950s against the backdrop of the Cold War. The object of the film’s quest is a legendary crystal skull, which must be returned by the heroes to its South American temple.

The movie finds Indiana Jones reunited with his former romantic partner Marion Ravenwood, and shows Indiana dealing with the loss of his father, [http://indianajones.wikia.com/wiki/Henry_Walton_Jones,_Sr. Henry].

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull features more of a science fiction tone than the first three films in the series, and as a result the score includes elements reminiscent of 1950’s science fiction B-movie score. Along with the usual sounds of an Indiana Jones film score, it also contains musical shadings of film noir and swashbuckling films, as well.

Four new themes were written by John Williams for the film, to represent the story’s villains, the object of the quest, and a new sidekick. As Kingdom of the Crystal Skull contains several references to the previous three films of the franchise, Williams brings back four themes from these previous films, in addition to several references to cues from them. The score also contains a nod to his score from Spielberg’s War of the Worlds.

New

 * Mutt's Theme
 * Call of the Crystal
 * Irina's Theme
 * Soviet Theme

Returning

 * The Raiders March (The Indiana Jones Theme)
 * Marion's Theme
 * The Ark Theme
 * Henry's Theme

Other references
The score to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull quotes two other pieces from Raiders of the Lost Ark, Flight From Peru and The Map Room: Dawn. A snippet of Ah, Rats!!! from Last Crusade is also heard in the opening of the movie. The track Hidden Treasure and the City of Gold references Williams' music for the alien invaders in Spielberg's War of the Worlds.