The question came up in a recent Avatar Contest. I submitted an av of Marion from Raiders of the Lost Ark (Theme was tough women), but it was rejected because the thread starter feels that the Indy films are Science Fiction and Fantasy. "My thread/contest my rules." Which is fine. But it did make me curious. Me, I classify them as action/adventure like the Bond films. They might have fantastical elements (mystic/religious objects for Indy. Hi tech gadgets for Bond) but at its core its about exotic (Terrestrial) locals, daring escapes and fights by a guy in a hat armed with a gun and a whip. Indy is a modern take on the Allan Quatermain/Jungle Jim type not Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon.
They're pulp adventure like DOC SAVAGE or TARZAN. Does that count as scifi/fantasy? I don't know. I guess the genres overlap a little.
But is it Fantasy? ( with a capital "F") A lot of fiction is fantasy, but that doesn't mean they are Fantasy.
Pulp adventure sounds close to the mark, but there's always going to be overlap of genres with some stories. Twin Peaks is technically a fantasy series, but It's really more of a self-aware soap opera than anything. Life on Mars has some elements of Sci-fi fantasy, but plays week to week as a retro cop show. Traditionally the Bond films have been classified as Sci-fi fantasy here as well if I'm not mistaken. I don't care either way and think eliminating some of the more popular franchises can sometimes lead to greater creativity in the avatar contests.
It's a Historically Fantastic Action Adventure Period Piece. Why does it only need to fit into one category?
Indy was conceived as a paean to those serialised stories of derring-do from Republic and other companies. It has plenty of Flash Gordon etc in its DNA. Fantasy, so. Good old escapist thrills-and-spills nonsense fantasy. (Edit: Lost arks? Magic stones? Holy grails? Alien spacecraft, if you canonise Indy IV? These are certainly fantasy elements, but it's struck me that they're all MacGuffins for the main action, which doesn't necessarily have a lot of fantasy. It does, however, have a lot of heightened reality. I guess that there is overlap, and Indy certainly qualifies as action/adventure; but I think that it has a lot more fantasy in its pie chart than (say) the Bourne movies. It's also telling that its nature as an homage to serialised action shows is part of what it has in common with Star Wars.)
It doesnt. As I said it had fantastical elements. Never had much Science Fiction, though. Till the last one of course.
Fantasy, to me, is more like LOTR. Wizards, elves and magic. I mentioned Quatermain and Jungle Jim for a reason. They are the types of characters from features and serials that Indy draws from. Star Wars draws from Flash Gordon. Both are homages to movie serials. Jungle Jim and FLash Gordon are both Alex Raymond comic strips that became serials.
I enter Indy Avs in SciFi av contests all the time and no one complains. Therefore, the fantasy element in it is strong enough to eliminate it from a purely non-sci fi or fantasy contest. Hence, another poster pointed out it didn't belong in the av contest, and I agreed. Not a big mystery. I excluded it from the contest because the fantasy elements were pretty strong. Yes, it's action, but it's also fantasy. Bond, I think, while being a bit ridiculous, is less fantasy as it doesn't have face melting spirits, magical cups or aliens. It all depends on where you draw the line on the labels, but I'm still not allowing it in the av contest.
The fantasy elements usually pop up in full force in the last act of an Indy film. Till then it's usally a lot of escaping, running and fighting. ( usually in cool looking places)
I'd say that it has elements of all those though it would mainly be action/adventure fantasy period piece hybrid.
I'd call it historical fantasy. You have a lot of historical elements in it, but it never appears contemporary. Besides, anyone who survives a nuke while being inside a fridge is surely fantasy.
It was the 50s man. You could survive a nuke by ducking under your school desk and covering your head.