Love it or hate it, you can not deny that the second Indiana Jones film, The Temple of Doom, is memorable. I immediately recognized this scene by W. Navarre and I’m sure most of you did too.
The gruesome scene of a human sacrifice’s heart being ripped out is recreated nearly to perfection with cultists, statues, and rocky walls, but most importantly a fiery pit that appears seething hot – an effect achieved not by clever lighting tricks, but by building the “light” onto the lit-up wall itself. As expected of this builder, the diorama is packed full of experimental building techniques, and there is a lot to learn by inspecting Navarre’s work closely.