The following article features extensive spoilers for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Retired archaeologist Indiana Jones, races against the clock to retrieve a legendary artifact that can change the course of history. Accompanied by his goddaughter Helena, Indy soon squares off against Jürgen Voller, a former Nazi who works for NASA. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a globe-trotting adventure film about science, regret, and the inescapable battle between man and time.
No matter which film the Indiana Jones franchise is your favorite or least favorite, there remains one constant: sound design.
Be it the sound of punching a Nazi, the crack of a whip, or the hilarious Wilhelm Scream, the Indiana Jones series has a distinctive sound. Not to mention the indescribable scores of the legendary John Williams. Sound design has always been the most important element of the franchise. Arguably just as important as Harrison Ford himself! With each film set so long ago, there’s a timelessness void of any modern needle drops. In fact, the only secular song in the franchise was “Hound Dog” in 2008’s Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Even then, it was coyly used to let the audience know the film takes place in 1958.
The same tactic is used in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny with the use of The Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour” signifying it was the late 1960s.
While it’s rare to hear a Beatles song used in a movie, it never fails to elevate a scene. Maybe it’s the prestigious exclusivity of the Lennon/McCartney catalog but the needle drop made the scene feel more important. Needless to say, I thought of some interesting parallels between the film and The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour EP. Like an audio archeologist, as soon as my screening was over, I had to listen to the album again.
I don’t believe in magic, but a few times in my life, I’ve seen things. Things I can’t explain. I’ve come to believe it’s not so much what you believe. It’s how hard you believe it. – Indiana Jones
Keep in mind, director James Mangold hasn’t spoken of why he chose that particular song for the film. The correlation between Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour is most likely coincidental. But would Indy himself turn away from thinking outside of the box using a historical artifact?
Also for some ground rules, I’m talking about the original UK Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack EP. When the record was released here in the States, it was expanded to an LP against the band’s wishes. The expansion was due to Capital Records’ lack of confidence in the EP format. To fill the empty space, Capital added on the non-album singles The Beatles released surrounding the EP and television film.
“Magical Mystery Tour”
The year is 1969. Instead of an elaborate office with awards, plaques, and historical artifacts, 80-year-old Indiana Jones lives in a tiny NYC apartment. The relics adorning his walls are of the mundane variety. Socks hanging out to dry, photos of his late father and his estranged wife, as well as unsigned divorce papers. The man who witnessed the Arc of the Covenant melt Nazis is now falling asleep watching a 13-inch TV in his boxers. Shaken awake by the neighbors blasting “Magical Mystery Tour”, Indy (and the audience) is thrust into a brand new unpredictable, nostalgia-fueled adventure.
While used as a sight gag, “Magical Mystery Tour” feels strangely meta to both the film and the adventure Indiana Jones finds himself in.
In the context of history, 1969 didn’t have as much cultural significance as the previous year. Looking back, it might even feel a little tacked on. Something Dial of Destiny relates to being an installment no one was really asking for. For all its misgivings, Crystal Skull ends on a satisfying note for the franchise. Merely existing makes Dial of Destiny feel just as tacked on. Fans of The Beatles often say the same thing about Magical Mystery Tour as a direct follow-up to the wildly popular and culturally significant Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band the year before.
Where Sgt. Pepper solidified The Beatles at the forefront of elevated pop, Magical Mystery Tour just sorta stays in its lane like an extra period on an already complete sentence. Albeit creative and fun, the album doesn’t reinvent the wheel or take any big steps like its predecessor. In that sense, Dial of Destiny knows exactly what it is and faces the adversary head-on. Plus, the lyrics are essentially about prepping for a journey into the great unknown. In 1969, the world was enthralled by space travel. But to Indiana Jones, Earth’s history is far more interesting than moon men.
“The Fool On The Hill”
Inspired by the life of the Beatles’ then-spiritual advisor, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, “The Fool On The Hill” is about a man who is often seen as a fool but in reality, wise beyond his years. It’s a stretch, but this sort of relates to the character of Indy’s friend Basil Shaw.
The entire crux of Dial of Destiny revolves around Basil’s obsession with what the Antikythera was used for or capable of. Basil spends half of his life devoted to finding the missing piece, ignoring his daughter Helena in the process. The obsession is inadvertently passed on to her after his death. Unfortunately, Helena’s obsession is with monetary gains leading her to enlist the help of a reluctant Indy. Erratic, and paranoid, Basil’s obsession was offputting but Indy and Helena trusted him enough to know they need to find the Antikytherma before the Nazis do. This would’ve been a lot easier if Indy hadn’t failed Basil by initially writing him off so many years before.
“Flying”
This interlude, originally titled “Aerial Tour Instrumental” is often written off as filler. And while it’s not particularly complex in composition, it’s interesting to hear a pop band take on a genre such as fusion jazz. And they do it on a whim as if it doesn’t even matter. Had this been on any other album, I feel critics would’ve taken more notice.
On his last day as a teacher, Indy explains to a sleepy class about the Roman siege of Syracuse in 212 BC. He theorizes Archimedes aided the battle by developing advanced weapons to protect the city. Indy’s theories are validated later in the film when he and Helena reach the tomb of Archimedes. The skeletal remains of Archimedes include a wristwatch while the sides of the tomb feature engravings of Phonex-like dragons with propellers on their wings. At this point, Indy and Helena realize Basil was correct and the Antikytherma must’ve enabled time travel.
This scene perfectly sets up the final act when Jurgen Voller miscalculates the dial and sends himself along with his crew on a plane to 212 during the battle of Syracuse.
Without getting into theories of time travel, Dial of Destiny insists time is an infinite loop. Making time travel in this particular film closer to how it works in the Terminator franchise. Meaning, events are always meant to happen. Going to the past to change the future simply doesn’t work. Voller was destined to accidentally end up in 212 BC where Archimedes and the people of Syracuse related the otherworldly aircraft to that of a flying dragon.
“Blue Jay Way”
From 1965 through 1968, George Harrison became the pseudo-psychedelic member of The Beatles. All but abandoning guitar for sitar, Harrison turned in ominous tracks such as “Love To You” and “Within Without You”. But “Blue Jay Way”, his contribution to Magical Mystery Tour, was written almost as a joke while waiting for an appointment with a publicist who was running late.
Through backmasking, grinding cellos, and phased production, Harrison chants various vocal lines about being late almost to the point of hypnosis. Most importantly, “Blue Jay Way” seemingly weaponizes time itself.
From the sound of a clock before the opening credits to the titular device, Dial of Destiny is built upon the fixation of time. Indy feels his time is up, Helena has spent years searching for an artifact, and Voller wants time to bend at his will in order to win a war he previously lost. Whatever the reasoning, time is the driving force behind each character’s motivation.
Near the end of “Blue Jay Way”, the line “Don’t be long” is repeated to the point where it becomes “Don’t belong”. This is fitting as throughout this adventure he has been racing against the clock. But when he found himself having to decide to go back to 1969 or stay in 212 B.C., facing his demons meant admitting he doesn’t belong.
“I Am The Walrus”
During the peak of The Beatles’ experimental period, John Lennon’s contributions always seemed to delve into darker places. Especially when compared to the spirituality of Harrison or the hopeful whimsy of McCartney. This led many fans and even scholars to deconstruct his songs and theorize hidden meanings. Instead of being flattered, Lennon was annoyed by people over-analyzing the subjective nature of art. In direct response to this, Lennon’s sole contribution to Magical Mystery Tour is the proto-industrial epic, “I Am The Walrus”.
Built around an ominous dirge of chords, phrases, and samples, “I Am The Walrus” is defined by Lennon’s performance. On paper, the lyrics are a wash of psychedelic noise like an LSD-ridden nursery rhyme. But Lennon’s confident and almost sinister delivery makes the song feel epic in both scope and tone. We may not know what he means but he means it. The cadence boasts Lennon as some sort of all-knowing monster. Terrifying yet alluring. Not unlike Mads Mikkelsen’s turn as Jurgen Voller.
On the surface, Voller is cool, collected, and confident in both stature and composure. But underneath his human exoskeleton is an even colder beast of maniacal determination.
What makes Voller such an interesting villain is his confidence. The subtle vitriol in his line “Hitler made mistakes. And with this, I will correct them all.” proves just how egotistical and chaotic he is beneath his calm demeanor. Voller isn’t out to secure a victory for the nazis but to take Hitler out and lead them himself. Has there ever been a more obnoxiously arrogant villain in the Indiana Jones franchise?
“Your Mother Should Know”
Inspired by turn-of-the-century music hall, McCartney’s “Your Mother Should Know” is tonally related to Sgt. Pepper’s “She’s Leaving Home”. But instead of sympathizing with the teenage runaway, “Your Mother Should Know” hints that maybe parents do know what’s best. Or at least sometimes. McCartney has backed this notion insisting this song was meant as a generational plea to the youth and to the elders to do better at respecting each other.
Each character in Dial of Destiny struggles with this in their own personal way. Helena rebels against her upbringing by selling ancient artifacts for monetary gain. Indy refuses to let go of his failures as a father, husband, and professor and chooses to sulk away into the void. Voller may have helped America in the space race, but his quest for the Antikytherma is to prove Nazis are the superior rulers of the new world order.
Even more interesting is how Helena, Indiana Jones, and Voller are proven wrong at the end of the third act.
Helena’s blasphemous distortion of her father’s morals set a course where evil could re-write history. Voller is a gifted engineer, but his arrogance later costs him his life. Meanwhile, despite Indy having traveled the globe and witnessed things most couldn’t even comprehend, is unable to face the grief of loss. His inability to respect the younger generation caused his own son to rebel and enlist in the army where he died in the Vietnam War. As brave as he has been throughout the series he wanted to run from facing the regret of his own actions.
Looking closer, the entire Indiana Jones franchise is essentially driven by remedying the lack of generational respect throughout history.
In my opinion, the most striking element of Dial of Destiny is its approach to time. It’s revealed that the Antikytherma isn’t a time travel device at all but more of a compass. In this reveal, we learn that time is a continuous loop. Meaning, the events Helena, Indy, and Voller are part of, were already destined to happen. These characters are exploiting history, preserving history, or trying to change it but it’s in fact, impossible. I also feel this is the best and only way we should look back at history.
A long time ago, I wrote an essay about a particular time when my own arrogance forced me to listen to Magical Mystery Tour on repeat during a road trip. And like Dial of Destiny, I could be taking some big swings when correlating the two, but it was significant to me. Learning to love that record taught me to look past singles and enjoy full albums. Moving forward, The Beatles spent less time experimenting and just tried to make the best music they could make. Just as Magical Mystery Tour was the end of an era for The Beatles Dial of Destiny is the end of the Indiana Jones franchise. And all of these elements have met at an intersection.
Despite loving the original Indiana Jones trilogy, I’ve never been a fan of reveling in nostalgia.
I can’t be sure if Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was meant as a course correction for the critical failure of Crystal Skull, or merely a nostalgic cash-grab while Harrison Ford is healthy enough to act. But whatever the reason or how it’s received by audiences, it encourages a morally solid gesture: We’re not going to change our futures by obsessing over the past. Sure, we can and should learn from it and do better, but the past is back there for a reason. And no matter how hard you try to stop it, delay it, manipulate it, or exploit it, the train has already left the station.
Maybe we should just hop aboard, go where it takes us, and enjoy the tour, the Magical Mystery Tour.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is now playing in theaters. Magical Mystery Tour is available to stream.