In the era of well-known internet trends and massive cohesive movie and series universes such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Easter Eggs established themselves as a staple of pop culture. These are small cross-references or allusions that do not necessarily have to be closely intertwined with a story in itself, but that immediately seem familiar to connoisseurs of the cosmos – and therefore regularly enthuse. Easter Eggs haven’t been around for just a few years:
For example, Alfred Hitchcock started early with short cameo appearances in his films, which his audience always eagerly awaited – and Steven Spielberg is also not averse to such gimmicks: in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”, for example, there is a world-famous “Star Wars Allusion” hidden – but that’s nothing compared to the running gag the Indy series has been bringing for over 40 years: Because like Spielberg in the previous “Indiana Jones” movies, James Mangold in “Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Fate‘ to the world famous Wilhelm Scream.
If you’re still planning on seeing the movie for the first time or again, keep an eye out for the scene in the spectacular opening sequence (starring young Harrison Ford) where Indy throws a Nazi off the moving train. Indy gets on the train from which he’s trying to free his old friend Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) – and where the Holy Lance seems to be, by the way – and pushes one of Jürgen Voller’s (Mads Mikkelsen) henchmen off the vehicle. And the scream he lets out is not just a roar from the actor, but actually a sound fragment that every movie fan has probably heard.
The Wilhelm Scream: Who doesn’t know him?!
More than seven decades (!) have passed since the Wilhelm Scream (probably) first sounded. In Raoul Walsh’s western The Devil’s Brigade, a man let out a scream when he was eaten by an alligator. At the time, however, no one could have imagined that that scene would later acquire such relevance in film history.
The Wilhelm Scream became part of a public sound library in the 1950s and was eventually named after a character in “The flaming arrow(1953) – before he eventually became world famous.
Among filmmakers, the Wilhelm Scream, in which the voice of singer, actor and comedian Sheb Wooley, who died in 2003 would be heard, has long been a joke that amounts to a declaration of love to the cinema – and is preferably used when a supporting character dies comes to life (or at least falls). Don’t you remember hearing the scream once? Not sure if it’s really that common? Then watch out: The following list contains only a fraction of the films in which the Wilhelm Scream appears:
- “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” (and all sequels)
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (and all sequels)
- “Kill Bill Vol 1”
- “Reservoir Dogs”
- “Transformers”
- “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”
- “Pirates of the Caribbean”
- “poltergeist”
- “Aladdin”
- “Batman Returns”
- “Planet of Apes”
- Toy Story
- “Beauty and the Beast”
- “The Incredibles”
Of course, James Mangold has a few more Easter eggs hidden in “Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Destiny” and especially allusions to the preceding parts of the adventure saga – which, however, never emerge purely for their own sake. Mangold strikes the perfect balance to serve fans without making everyone feel like they misunderstood or missed something. And that’s when Easter eggs work best.