Doctor René Emile Belloq is the main antagonist of the 1981 action-adventure film Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first installment of the Indiana Jones film series.
He is the archenemy of Indiana Jones since their days on the Sorbonne. Belloq is a French archaeologist who takes credit for Jones' findings. In 1936, when Herman Dietrich hires him to find the Ark of the Covenant under the orders of Adolf Hitler, Belloq decides to work for the Nazis so he can unlock the Ark's powers first and get rid of Indiana once and for all.
He was portrayed by Paul Freeman, who also played James Moriarty in Without a Clue, Ivan Ooze in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie and Reverend Philip Shooter in Hot Fuzz.
Biography[]
Dr. René Emile Belloq is a French archaeologist and the main antagonist in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Belloq is the arch-nemesis of Jones, and the two know each other very well, including each other's strengths and weaknesses, as shown by their very first exchange in the film, where Jones says "Too bad the Hovitos don't know you like I do, Belloq."; to which Belloq replies: "Yes, too bad. You could warn them, if only you spoke Hovitos". He is highly intelligent, as evinced by Sallah's "They have not one brain among them... except one... he is very clever - a French archaeologist...".
In the film's opening, Belloq and Hovitos tribesmen force Indiana to hand over a fertility idol he has braved numerous booby traps to obtain. Belloq aids the Nazis in finding the Ark of the Covenant, as he wants to use the relic to speak with God. When the Ark is opened, its contained spirits engulf Belloq in flames and cause his head to explode; Indiana and Marion are spared and turn the Ark over to the US government. At one point in the film, Belloq says to Indy that they are very much alike and that he is Indy's "shadowy reflection".
The novelization of the movie reveals Belloq became Indiana's foe at graduate school, when he plagiarized his essay on stratigraphy, thus winning an award that rightfully belonged to Indiana. Another encounter in 1934 is detailed, when Indiana spends months preparing a dig in Rub' al Khali, only to arrive and discover Belloq has excavated the region. Indiana also encounters Belloq in two novels by Max McCoy, set before the films, in which Jones and Belloq meet for the first time (contradicting the novelization of Raiders of the Lost Ark) and Belloq gives Indiana information for locating a crystal skull.
Belloq's first name was Emile in an August 1979 draft of the script, and Marion was originally more infatuated with him. Spielberg considered Jacques Dutronc and Giancarlo Giannini for the part before casting Freeman. While watching Death of a Princess he noticed that Freeman had very piercing eyes.
Belloq was intended to appear in the prequel Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, but the character was written out for unknown reasons. He was set to appear in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, but the show was canceled before its third season. He and the 21-year-old Indiana would have become friends in Honduras in 1920, although his ruthless traits would be exhibited by stealing and selling a crystal skull to F. A. Mitchell-Hedges. He would have aided Indiana and Percy Fawcett in Brazil in an episode set in 1921. He was also intended to appear in the canceled Dark Horse Comics limited series Indiana Jones and the Lost Horizon, in which he appears in the prologue discovering a fake Turin Shroud in New York City in 1926.
In an early script of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull called Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods and written by Frank Darabont, the Nazis were set to appear, seeking revenge for Belloq's and Toht's deaths, but the script was rejected.
Kenner released a 3.75 in (95 mm) action figure (dressed in Jewish robes) in late 1982, which was available by mail order until 1983. A Belloq figure in normal clothes was also released in 1983. He was included in a TSR, Inc. collection of metal miniatures the following year. Hasbro released a 3.75 in (95 mm) Belloq in Jewish robes in 2008 (which comes with the fertility idol). An Adventure Heroes figurine, which comes with the Ark and a murderous spirit, will also be released. Lego made a Belloq figure for a playset based on the Raiders opening sequence.
Appearance[]
On most of the franchise, His style is basically based on a white-clothed archeologist and gangster all mixed together. He only appeared in the Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark film but not in the sequels because the character only appeared in Indian Jones Non-canon media sources which complicates the film series mainframe.
Personality[]
Like his rival Indiana Jones, René Emile Belloq scoured the globe for antiquities, but would rather sell them for his own profit instead of giving them to a museum as Indy did. Belloq was always interested in hunting treasures for the highest bidder, as he was brilliant yet strayed for money. On several occasions, he simply let Jones do the dirty work and then stole the prize for himself. However, Belloq had a low opinion of his Nazi employers, dismissing them as "fools" for their discomfort over the use of a Jewish ritual to accompany the opening of the Ark of the Covenant, naively thinking that there was nothing to fear.
René Belloq spoke several languages in addition to his native French: English, German, Spanish, and those of various tribes indigenous to South America including the language spoken by the Hovitos. Belloq enjoyed the finer parts of French society, including clothes, food and drink. He had a weakness for beautiful women, providing they were intelligent as well, but wouldn't let them get in the way of his goals. He was also willing to sacrifice his years long friendship with the Hovitos in order to claim the fertility idol. Belloq liked to to make his appearance seem perfect, whether dressed in his jungle khaki attire or in his white suit with Panama hat.
Belloq saw Jones as a worthy rival and spoke of being his "shadowy reflection". He even reflected that they had an entertaining rivalry to the point he admitted that Jones was clever enough to avoid the booby traps from the Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors. Regardless, Belloq enjoyed seeing Jones suffer, acknowledging Jones' ophidiophobia as the man was sealed into the Well of the Souls. Up until his death – once he had abandoned the money of museums in exchange for the more lucrative amounts paid by private collectors – Belloq was never unemployed. As Jones noted in his later years, Belloq was the rare example of an archaeologist who utilized violence against another.
Behind the scenes[]
Lawrence Kasdan's script for the film originally had his name as Victor Lovar but subsequent drafts settled on Emile Belloq except for the fourth draft which experimented with the name Chartiere. After the fifth and final draft, however, Emile changed when the Lucasfilm researcher Deborah Fine advised an alteration to René to avoid confusion with an existing person. IndianaJones.com later honored the previous forename by establishing Emile as Belloq's middle name. Although Belloq's first name appears as "René" in Campbell Black's novelization, other sources frequently refer to "Rene", without the accent over the final e.
During the early development of the film, Italian actor Giancarlo Giannini almost signed to play Belloq. However, after director Steven Spielberg saw Freeman's performance as journalist Antony Thomas in the ATV movie Death of a Princess, Freeman got the part. Before Freeman's casting, French singer Jacques Dutronc was approached but he turned it down as he can't speak English; while Jonathan Pryce was also considered.
In taking the role Belloq, Paul Freeman wasn't initially asked to demonstrate the French accent required for the character. Freeman, an Englishman, supposed that Steven Spielberg assumed he could do one the first time they met, as Spielberg had suggested he play Belloq despite Freeman's nationality. Only later did Spielberg ask Freeman to come to his office at Elstree Studios and provide an accent that satisfied the director. When the time came to film the scene in Marion Ravenwood's tent, both Freeman and Karen Allen were allowed by Spielberg to improvise.
The character of Belloq has several similarities with the real-life Jacques de Mahieu. Mahieu was a French anthropologist, esotericist and Nazi collaborator who conducted field studies in Latin America on behalf of the Ahnenerbe, including studies of the Chachapoya culture. The breastplate worn by Belloq in the climactic final scene is actually quite true to the Hoshen, the breastplate worn by the High Priests who were the only ones to have contact with the Ark of the Covenant, according to the description of the Hoshen as found in the Torah.
Additionally, another real-life French archaeologist—Pierre Montet—actually did excavation work at the real Tanis, beginning in 1939 (not long after the events of the film took place). According to National Geographic, "Montet brought Tanis into the 20th century after nearly a dozen years of excavations. He unearthed a royal tomb complex that included three intact and undisturbed burial chambers—a rare and marvelous find. The tombs held dazzling funereal treasures such as golden masks, coffins of silver, and elaborate sarcophagi. Other precious items included bracelets, necklaces, pendants, tableware, and amulets. Statues, vases, and jars also filled the tombs, all part of an array that still bears witness, after thousands of years, to the power and wealth of Tanis's rulers."
Belloq's demise has been depicted differently throughout the franchise. In the Raiders novelization and comic book adaptation, instead of having his head exploding during the opening of the Ark, Belloq's eyeballs catch fire and his skin decays, melting in the process. In the TV short film LEGO Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Brick, Belloq, along two Hovitos, is apparently killed by the giant boulder of the Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors in Peru. In LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, Belloq's body explodes during the deaths of Toht and Dietrich. However, in the sequel, Belloq becomes a lightning monster who kills Toht and the other Nazis and sends Dietrich away, but Indy and Marion manage to use a machine to defeat the monster, causing Belloq's body explode after losing his powers.
There is some inconsistency for when Belloq and Indiana Jones first met. Plans to depict the first meeting between the two were made but never materialized. The 1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark novelization states that the two learned of each other as archaeology students, from which most sources base the event, and is supported by the unproduced episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles where Belloq was going to be a character in the unrealized third season of the series. He was to be introduced in "Honduras, December 1920" and reappear in "Brazil, December 1921". However, the series was cancelled before these episodes could be made. The dates for the characters' first meeting do differ with the synopsis for the television series placing it in Honduras, December 1920 while Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide has it in Iraq two years later. Max McCoy's novel Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs later depicted their first encounter in 1933.
According to Paul Freeman, Belloq was considered for a return in the film that became Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, but the idea was dropped for unknown reasons, despite George Lucas and director Steven Spielberg telling the actor that they would call him for the second movie.
Belloq was also set to make an appearance in the opening of Dark Horse Comics' Indiana Jones and the Lost Horizon set on a New York City skyscraper in 1926 involved with a fake Shroud of Turin. However, the project came to a halt when the entire Indiana Jones comic line was ended due to poor sales.
Belloq appears in the ''Indiana Jones'' segment of George Lucas' Super Live Adventure which combined elements from Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. He attempts to acquire the magic wand of the show's protagonist, Hiromi (a girl traveling through several worlds based on Lucasfilm productions), but she's rescued by the timely arrival of Indiana Jones. Hiromi and Jones are attacked on a rope bridge by individuals dressed as Thuggee described in the script as "Belloq's natives" and the man later fills the role of Lao Che in Temple of Doom by introducing Willie Scott to Jones at Club Obi Wan. He ultimately meets his end at the Ark of the Covenant's resting place when he opens the artifact and flames reduce him to a flailing skeleton.
Although Belloq doesn't appear in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull itself, he can briefly be seen a trailer for the film which reused footage from the Raiders opening of the Ark scene and received a mention in the film's junior novelization.
Kenner released an action figure of Belloq in their Raiders toyline in the 1980s along with an additional figure of Belloq in his ceremonial robes that was given away as part of a mail-order promotion. It was intended for an eventual general release but the line was discontinued before this came to pass. Additionally, there were plans by Kenner for a Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors set which would have included an action figure of Belloq in his jungle attire. The set, however, went ultimately unproduced when the whole Indiana Jones toyline was abruptly cancelled. Similarly, there were plans by Hasbro for a 2009 action figure of Belloq in his white suit attire, but the toyline was cancelled before one could be made. A sixth scale figure of Belloq in his white suit and hat was instead released by Sideshow Collectibles that same year.