Where was the bridge scene from Temple of doom shot?

Answer 1

In Sri Lanka! Go to this site for more information, it's full of all the details from all the scenes in the movie. enjoy!

http://www.indianajones.de/indy2/texte/making_of_03.php

FRANK MARSHALL Executive Producer: "The site for the rope bridge was a lucky find, just north of Kandy. We needed a deep gorge we could string the bridge across and Robert Watts and Elliot Scott located one close by a huge dam construction project. The dam had been under construction for three or four years by a British company, which meant that there were engineers available and plenty of machinery close by. We used their surveyors and people who seem to be able to just hang from sheer rock faces and ended up with a a great bridge which was totally safe and built to exacting specifications. "I'll admit I was apprehensive while we were shooting around the rope bridge. It was a precarious location and while we had every safety precaution, specila harnesses, lines and ropes, still people will be people. For the first couple of days they're cautious. But once they get used to being there and their minds are on the making of the movie, they tend to get a little careless. It was a sheer drop, hundreds of feet down. For five or six days I was extremely nervous, and found myself constantly reminding people, 'Hey mind the edge,' 'Walk slowly at all times!' and so on. And of course nobody wants to stay in a safety harness when it's hot and humid. "We finally cut the bridge for a spectacular scene towards the end of the movie. We only had one shot at it, since once the bridge was cut, the cost and time involved in putting it back together would have been prohibitive. It had to be right the first time or we were sunk. Naturally, it was one of those difficult days with intermittent sun and cloud. We needed to shoot with direct sunlight, so we had to roll our nine cameras, get them all up to speed and go at just the right moment. If the sun had gone behind the clouds at that point, we would have lost the shot. When the bridge parted we had articulated, motorized dummies activated that kicked and jerked their arms as they fell. It looked very real, spectacular. "That wasn't the only bridge we built. We created another smaller bridge in Sri Lanka, this time only fifteen feet off the ground for certain shots that would have been just too dangerous on the real thing, plus another on the studio lot in England which we positioned so that all you could see was sky behind it. There was even a cliff face hanging bridge set in England which itself was sixty feet high. We had to do all this because we couldn't lower the cameras and equipment into the gorge in Sri Lanka." DOUGLAS SLOCOMBE Director of Photography: "There were logistical problems with the rope bridge scene in Sri Lanka. We had to shoot from both sides and below the bridge, perched on slippery ledges and rock faces. In addition, it was difficult to get equipment from one side to the other quicky. At first, we thought that none of us except the stunt boys would set foot on it, but within ten minutes of Steven Spielberg arriving he had crossed it - tru to form. After that, everybody wanted to cross it. But equipment was another matter and that had to be trucked all the way around the valley which could take several hours. The right equipment had to be in the right place at the right time. Equally important, when we were shooting from one side of the bridge, we had to ensure that no equipment was visible on the far side which was no easy task as arc lights and so on would take a considerable amount of effort to put in position. ELLIOT SCOTT Production Designer: "We knew we wouldn't find an existing bridge and that we'd have to build it. We wanted one three hundred feet long, infinitely longer than any real rope bridge. We needed a structure that was (a) long and dangerous looking, (b) absolutely safe and (c) capable of being cut quickly. Also, it had to support the weight of twenty people working it. Eventually it was constructed of steel cords and faced with old rattan ropes." GEORGE GIBBS Mechanical Effects Supervisor: "I had to devise a way to cut the steel cables on the rope bridge without any sound and without any smoke from explosions because the plot calls for Indiana Jones to cut the bridge with a sword. When you look back, you always think: 'Why was there a problem? It was all so easy. ' But that's always afterwards. At the time I'm thinking: 'This might be one of the biggest effects I'll ever be responsible for. Now, how do I do it?' "The steel cables were 90 millimeters thick, the same cables that the construction company, Balfour Beatty Nuttall, were using on their cranes on the Victoria Dam project nearby. I eventually located a firm just outside Marseilles, France who make explosively activated metronactuators which are used for blowing and releasing hatches on spaceflights. They manufactured special cable cutters for me. And on the day they cut through ninety millimeter cables without any smoke or noise at all, not even a snap. They were only the size of a tea cup. Their power was just unbelievable."