Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a
1989-Events:* "Batman" is released on June 23, and went on to become the biggest blockbuster of the year; Grossing over $250 million at the box office.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million...
adventure filmAdventure films are a genre of film.-History:The adventure film reached its peak of popularity in 1930s and 1940s Hollywood, when films such as Captain Blood, The Adventures of Robin Hood and The Mark of Zorro were regularly made with major stars, notably Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power, who were...
directed by
Steven SpielbergSteven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. In a career of over four decades, Spielberg's films have touched on many themes and genres. Spielberg's early sci-fi and adventure films, sometimes centering on children, were seen as an archetype of modern...
, from a story co-written by executive producer
George LucasGeorge Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, director and chairman of Lucasfilm Ltd. He is best known for being the creator of the epic sci-fi franchise Star Wars and joint creator of the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
. It is the third film in the
Indiana Jones franchiseThe Indiana Jones franchise, based on the adventures of the eponymous fictional archaeologist, began in 1981 with the film Raiders of the Lost Ark. A prequel, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, followed in 1984 and the sequel Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989. In 1992, The Young Indiana...
.
Harrison FordHarrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. Ford is best known for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series...
reprises
the title roleDr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. is a fictional adventurer, OSS agent, professor of archaeology, and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
and
Sean ConnerySir Thomas Sean Connery , best known as Sean Connery, is an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA Award winning Scottish actor and producer....
plays Indiana's father,
Henry Jones, Sr.Professor Henry Walton Jones, Sr. is a Scottish fictional character in the Indiana Jones franchise. He is the estranged father of Indiana Jones, who is captured by the Nazis while searching for the Holy Grail to act as bait for Indy....
Alison Doody-Early life:The youngest of three children, she was born to a well-off family in Dublin, Ireland. Her mother, Joan, was a beauty therapist, and her father, Patrick, worked in the property business and farmed. Doody attended Mount Anville Secondary School...
,
Denholm ElliottDenholm Mitchell Elliott, CBE was an English actor of stage and screen, with over 120 major film and TV credits.. Today he is probably most known for his roles in the Indiana Jones movies as Dr. Marcus Brody.-Early life:...
,
Julian GloverJulian Wyatt Glover is an English actor.-Early life:Glover was born in Hampstead, the son of Honor , a close friend of the novelist Barbara Pym, and C. Gordon Glover, a BBC radio producer. His half brother is the musician Robert Wyatt...
,
River PhoenixRiver Jude Phoenix was an American film actor. He was listed on John Willis's Screen World, Vol. 38 as one of twelve "promising new actors of 1986," and was hailed as highly talented by such critics as Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel. He was also well known for his animal rights activism...
and
John Rhys-DaviesJohn Rhys-Davies is a British actor and vocal artist. He is perhaps best known for playing the charismatic Arab excavator Sallah in the Indiana Jones films and the dwarf Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, in which he also voiced the ent, Treebeard...
also have featured roles. Set largely in 1938, Indiana searches for his father, a
Holy GrailAccording to Christian mythology, the Holy Grail was the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers...
scholar, who has been kidnapped by Nazis.
After the mixed reaction to the dark
Indiana Jones and the Temple of DoomIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second film in the Indiana Jones franchise, and prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark . After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone...
, Spielberg chose to compensate by continuing the trilogy with a movie lighter in tone, later being followed by Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. During the five years between
Temple of Doom and
Last Crusade, he and executive producer Lucas reviewed several scripts before accepting
Jeffrey BoamJeffrey Boam was an American screenwriter and film producer. Educated at Sacramento State College and UCLA, he became one of Hollywood's most successful and highest paid writers during the 1980s and 1990s, working with such stars as Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Billy Zane and Sean Connery and...
's. The filming locations included
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and
JordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in Western Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba. Jordan shares borders with Syria to the north, Iraq to the northeast, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, the Gulf of Aqaba to the southwest,...
.
The film was released in North America on May 24, 1989 to mixed reviews, but received a better overall reception than
Temple of Doom. It was a financial success, outgrossing the two previous
Indiana Jones movies with $474,171,806 at the worldwide
box officeA box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to a venue. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall, or at a wicket...
.
Plot
The prologue depicts a young
Indiana JonesDr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. is a fictional adventurer, OSS agent, professor of archaeology, and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
in 1912 as a
Boy ScoutThe Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over four million youth members in its age-related divisions...
settling in
UtahUtah is a western state of the United States. It was the 45th state admitted to the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80 percent of Utah's 2,736,424 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering around Salt Lake City. In contrast, vast expanses of the state are nearly uninhabited, making...
, battling grave robbers for the Cross of Coronado, an ornamental cross belonging to Francisco Vázquez de Coronado. As the foiled grave robbers give chase, Indiana hides in a circus train, in the process using a whip, scarring his chin, and gaining a
fear of snakesOphidiophobia or ophiophobia refers to the fear of snakes. Fear of snakes is sometimes called by a more general term, herpetophobia, fear of reptiles. It is one of the most common zoophobias . Care must also be taken to differentiate people who do not like snakes or fear them for their venom or...
. Although he rescues the cross, the robbers tell the
SheriffA sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
that Indiana was the thief, and he is forced to return it, while his oblivious father,
Henry Jones, Sr.Professor Henry Walton Jones, Sr. is a Scottish fictional character in the Indiana Jones franchise. He is the estranged father of Indiana Jones, who is captured by the Nazis while searching for the Holy Grail to act as bait for Indy....
, is working on his research into the
Holy GrailAccording to Christian mythology, the Holy Grail was the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers...
, keeping meticulous notes in a diary. The leader of the hired robbers, dressed very similarly to the future Indiana and impressed by the young Indy's tenacity, gives him his
fedoraA fedora is a felt hat that is creased lengthwise down the crown and pinched in the front on both sides. Similar hats with a C-crown are occasionally called fedoras. The brim goes all the way around, and often there will be a hat band as well...
and some encouraging words. In 1938, Indiana recovers the cross from the robbers' ship in the coast of
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
, and donates it to Marcus Brody's museum.
Indiana is introduced to the wealthy Walter Donovan, who informs him that Indy's estranged father has vanished while searching for the Holy Grail, using an incomplete stone tablet as his guide. Indy receives a package which turns out to be his father's Grail diary, containing all his life's research on the Grail. Understanding that his father would not have sent the diary unless he was in trouble, Indiana and Marcus travel to
VeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy, the capital of the region Veneto, a population of 271,367 . Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area . The city historically was an independent nation...
, where they meet Henry's colleague Dr. Elsa Schneider. Indiana and Elsa discover
catacombsCatacombs are ancient, human-made underground passageways or subterranean cemeteries composed thereof. Many are under cities and have served during historic times as a refuge for safety during wars or as a meeting place for cults. The first burial galleries to be referred to as catacombs lie...
beneath the library where Henry was last seen, and discover the tomb of Sir Richard, a knight of the
First CrusadeThe First Crusade was a military expedition by European Christians to regain the Holy Lands taken by the Muslim conquest of the Levant, which resulted in the capture of Jerusalem in 1099. It was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II with the primary goal of responding to the appeal from Byzantine...
, with a complete version of the stone tablet that Henry used. They flee when the catacombs are set aflame by The Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword, a secret society. They are pursued and escape on a speedboat, and a chase through Venice ensues in which they capture the cult's leader, Kazim. After Indiana convinces him of their intentions, Kazim explains The Brotherhood are protecting the Grail from those with evil intentions, and that Henry was abducted to a castle on the
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
n-
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
border.
Indiana and Elsa infiltrate the castle. Indiana finds his father, but learns that Elsa and Donovan are working with the Nazis to seek the grail, hoping that Indiana would discover its location. The Nazis capture Marcus, who had traveled to
Iskenderunİskenderun , is a city and district in the province of Hatay on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey.-Geography:...
, Hatay with the map to the Grail's location. The Joneses are able to escape and recover the diary from Elsa at a Nazi rally in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
, where they proceed to try and escape from Germany to meet with
SallahSallah Mohammed Faisel el-Kahir, better known as Sallah , is a fictional character played by John Rhys-Davies in two of the four Indiana Jones movies: Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade...
in Hatay. There they learn of Marcus' abduction and that the Nazis, backed with resources from the country's leader, are already moving to the Grail's location. With the help of The Brotherhood, the Joneses ambush the convoy and rescue Marcus, though Donovan and Elsa continue on to the Canyon of the Crescent Moon, where the Grail resides.
Indy, his father, Marcus, and Sallah catch up and find that the Nazis are unable to pass through traps set before the Grail. After the four are discovered, Donovan shoots and mortally wounds Henry, forcing Indiana to circumvent the traps using the information in his father's diary, with Donovan and Elsa shortly following him. Indiana succeeds and finds himself in a room with the last Knight of the First Crusade, kept alive with the power of the Grail, which has been hidden among several other cups. Elsa selects a gilded cup encrusted in jewels for Donovan, knowing it to be fake; when Donovan drinks from it, he ages rapidly before decaying and turning into dust. Indiana, recognizing that the Grail would be that of a humble carpenter instead of a wealthy king, selects the correct vessel, and quickly takes it to his father with the holy water, which heals his wounds instantly when the older Jones drinks from it. As they prepare to leave, the Knight warns them to not take the Grail out of the temple, but Elsa does so, causing the temple to collapse. Elsa falls into an abyss during a greedy attempt to recover the Grail, and Indiana falls into the chasm, held by one arm by his father. As he reaches for the Grail, not knowing he is about to fall to his demise, his father simply says "Indiana, let it go". Realising his father cares more for him than the Grail, the Joneses, Marcus, and Sallah narrowly escape the collapsing temple and ride off into the sunset.
Cast
- Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. Ford is best known for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series...
as Indiana JonesDr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. is a fictional adventurer, OSS agent, professor of archaeology, and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
: The archaeologist adventurer who seeks to rescue his father and find the Holy Grail. Ford said he loved the idea of introducing Indiana's father because it allowed him to explore another side to Indiana's personality: "These are men who have never made any accommodation to each other. Indy behaves differently in his father's presence. Who else would dare call Indy 'junior'?" Ford signed to the project on February 9, 1987. He insisted on performing many of his own stunts, to the point that doubleA stunt double is a type of body double, specifically a skilled replacement used for dangerous film or video sequences, in movies and television , and for other sophisticated stunts...
Vic ArmstrongVictor Monroe Armstrong is a BAFTA winning British film director and stunt double -- the world's most prolific according to the Guinness Book of Records...
joked his toughest stunt was to coerce Ford into letting him perform some. Among those Armstrong performed was the ten feet leap from Indiana's horse onto the tank, and Indiana's leaping from a rock to steal the horse, which Armstrong only convinced Ford to let him do because he felt he would have been out of a job.
- River Phoenix
River Jude Phoenix was an American film actor. He was listed on John Willis's Screen World, Vol. 38 as one of twelve "promising new actors of 1986," and was hailed as highly talented by such critics as Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel. He was also well known for his animal rights activism...
played the 13-year-old Indiana. Phoenix had portrayed Ford's son in The Mosquito CoastThe Mosquito Coast is a 1982 novel by Paul Theroux and a 1986 film based on the book. Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Andre Gregory , and River Phoenix star in the film directed by Peter Weir...
(1986). Ford recommended Phoenix for the part; he said that of the young actors working at the time, Phoenix looked the most like him when he was around that age. Phoenix had been looking for a lighter, more comic role. Ford was present during filming to advise Phoenix on his portrayal. Lucasfilm was secretive about Phoenix's casting, referring to the young Indiana as "boy on train" in the script. When it was leaked, they spread a rumor he was playing Indiana's younger brother. Phoenix performed opposite the lion, although a stuntman was required for the more dangerous shots of Indiana being swiped at and the shot of Indiana cracking his whip at the animal.
- Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , best known as Sean Connery, is an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA Award winning Scottish actor and producer....
as Professor Henry JonesProfessor Henry Walton Jones, Sr. is a Scottish fictional character in the Indiana Jones franchise. He is the estranged father of Indiana Jones, who is captured by the Nazis while searching for the Holy Grail to act as bait for Indy....
: Indiana's father, a professor of Medieval literatureMedieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe beyond and during the Middle Ages . The literature of this time was composed of religious writings as well as secular works...
who cared more about looking for the Grail than raising his son. Alex Hyde-WhiteAlex Punch Hyde-White is an English film and television actor. He is sometimes credited as Alex Hyde White.Hyde-White was born in London, the son of Ethel M. , a stage manager who acted under the name Ethel Drew, and the late British actor Wilfrid Hyde-White...
stood in for Connery in the prologue. Spielberg had Connery in mind when he suggested introducing Indiana's father, though he did not tell Lucas at first. Consequently, Lucas wrote the role as "a crazy, eccentric" professor resembling Laurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century, along with his contemporaries John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft, Alec Guinness and Ralph Richardson...
, whose relationship with Indiana is "strict schoolmaster and student rather than a father and son". Spielberg had been a fan of Connery's work as James BondCommander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is a fictional character created by novelist Ian Fleming in 1952. He is the protagonist of the James Bond series of novels, films, comics and video games. He is portrayed as an SIS agent residing in London...
and felt that no-one else could perform the role as well. Spielberg biographer Joseph McBride wrote, "Connery was already the father of Indiana Jones since the series had sprung from the desire of Lucas and Spielberg to rival (and outdo) Connery's James Bond moviesThe James Bond film series are British spy films inspired by Ian Fleming's novels about the fictional MI6 agent James Bond . The franchise remains as one of the longest continually running film series in history, having been in ongoing production from 1962 to 2009 with a six-year hiatus between...
." Connery initially turned the role down as he is only twelve years older than Ford, but he relented. Connery—a student of history—began to reshape the character, and revisions were made to the script to address his concerns. "I wanted to play Henry Jones as a kind of Sir Richard [Francis] BurtonCaptain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS was an English explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, ethnologist, linguist, poet, hypnotist, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia and Africa as well as his extraordinary knowledge of languages and...
," Connery commented. "I was bound to have fun with the role of a gruff, Victorian Scottish father." Connery believed Henry should be a match for his son, telling Spielberg that "whatever Indy'd done my character has done and my character has done it better". Connery signed to the film on March 25, 1988. He improvised the line, "She talks in her sleep", which was left in because it made everyone laugh; in Boam's scripts, Henry telling Indiana that he slept with Elsa occurs later.
- Alison Doody
-Early life:The youngest of three children, she was born to a well-off family in Dublin, Ireland. Her mother, Joan, was a beauty therapist, and her father, Patrick, worked in the property business and farmed. Doody attended Mount Anville Secondary School...
as Dr. Elsa Schneider: An Austrian art professor who is in league with the Nazis. She seduces the Joneses to trick them. Doody was 21 when she auditioned and was one of the first actresses who met for the part. Doody scarred herself while filming the catacombs scene, when hot wax on the torch she held dripped onto her hand; Ford noticed and dipped her hand into the water, preventing a burn. Although Doody drove the boat for the Venetian chase, no one had instructed her in driving it. The filmmakers regretted their decision when she almost crashed her boat into the one in which they were filming. She did not mind filming with the rats, noting the animals were probably more afraid of her than she was of them.
- Denholm Elliott
Denholm Mitchell Elliott, CBE was an English actor of stage and screen, with over 120 major film and TV credits.. Today he is probably most known for his roles in the Indiana Jones movies as Dr. Marcus Brody.-Early life:...
as Dr. Marcus Brody: Indiana's bumbling colleague. Elliott returned after Spielberg sought to recapture the tone of Raiders of the Lost ArkRaiders of the Lost Ark is a action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford...
(1981), following the actor's absence in the darker Temple of DoomIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second film in the Indiana Jones franchise, and prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark . After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone...
(1984). Elliott felt his small role in the first film had been boring, so he enjoyed that in The Last Crusade, Brody is revealed to have "two left feet". He added, "I love comedy, life is too boring and sad without it." Elliott and Connery improvised the "Genius of the restoration... Aid our own resuscitation" University Club toast.
- John Rhys-Davies
John Rhys-Davies is a British actor and vocal artist. He is perhaps best known for playing the charismatic Arab excavator Sallah in the Indiana Jones films and the dwarf Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, in which he also voiced the ent, Treebeard...
as SallahSallah Mohammed Faisel el-Kahir, better known as Sallah , is a fictional character played by John Rhys-Davies in two of the four Indiana Jones movies: Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade...
: A friend of Indiana and a professional excavator living in CairoCairo is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab World. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a center of the region's political and cultural life...
. Like Elliott's, Rhys-Davies' return was an attempt to recapture the spirit of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Rhys-Davies said that since the previous film, Sallah "has gotten older and a little fatter. This time, we see him without the appurtenances of his wife and children. He's a little more resolute now, and he's more ready to have a physical go at the Germans himself. But other than that, he's still the same old Sallah." Rhys-Davies suffered from sciaticaSciatica is a set of symptoms including pain that may be caused by general compression and/or irritation of one of five nerve roots that give rise to the sciatic nerve, or by compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve itself. The pain is felt in the lower back, buttock, and/or various parts of...
during filming, which was not helped by the horse riding required. He fell from his horse while mounting it for the film's final scene after it was spooked by Connery's, but was uninjured.
- Julian Glover
Julian Wyatt Glover is an English actor.-Early life:Glover was born in Hampstead, the son of Honor , a close friend of the novelist Barbara Pym, and C. Gordon Glover, a BBC radio producer. His half brother is the musician Robert Wyatt...
as Walter Donovan: An American businessman who sends the Joneses on their quest for the Holy Grail. Donovan works for the Nazis and desires immortalityImmortality is the concept of living in a physical or spiritual form for an infinite or inconceivably vast length of time....
. Glover previously appeared as General Veers in Lucas's Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes BackStar Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, based on a story by George Lucas, was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan...
. Glover lived next door to producer Robert WattsRobert Watts is a British film producer who is best known for his involvement with the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series.* His half brother is Jeremy Bulloch, who played Boba Fett in the original trilogy.-Chichester University Visit:...
, and auditioned for the role of Vogel. He did not get the part but the producers wanted him for Donovan. To cover his Irish accent, Glover adopted an American one, although he was dissatisfied with the result. Watts suggested that Glover's wife, Isla BlairIsla Blair is a British actress, known for her television roles.Blair was born in Bangalore, India, the daughter of Ian Baxter Blair, who was a Scottish tea planter, and Violet Barbara Blair-Hill . She returned to Britain as a child.She is married to actor Julian Glover...
, cameo as Donovan's wife.
- Michael Byrne
Michael Byrne is an English actor noted for his roles on film and television. He has often been cast in Nazi military roles, an example of this is him playing Colonel Vogel in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade...
as Colonel Vogel: A brutal SSThe , abbreviated SS- or - was a major Nazi organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. The SS grew from a small paramilitary unit to a powerful force that served as the Führer's "Praetorian Guard," the Nazi Party's "Shield Squadron" and a force that, fielding almost a million men ,...
colonel. Byrne and Ford had previously sparred in Force 10 from Navarone (1978), in which they also played a German and an American.
- Kevork Malikyan
Kevork Malikyan is a British character actor, perhaps best known for his role as Kazim in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.In addition to film work, he has appeared in numerous television productions, including episodes of The Saint, The Professionals, Mind Your Language, The Avengers, Doctor...
as Kazim: The leader of the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword, an organization that protects the Holy Grail. Malikyan had impressed Spielberg with his performance in Midnight ExpressMidnight Express is a film based on Billy Hayes' book of the same name adapted into screenplay by Oliver Stone. Hayes was a young American student sent to a Turkish prison for trying to smuggle hashish out of Turkey...
(1978) and would have auditioned for the role of Sallah in Raiders of the Lost Ark had a traffic jam not delayed his meeting with the director.
- Robert Eddison
Robert Eddison was a British actor, who is probably most widely remembered in the role of the Grail Knight in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. He also played the tragic ferryman in The Storyteller episode "The Luck Child".Born in Japan to British parents, Eddison was known for his resonant,...
as the Grail Knight: The guardian of the Grail who drank from the cup of Christ during the Crusades and is immortal as long as he stays within the temple. Eddison was a stage and television veteran but had never appeared in a film. Glover recalled Eddison was excited and nervous for his film debut, often asking if he had performed correctly.
- Vernon Dobtcheff
Vernon Dobtcheff is an Anglo-French actor.Dobtcheff was born in Nîmes, France to a family of Russian descent. He attended Ascham Preparatory School in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, in the 1940s, where he won the Acting Cup...
as the Butler: He opens the door to the Austrian castle to Indiana, who claims to be the Scottish Lord Clarence MacDonald. The butler replies, "If you are Scottish lord, then I am Mickey MouseMickey Mouse is a comic animal cartoon character who has become an icon for The Walt Disney Company. Mickey Mouse was created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks and voiced by Walt Disney. The Walt Disney Company celebrates his birth as November 18, 1928 upon the release of Steamboat Willie...
", forcing Indiana to knock him unconscious. Spielberg and Lucas initially intended the butler to quip that he was Jesse OwensJames Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 metres, the 200 metres, the long jump, and as part of the 4x100 meter relay...
, and then Mae WestMae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter, and sex symbol.Known for her bawdy double entendres, West made a name for herself in Vaudeville and on the stage in New York before moving to Hollywood to become a comedienne, actress and writer in the motion picture industry...
, but felt younger viewers would not understand the joke. The scene was shortened during editing to exclude Indiana hiding the butler in a sarcophagus that has an uncanny resemblance to him.
- Michael Sheard
Michael Sheard was a Scottish actor who featured in a large number of films and television programmes.-Early life:...
as Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
: The Nazi leader, who literally bumps into a disguised Indiana during a book-burning rallyThe Nazi book burnings were a campaign conducted by the authorities of Nazi Germany to ceremonially burn all books in Germany which did not correspond with Nazi ideology.-The book-burning campaign:...
. Not realizing that he has encountered Indiana or that he is holding the Grail Diary, he opens the diary to a random page, autographs it, and gives it back to Indiana. Sheard, who could speak German, had auditioned for the role of Toht in Raiders of the Lost Ark, but was cast as the U-boat captain. Weather and scheduling difficulties forced Sheard to leave before completing his scenes, so Spielberg cut him out and promised he would find him another role in the series. The close-up of Hitler signing his autograph with his right hand was added with another actor during pickups, although Hitler was left-handed.
Ronald LaceyRonald Lacey was an English actor.-Career:Lacey attended Harrow Weald Grammar School and after a brief stint of national service and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art he began his acting career in 1961 in a TV play The Secret Agent. His first notable performance was at The Royal Court...
, who played Toht in
Raiders of the Lost Ark, cameos as
Heinrich HimmlerHeinrich Luitpold Himmler , one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany, served as Chief of the German Police and Minister of the Interior...
.
Alexei SayleAlexei David Sayle is an English stand-up comedian, actor and author. Sayle was a central part of the alternative comedy circuit in the early 1980s. He was voted 18th on a list of the 100 Greatest Stand Ups in a poll for Channel 4....
played the sultan of Hatay. Wrestler and stuntman
Pat RoachFrancis Patrick "Pat" Roach was an English actor and wrestler from Birmingham. His most famous role is that of West Country bricklayer Brian "Bomber" Busbridge in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet...
, who played three roles in the previous two films, made a short cameo as the Nazi who accompanies Vogel to the Zeppelin. Roach was set to film a fight with Ford, but it was cut. In a deleted scene, Roach's agent boards the second biplane on the Zeppelin with a
World War I flying ace (played by
Frederick JaegerFrederick Jaeger was a German-born actor who found success working in British television.He is well remembered by fans of the science fiction series Doctor Who for his roles in three serials - The Savages in 1966, Planet of Evil in 1975 and The Invisible Enemy in 1977.Other notable TV credits...
), only for the pair to fall to their deaths after the flying ace makes an error.
Development
Lucas and Spielberg had intended to make a trilogy of
Indiana JonesDr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. is a fictional adventurer, OSS agent, professor of archaeology, and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
films since Lucas had first pitched
Raiders of the Lost ArkRaiders of the Lost Ark is a action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford...
to Spielberg in 1977. After the mixed critical and public reaction to
Indiana Jones and the Temple of DoomIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second film in the Indiana Jones franchise, and prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark . After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone...
, Spielberg decided to complete the trilogy to fulfill his promise to Lucas and "to apologize for the second one". The pair had the intention of revitalizing the series by evoking the spirit and tone of
Raiders of the Lost Ark. Throughout development and
pre-productionPre-production is the process of preparing all the elements involved in a film, play, or other performance.- Information :In the film industry, pre-production usually only commences once a project has been developed and is greenlit...
of
The Last Crusade, Spielberg admitted he was "consciously regressing" in making the film. Due to his commitment to
The Last Crusade, the director had to drop out of directing
BigBig is an 1988 comedy-drama film about a boy who makes a wish "to be big" to a magical fortune-telling machine, and is then aged to adulthood overnight. It stars Tom Hanks...
and
Rain ManRain Man is a 1988 comedy-drama film written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass and directed by Barry Levinson. It tells the story of an abrasive yuppie, Charlie Babbitt, who discovers that his estranged father has died and bequeathed all of his multimillion-dollar estate to his other son, Raymond, an...
.
Lucas initially suggested making the film "a
haunted mansionA haunted house is defined as a house that is believed to be a center for supernatural occurrences or paranormal phenomena. A haunted house may allegedly contain ghosts, poltergeists, or even malevolent entities such as demons....
movie", for which
Romancing the StoneRomancing the Stone is a 1984 American action-adventure film, and has many elements that might categorize it as a romantic comedy. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, it stars Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito...
writer
Diane ThomasDiane Thomas was a screenwriter. She was working as a waitress while writing scripts and then had the opportunity to pitch the script for Romancing the Stone to customer Michael Douglas who then bought, produced, and starred in the film with Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito.Diane Thomas died in a...
wrote a script. Spielberg rejected the idea because of the similarity to
Poltergeist, which he had co-written and produced. Lucas first introduced the
Holy GrailAccording to Christian mythology, the Holy Grail was the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers...
in an idea for the film's prologue, which was to be set in Scotland. He intended the Grail to have a pagan basis, with the rest of the film revolving around a separate Christian artifact in Africa. Spielberg did not care for the Grail idea, which he found too esoteric,, even after Lucas suggested giving it healing powers and the ability to grant immortality. In September 1984 Lucas completed an eight-page treatment entitled
Indiana Jones and the Monkey KingSun Wukong, known in the West as the Monkey King, is the main character in the classical Chinese epic novel Journey to the West. In the novel, he accompanies the monk Xuanzang on the journey to retrieve Buddhist sutras from India....
, which he soon followed with an 11-page outline. The story saw Indiana battling a ghost in Scotland before finding the
Fountain of YouthThe Fountain of Youth is a legendary spring that reputedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks of its waters.Florida is often said to be its location, and stories of the fountain are some of the most persistent associated with the state...
in Africa.
Chris ColumbusChristopher "Chris" Columbus is an American film director, producer and screenwriter.-Start in the industry:Columbus graduated from Tisch School of the Arts....
—who had written the Spielberg-produced
GremlinsGremlins is an American comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante and released in 1984 by Warner Bros. It is about a young man who receives a strange creature named Gizmo as a pet, which then spawns other creatures who transform into small, destructive, evil monsters. This story was continued with...
,
The GooniesThe Goonies is a 1985 American adventure-comedy film directed by Richard Donner. The screenplay was written by Chris Columbus from a story by executive producer Steven Spielberg...
, and
Young Sherlock HolmesYoung Sherlock Holmes is a 1985 film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Chris Columbus. The movie depicts a young Sherlock Holmes and John Watson meeting and solving a mystery together at a boarding school.-Plot Synopsis:...
—was hired to write the script. His first draft, dated May 3, 1985, changed the main plot device to a Garden of Immortal Peaches. It begins in 1937, with Indiana battling the murderous ghost of Baron Seamus Seagrove III in Scotland. Indiana travels to
MozambiqueMozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest. It was explored by Vasco da Gama in 1498...
to aid Dr. Clare Clarke (a
Katharine HepburnKatharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, television and stage.Hepburn holds the record for the most Best Actress Oscar wins with four, from 12 nominations. Hepburn won an Emmy Award in 1976 for her lead role in Love Among the Ruins, and was nominated for four other Emmys, two...
type, according to Lucas) who has found a 200-year-old pygmy. The pygmy is kidnapped by the Nazis during a boat chase, and Indiana, Clare and Scraggy Brier—an old friend of Indiana—travel up the Zambesi river to rescue him. Indiana is killed in the climactic battle but is resurrected by the Monkey King. Other characters include a cannibalistic African tribe; Nazi Sergeant Gutterbuhg, who has a mechanical arm; Betsy, a stowaway student who is suicidally in love with Indiana; and a pirate leader named Kezure (described as a
Toshirō MifuneToshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films. He is best known for his collaboration with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa in films such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo...
type), who dies eating a peach because he is not pure of heart. The tank is three stories high and requires Indiana to ride a rhinoceros to commandeer it.
Columbus's second draft, dated August 6, 1985, removed Betsy and featured Dash — an
expatriateAn expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing or legal residence...
bar owner working for the Nazis — and the Monkey King as villains. The Monkey King forces Indiana and Dash to play chess with real people and disintegrates each person who is captured. Indiana subsequently battles the undead, destroys the Monkey King's rod, and marries Clare.
Location scoutingLocation scouting is a vital process in the pre-production stage of filmmaking and commercial photography. Once scriptwriters, producers or directors have decided what general kind of scenery they require for the various parts of their work that is shot outside of the studio, a search is begun for...
commenced in Africa but Spielberg and Lucas abandoned
Monkey King because of its negative depiction of African natives,, and because the ridiculous script was unrealistic. Spielberg acknowledged that it made him "...feel very old, too old to direct it." Columbus's script was leaked onto the Internet in 1997, and many believed it was an early draft for the fourth film because it was mistakenly dated to 1995.
Unsatisfied, Spielberg suggested introducing Indiana's father,
Henry Jones, Sr.Professor Henry Walton Jones, Sr. is a Scottish fictional character in the Indiana Jones franchise. He is the estranged father of Indiana Jones, who is captured by the Nazis while searching for the Holy Grail to act as bait for Indy....
Lucas was dubious, believing the Grail should be the focus of the story, but Spielberg convinced him that the father–son relationship would serve as a great metaphor in Indiana's search for the artifact. Spielberg hired
Menno MeyjesMenno Meyjes is a Dutch-born Academy Award and BAFTA nominated screenwriter.He moved to the United States in 1972 and studied at the Art Institute of California - San Francisco. He was nominated for several awards for his screenplay to the 1985 film The Color Purple, adapted from the novel by...
, who had worked on Spielberg's
The Color PurpleThe Color Purple is a American period drama film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the eighth film directed by Spielberg and is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Alice Walker...
and
Empire of the SunEmpire of the Sun is a 1987 coming of age war film based on J. G. Ballard's semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. Steven Spielberg directed the film, which stars Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson and Nigel Havers...
, to begin a new script on January 1, 1986. Meyjes completed his script ten months later. It depicted Indiana searching for his father in
MontségurMontségur is a commune in the Ariège department in south-western France.It is famous for its fort and was one of the last strongholds of the Cathars. The present fortress on the site, though described as one of the "Cathar castles," is actually of a later period...
, where he meets a nun named Chantal. Indiana travels to
VeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy, the capital of the region Veneto, a population of 271,367 . Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area . The city historically was an independent nation...
, takes the
Orient ExpressThe Orient Express is the name of a long-distance passenger train originally operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. Its route has changed many times, and several routes have in the past concurrently used the name...
to
IstanbulIstanbul is the largest city in Turkey and fifth largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.6 million. Istanbul is also a megacity, as well as the cultural and financial centre of Turkey. The city covers 39 districts of the Istanbul province...
, and continues by train to
PetraPetra is an archaeological site in the Arabah, Ma'an Governorate, Jordan, lying on the slope of Mount Hor in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah , the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is renowned for its rock-cut architecture...
, where he meets
SallahSallah Mohammed Faisel el-Kahir, better known as Sallah , is a fictional character played by John Rhys-Davies in two of the four Indiana Jones movies: Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade...
and reunites with his father. In the denouement, the Nazis touch the Grail and explode; when Henry touches it, he ascends a staircase into
HeavenHeaven may refer to the physical heavens, the sky or the seemingly endless expanse of the universe beyond. This is the traditional literal meaning of the term in English...
. Chantal chooses to stay on Earth and marries Indiana. In a revised draft dated two months later, Indiana finds his father in
Krak des ChevaliersKrak des Chevaliers , transliterated Crac des Chevaliers, is a Crusader fortress in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval military castles in the world. In Arabic, the fortress is called Qal'at al-Ḥiṣn , the word Krak coming from the Syriac karak, meaning fortress...
, the Nazi leader is a woman named Greta von Grimm, and Indiana battles a demon at the Grail site, which he defeats with a dagger inscribed with "God is King". The prologue in both drafts has Indiana in Mexico battling for possession of
MontezumaMontezuma, Moctezuma, Moteczoma, Motecuhzoma, Moteuczomah, are variant spellings and may refer to:-People:*Moctezuma I , the fifth Aztec emperor...
's mask with a man who owns gorillas as pets.
Spielberg suggested
InnerspaceInnerspace is a 1987 science fiction comedy film directed by Joe Dante and produced by Michael Finnell. Steven Spielberg served as executive producer. The film was inspired by the classic 1966 sci-fi film Fantastic Voyage. It stars Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, Meg Ryan, Robert Picardo, and Kevin...
writer
Jeffrey BoamJeffrey Boam was an American screenwriter and film producer. Educated at Sacramento State College and UCLA, he became one of Hollywood's most successful and highest paid writers during the 1980s and 1990s, working with such stars as Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Billy Zane and Sean Connery and...
perform the next rewrite. Boam spent two weeks reworking the story with Lucas. Boam told Lucas that Indiana should find his father in the middle of the story. "Given the fact that it's the third film in the series, you couldn't just end with them obtaining the object. That's how the first two films ended," he said, "So I thought, let them
lose the Grail, and let the father–son relationship be the main point. It's an archaeological search for Indy's own identity and coming to accept his father is more what it's about [than the quest for the Grail]." Boam said he felt there was not enough character development in the previous films. In Boam's first draft, dated September 1987, the film is set in 1939. The prologue has Indiana retrieving an Aztec relic for a professor in Mexico and features the circus train. The leader of the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword is Kemal, a Hatayan secret agent who allies with the Nazis because he wants the Grail for the glory of his country. He shoots Henry and dies drinking from the wrong chalice. Henry and Elsa (who is described as having dark hair) were searching for the Grail on behalf of the Chandler Foundation. The Grail Knight battles Indiana on horseback, while Vogel is crushed by a boulder when stealing the Grail.
Boam's February 1988 rewrite utilized many of Connery's comic suggestions. It included the prologue that was eventually filmed; Lucas had to convince Spielberg to show Indiana as a boy because of the mixed response to
Empire of the Sun, which was about a young boy. Spielberg—who was later awarded the
Distinguished Eagle Scout AwardThe Distinguished Eagle Scout Award is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America . It is awarded to an Eagle Scout for distinguished service in his profession and to his community for a period of at least twenty-five years after attaining the level of Eagle Scout...
—had the idea of making Indiana a
Boy ScoutA Boy Scout is a boy or a girl, usually 11 to 18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group in a junior and a senior section...
. Indiana's mother, named Margaret in this version, dismisses Indiana when he returns home with the Cross of Coronado, while his father is on a long distance call. Walter Chandler of the Chandler Foundation features, but is not the main villain; he plunges to his death in the tank. Elsa shoots Henry, then dies drinking from the wrong Grail, and Indiana rescues his father from falling into the chasm while grasping for the Grail. Vogel is beheaded by the traps guarding the Grail, while Kemal tries to blow up the temple during a comic fight in which gunpowder is repeatedly lit and extinguished.
Leni RiefenstahlHelene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl was a German film director, actress and dancer widely noted for her aesthetics and innovations as a filmmaker. Her most famous film was Triumph des Willens , a propaganda film made at the 1934 Nuremberg congress of the Nazi Party...
appears at the Nazi rally. Boam's revision the following month showed Henry causing the seagulls to strike the plane.
Tom StoppardSir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright. He has written plays such as The Coast of Utopia, Arcadia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, and Rock 'n' Roll...
rewrote the script by May 8, 1988 under the pen name Barry Watson. He polished much of the dialogue, and created the character of "Panama Hat" to link the segments of the prologue featuring the young and adult Indianas. Stoppard also renamed Kemal to Kazim and Chandler to Donovan, and made Donovan shoot Henry.
Filming
Principal photographythumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is actually shot, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
began on May 16, 1988 in the
Tabernas DesertThe Tabernas Desert is a desert in Spain. It is located in the province of Almería about 30 kilometers north of the capital, Almería, in the Tabernas municipality...
in the
Almería provinceAlmería is a province of southern Spain. It is bordered by the provinces of Granada, Murcia, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Almería.Its area is 8,769 km². Its population is 546,499 with a density of 62.32/km²...
of
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
. Spielberg originally had planned the chase to be a short sequence shot over two days, but he drew up storyboards to make the scene an action-packed centerpiece. Thinking he would not surpass the truck chase from
Raiders of the Lost Ark (because the truck was much faster than the tank), he felt this sequence should be more story-based and needed to show Indiana and Henry helping each other. He later said he had more fun storyboarding the sequence than filming it. The
second unitIn film, the second unit is a team that shoots footage which is of lesser importance for the final motion picture, as opposed to the first unit, which shoots all scenes involving actors, or at least the stars of the film...
had begun filming two weeks before. After approximately ten days the production moved to Bellas Artes to film the scenes set in the Sultan of Hatay's palace.
Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural ParkCabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park is a nature reserve in southeastern Spain, near the city of Almería. It is the largest terrestrial-maritime reserve in the European Western Mediterranean Sea, covering 460 km² including the town of Carboneras, the mountain range of Sierra de Cabo de Gata, and...
was used for the road, tunnel and beach sequence in which birds strike the plane. The Spanish portion of shoot wrapped on June 2, 1988 in
GuadixGuadix, a city of southern Spain, in the province of Granada; on the left bank of the river Guadix, a sub-tributary of the Guadiana Menor, and on the Madrid-Valdepeñas-Almería railway. Pop. 20,042 inhabitants.-Description:...
,
GranadaGranada is a province of southern Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Albacete, Murcia, Almería, Jaén, Córdoba, Málaga, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital city is also called Granada....
with filming of Brody's capture at İskenderun train station. The filmmakers built a mosque near the station for atmosphere, rather than adding it as a visual effect.
Filming for the castle interiors took place from June 5 to 10, 1988 at
Elstree StudiosHistorically, the name "Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England....
, England. The fire was filmed last. On June 16, the
Royal Horticultural SocietyThe Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert. It is a charity and exists to promote gardening and horticulture in Britain and Europe...
was used for the airport interiors. Filming returned to Elstree the next day to capture the motorcycle escape, continuing at the studio for interior scenes until July 18. One day was spent at
North Weald AirfieldNorth Weald Airfield is an operational airfield, near the village of North Weald Bassett in Epping Forest, Essex. It was an important fighter station during the Battle of Britain, when it was known as the RAF Station RAF North Weald. At the present time it is the home of North Weald Airfield Museum...
on June 29 to film Indiana leaving for Venice. Ford and Connery acted much of the Zeppelin table conversation without trousers on because of the overheated set. Spielberg, Marshall and Kennedy interrupted the shoot to make a plea to the
Parliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty, conferring upon it ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories...
to support the economically "depressed" British studios. July 20–22 was spent filming the temple interiors. The temple set, which took six weeks to build, was supported on 80 feet of hydraulics and ten
gimbal250px|thumb|right|Illustration of a simple two-axis gimbal set.A gimbal is a pivoted support that allows the rotation of an object about a single axis. A set of two gimbals, one mounted on the other with pivot axes orthogonal, may be used to allow an object mounted on the innermost gimbal to...
s for use during the earthquake scene. Resetting between takes took twenty minutes while the hydraulics were put to their starting positions and the cracks filled with plaster. The shot of the Grail falling to the temple floor—causing the first crack to appear—was attempted on the full-size set, but proved too difficult. Instead, crews built a separate floor section that incorporated a pre-scored crack sealed with plaster. It took several takes to throw the Grail from six feet onto the right part of the crack. July 25–26 was spent on night shoots at
Blenheim PalaceBlenheim Palace is a large and monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the only non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title "palace". The Palace, one of England's largest houses, was built between 1705 and circa 1724...
for the Nazi rally.
Filming resumed two days later at Elstree, where Spielberg swiftly filmed the library, Portuguese freighter, and catacombs sequences. The steamship fight in the 1938 portion of the prologue was filmed in three days on a sixty-by-forty-feet deck built on gimbals at Elstree. A dozen dump tanks—each holding three hundred gallons (3000 lbs) of water—were used in the scene. Henry's house was filmed at
Mill HillMill Hill is a place in the London Borough of Barnet It is a suburb situated 9 miles north west of Charing Cross, in the ceremonial county of Greater London and the historic county of Middlesex...
, London. Indiana and Kazim's fight in Venice in front of a ship's propeller was filmed in a water tank at Elstree. Spielberg used a
long lensIn photography and cinematography, a telephoto lens is a specific construction of a long focal length photographic lens in which the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length. In these lenses the optical centre lies outside of its physical construction, such that the entire lens...
to make it appear the actors were closer to the propeller than they really were. Two days later, on August 4, another portion of the boat chase using Hacker-Craft sport boats, was filmed at
Tilbury DocksThe Port of Tilbury is located on the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex, England. It is the principal port for London; as well as being the main United Kingdom port for the handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facilities for containers, grain, and other bulk cargoes. There are also...
in
EssexEssex is a county in the East of England region of the United Kingdom. The county town of Essex is Chelmsford.-History:In pre-Roman Britain the territories of Suffolk and Essex were home to the Trinovantes tribe, which had grown wealthy through intensive trade with the Roman Empire, contemporary...
. The shot of the boats passing between two ships was achieved by first cabling the ships off so they would be safe. The ships were moved together while the boats passed between, close enough that one of the boats scraped the sides of the ships. An empty speedboat containing dummies was launched from a floating platform between the ships amid fire and smoke that helped obscure the platform. The stunt was performed twice because the boat landed too short of the camera in the first attempt. The following day, filming in England wrapped at the
Royal Masonic SchoolThe Royal Masonic School for Girls is an independent school in Rickmansworth, England with both day and boarding pupils. The school was instituted in 1788, with the aim of maintaining the daughters of indigent Freemasons, unable through death, illness, or incapacitation to support their families...
in
RickmansworthRickmansworth is a town which is in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire, England, 4¼ miles west of Watford.The town has a population of around 15,000 people and lies on the Grand Union Canal and the River Colne, at the northern end of the Colne Valley Park.It began to grow in the 1920s and...
, which doubled for Indiana's college (as it had in
Raiders of the Lost Ark).
Shooting in Venice took place on August 8. For scenes such as Indiana and Brody greeting Elsa, shots of the boat chase, and Kazim telling Indiana where his father is,
Robert WattsRobert Watts is a British film producer who is best known for his involvement with the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series.* His half brother is Jeremy Bulloch, who played Boba Fett in the original trilogy.-Chichester University Visit:...
gained control of the Grand Canal from 7 am to 1 pm, sealing off tourists for as long as possible. Cinematographer
Douglas SlocombeDouglas Slocombe OBE, B.S.C., A.S.C. is a British cinematographer who has enjoyed a long career in the British film industry...
positioned the camera to ensure no satellite dishes would be visible.
San Barnaba di VeneziaCampo San Barnaba is a neighborhood in Venice, Italy. The neighborhood's church, the Church of San Barnaba, is famous for being featured in numerous films....
served as the exterior to the library. The next day, filming moved to the ancient city of
PetraPetra is an archaeological site in the Arabah, Ma'an Governorate, Jordan, lying on the slope of Mount Hor in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah , the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is renowned for its rock-cut architecture...
,
JordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in Western Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba. Jordan shares borders with Syria to the north, Iraq to the northeast, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, the Gulf of Aqaba to the southwest,...
, which stood in for the temple housing the Grail. The cast and crew became guests of
King HusseinHussein bin Talal was the King of Jordan from the abdication of his father, King Talal, in 1952, until his death...
and
Queen NoorQueen Noor of Jordan is the last wife and widow of the late King Hussein of Jordan.She is an American, born of Syrian, British and Swedish descent...
. The main cast completed their scenes that week, after 63 days of filming.
The second unit filmed part of the 1912 segment of the prologue from August 29 to September 3. The main unit began two days later with the circus train sequence at
Alamosa, ColoradoThe City of Alamosa is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Alamosa County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 8,682 in 2005...
. They filmed at
Pagosa SpringsThe Town of Pagosa Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat of, and the only incorporated municipality in, Archuleta County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,591 at the 2000 census...
on September 7, and then at
CortezThe City of Cortez is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Montezuma County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,977 at the 2000 census...
on September 10. From September 14 to 16, filming of Indiana falling into the train carriages took place in Los Angeles. The production then moved to
Arches National ParkArches National Park is a U.S. national park in eastern Utah. It is known for preserving over 2000 natural sandstone arches, including the world-famous Delicate Arch, in addition to a variety of unique geological resources and formations....
in Utah to shoot more of the opening. A house near the park was used for the Jones family home. The production had intended to film at
Mesa Verde National ParkMesa Verde National Park is a U.S. National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Montezuma County, Colorado, United States. The park occupies near the Four Corners and features numerous ruins of homes and villages built by the ancient Pueblo people known as the Anasazi. The Anasazi made...
, but
Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
representatives had religious objections to its use. When Spielberg and editor
Michael KahnMichael Kahn is a widely recognized film editor. His credits range from TV's Hogan's Heroes to feature films directed by George C. Scott and Steven Spielberg, with whom he has had an extended, notable collaboration over more than thirty years...
viewed a
rough cutIn filmmaking, the Rough cut is the second of three stages of offline editing. The rough cut is the first stage in which the film begins to resemble its final product...
of the film in late 1988, they felt it suffered from a lack of action. The motorcycle chase was shot during
post-productionPost-production is part of the filmmaking process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, videos, audio recordings, photography and digital art...
at
Mount TamalpaisMount Tamalpais is a peak in Marin County, California, United States, often considered symbolic of Marin County...
and
FairfaxFairfax is an incorporated town in Marin County, California, United States. Fairfax is located west-northwest of San Rafael, at an elevation of 115 feet...
near
Skywalker RanchSkywalker Ranch is the name of the workplace of film director and producer George Lucas in secluded but open country near Nicasio, California in Marin County. The ranch is located on Lucas Valley Road, although Lucas is not related to the road's namesake, a turn-of-the-century landowner in the area...
. The closing shot of Indiana, Henry, Sallah and Brody riding into the sunset was filmed in
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
in early 1989.
Design
Mechanical effects supervisor George Gibbs said
The Last Crusade was the most difficult film of his career. He visited a museum to negotiate renting a small French
World War I tankThe development of Tanks in World War I began as a solution to the stalemate which trench warfare had brought to the western front. The first prototype of the Mark I tank was tested for the British Army on 8 September 1915...
, but decided he wanted to make one. The tank was based on the Tank Mark VIII, which was 36 feet and 28 tons. Gibbs built the tank over the framework of a 28-ton
excavatorAn excavator is a heavy equipment consisting of an articulated arm , bucket and cab mounted on a pivot atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels...
and added seven ton tracks that were driven by two automatic
hydraulic pumpHydraulic pumps are used in hydraulic drive systems and can be hydrostatic or hydrodynamic.Hydrostatic pumps are positive displacement pumps while hydrodynamic pumps can be fixed displacement pumps, in which the displacement cannot be adjusted, or variable displacement pumps, which have a more...
s, each connected to a
Range RoverThe Range Rover is a four-wheel drive luxury sport utility vehicle produced by Land Rover in the United Kingdom, owned by the India-based Tata Motors. It was first introduced in 1970 and is still in production today. There have so far been three major generations...
V8 engineA V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
. Gibbs built the tank from steel rather than aluminum or fiberglass because it would allow the realistically
suspensionSuspension is the term given to the system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels. Suspension systems serve a dual purpose – contributing to the car's roadholding/handling and braking for good active safety and driving pleasure, and keeping vehicle occupants...
less vehicle to endure the rocky surfaces. Unlike its historical counterpart—which had four side guns—the tank had a turret and two guns on its sides. It took four months to build and was transported to Almería on a
Short BelfastThe Short Belfast is a heavy lift turboprop freighter built by Short Brothers at Belfast. Only 10 were built for the British Royal Air Force with the designation Short Belfast C.1. When they were retired by the RAF, five went into civilian service with the cargo airline HeavyLift Cargo Airlines...
plane and then a low loader truck.
The tank broke down twice. The motor arm in the
distributorA distributor is a device in the ignition system of an internal combustion engine that routes high voltage from the ignition coil to the spark plugs in the correct firing order. The first reliable battery operated ignition was developed by Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co. and introduced in the...
broke and a replacement had to be sourced from
MadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. It is the third-most populous municipality in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-most populous city by urban area in the European Union after Paris and London.The city is located on the river...
. Then two of the valves in the device used to cool the oil exploded, due to
solderA solder is a fusible metal alloy with a melting point or melting range of 90 to 450 °C , used in a process called soldering where it is melted to join metallic surfaces. It is especially useful in electronics and plumbing...
melting and mixing with the oil. It was very hot in the tank, despite the installation of ten fans, and the lack of suspension meant the driver was unable to stop shaking during filming breaks. The tank only moved at ten to twelve miles per hour, which
Vic ArmstrongVictor Monroe Armstrong is a BAFTA winning British film director and stunt double -- the world's most prolific according to the Guinness Book of Records...
said made it difficult to film Indiana riding a horse against the tank while making it appear faster. A smaller section of the tank's top made from aluminum and which used rubber tracks was used for close-ups. It was built from a searchlight trailer, weighed eight tons, and was towed by a four-wheel drive truck. It had safety nets on each end to prevent injury to those falling off. A quarter-scale model by Gibbs was driven over a 50 foot cliff on location;
Industrial Light and MagicIndustrial Light & Magic is an Academy Award winning motion picture visual effects company that was founded in May 1975 by George Lucas and is owned by Lucasfilm. Lucas created the company when he discovered that the special effects department at 20th Century Fox was shut down after he was given...
created further shots of the tank's destruction with models and miniatures.
Michael LantieriMichael Lantieri is a special effects supervisor on films and also was the director of Komodo. He has worked on numerous films with Steven Spielberg....
, mechanical effects supervisor for the 1912 scenes, noted the difficulty in shooting the train sequence. "You can't just stop a train," he said, "If it misses its mark, it takes blocks and blocks to stop it and back up." Lantieri hid handles for the actors and stuntmen to grab onto when leaping from carriage to carriage. The carriage interiors shot at
Universal Studios HollywoodUniversal Studios Hollywood is a movie studio in the Universal City community of unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, and is the original Universal Studios theme park. Woody Woodpecker is the mascot for Universal Studios Hollywood and the rest of the Universal Studios Theme...
were built on tubes that inflated and deflated to create a rocking motion. For the close-up of the rhinoceros that strikes at (and misses) Indiana, a foam and fiberglass animatronic was made in London. When Spielberg decided he wanted it to move, the prop was sent to
John Carl BuechlerJohn Carl Buechler , born in Belleville, Illinois, USA is an American director, actor, and special effects and makeup artist...
in Los Angeles, who resculpted it over three days to blink, snarl, snort and wiggle its ears. The giraffes were also created in London. Because steam locomotives are very loud, Lantieri's crew would respond to first assistant director David Tomblin's radioed directions by making the giraffes nod or shake their heads to his questions, which amused the crew. For the villains' cars, Lantieri selected a 1912
Ford Model TThe original Ford Model A was the first car produced by Ford Motor Company, beginning production in 1903. Dr. Ernst Pfenning of Chicago, Illinois became the first owner of a Model A on July 23, 1903. 1,750 cars were made from 1903 through 1904...
and a 1914
SaxonThe Saxon was an automobile produced by the Saxon Motor Car Company, from 1913 to 1923. The company was based in Detroit and then Ypsilanti, Michigan....
, fitting each with a
Ford PintoThe Ford Pinto was Ford Motor Company's first domestic North American subcompact automobile marketed beginning on September 11, 1970. It competed with the AMC Gremlin and Chevrolet Vega, along with imports from makes such as Volkwagen, Datsun and Toyota. The Pinto was popular in sales, with 100,000...
V6 engineA V6 engine is a V engine with six cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of three cylinders, usually set at either a right angle or an acute angle to each other, with all six pistons driving a common crankshaft...
. Sacks of dust were hung under the cars to create a dustier environment.
Spielberg used doves for the seagulls that Henry scares into striking the German plane because the real gulls used in the first take did not fly. In December 1988, Lucasfilm ordered 1000 disease-free gray rats for the catacombs scenes from the company that supplied the snakes and bugs for the previous films. Within five months, 5000 rats had been bred for the sequence; 1000 mechanical rats stood in for those that were set on fire. Several thousand snakes of five breeds—including a
boa constrictorThe Boa constrictor is a large, heavy-bodied species of snake. It is a member of the Boinae family found in Central America, South America and some islands in the Caribbean. A staple of private collections and public displays, its color pattern is highly variable yet distinctive. Ten subspecies...
—were used for the train scene, in addition to rubber ones onto which Phoenix could fall. The snakes would slither from their crates, requiring the crew to dig through sawdust after filming to find and return them. Two lions were used, which became nervous because of the rocking motion and flickering lights.
Costume designer
Anthony PowellAnthony Powell is an English multi-award-winning costume designer for stage and screen.-Awards:* Academy Award for Best Costume Design – 1973, 1979, 1983* BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design – 1979...
found it a challenge to create Connery's costume because the script required the character to wear the same clothes throughout. Powell thought about his own grandfather and incorporated
tweedTweed is a rough, coarse, unfinished woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is made in either plain or twill weave and may have a check or herringbone pattern...
suits and fishing hats. Powell felt it necessary for Henry to wear glasses, but did not want to hide Connery's eyes, so chose rimless ones. He could not find any suitable, so he had them specially made. The Nazi costumes were genuine and were found in Eastern Europe by Powell's co-designer Joanna Johnston, to whom he gave research pictures and drawings for reference.
Gibbs used Swiss army training planes for the German planes. He built a device based on an
internal combustion engineThe internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine the expansion of the high temperature and pressure gases, which are produced by the combustion, directly applies force to a movable...
to simulate gunfire, which was safer and less expensive than firing
blanksA blank is a type of cartridge for a firearm that contains gunpowder but no bullet or shot. When fired, the blank makes a flash and an explosive sound . Blanks are often used for simulation , training, and for signaling...
. Baking soda was applied to Connery to create Henry's bullet wound. Vinegar was applied to create the foaming effect as the water from the Grail washes it away.
Effects
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) built an eight feet foam model of the Zeppelin to complement shots of Ford and Connery climbing into the biplane. A biplane model with a two-foot wingspan was used for the shot of the biplane detaching.
Stop motionStop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
animation was used for the shot of the German fighter's wings breaking off as it crashes through the tunnel. The tunnel was a 210 feet model that occupied 14 of ILM's parking spaces for two months. It was built in eight-foot sections, with hinges allowing each section to be opened to film through. Ford and Connery were filmed against
bluescreenChroma key is a technique for mixing two images or frames together, in which a color from one image is removed , revealing another image behind it. This technique is also referred to as color keying, colour-separation overlay , greenscreen, and bluescreen...
; the sequence required their car to have a dirty windscreen, but to make the integration easier this was removed and later
compositedCompositing is the combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images, often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene. Live-action shooting for compositing is variously called “blue screen,” “green screen,” “chroma key,” and other names. Today,...
into the shot. Dust and shadows were animated onto shots of the plane miniature to make it appear as if it disturbed rocks and dirt before it exploded. Several hundred tim-birds were used in the background shots of the seagulls striking the other plane; for the closer shots, ILM dropped feather-coated crosses onto the camera. These only looked convincing because the scene's quick cuts merely required shapes that suggested gulls.
Spielberg devised the three trials that guard the Grail. For the first, the blades under which Indiana ducks like a penitent man were a mix of practical and miniature blades created by Gibbs and ILM. For the second trial, in which Indiana spells "
IehovahJehovah is a transliteration of , a vocalized Hebrew variant of the tetragrammaton that occurs 6518 times in the Ben Chayyim Hebrew Text of 1525 A.D., on which the Old Testament of the King James Bible is based...
" on stable stepping stones, it was intended to have a tarantula crawl up Indiana after he mistakenly steps on "J". This was filmed and deemed unsatisfactory, so ILM filmed a stuntman hanging through a hole that appears in the floor, 30 feet above a cavern. As this was dark, it did not matter that the matte painting and models were rushed late in production. The third trial, the leap of faith that Indiana makes over an apparently impassable ravine after discovering a bridge hidden by
forced perspectiveForced perspective is a technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. It is used primarily in photography, filmmaking and architecture...
, was created with a model bridge and painted backgrounds. This was cheaper than building a full-size set. A puppet of Ford was used to create a shadow on the 9-foot tall by 13-foot wide model because Ford had filmed the scene against bluescreen, which did not incorporate the shaft of light from the entrance.
Spielberg wanted Donovan's death shown in one shot, so it would not look like an actor having makeup applied between takes. Inflatable pads were applied to
Julian GloverJulian Wyatt Glover is an English actor.-Early life:Glover was born in Hampstead, the son of Honor , a close friend of the novelist Barbara Pym, and C. Gordon Glover, a BBC radio producer. His half brother is the musician Robert Wyatt...
's forehead and cheeks that made his eyes seem to recede during the character's initial decomposing, as well as a mechanical wig that grew his hair. The shot of Donovan's death was created over three months by
morphingMorphing is a special effect in motion pictures and animations that changes one image into another through a seamless transition. Most often it is used to depict one person turning into another through technological means or as part of a fantasy or surreal sequence. Traditionally such a depiction...
together three puppets of Donovan in separate stages of decay, a technique ILM mastered on
WillowWillow is a 1988 fantasy adventure film directed by Ron Howard and produced/co-written by George Lucas. Warwick Davis stars in the film, as well as Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Jean Marsh and Patricia Hayes...
(1988). A fourth puppet was used for the decaying clothes, because the puppet's torso mechanics had been exposed. Complications arose because Allison Doody's double had not been filmed for the latter two elements of the scene, so the background and hair from the first shot had to be used throughout, with the other faces
mappedTexture mapping is a method for adding detail, surface texture, or colour to a computer-generated graphic or 3D model. Its application to 3D graphics was pioneered by Dr Edwin Catmull in his Ph.D. thesis of 1974.-Texture mapping:...
over it. Donovan's skeleton was hung on wires like a
marionetteA marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires, formerly strings but dropped due to increased durability of wires; a marionette's puppeteer is called a manipulator. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control...
; it required several takes to film it crashing against the wall because not all the pieces released upon impact.
Ben BurttBenjamin "Ben" Burtt, Jr. is a four-time Academy Award-winning American sound designer for many famous and noteworthy films, including Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and WALL-E, as well as a film director, screenwriter, editor and voice actor...
designed the sound effects. He recorded chickens for the sounds of the rats, and digitally manipulated the noise made by a Styrofoam cup for the castle fire. He rode in a biplane to record the sounds for the dogfight sequence, and visited the demolition of a
wind turbineA wind turbine is a rotating machine which converts the kinetic energy of wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used directly by machinery, such as a pump or grinding stones, the machine is usually called a windmill...
for the plane crashes. Burtt wanted an echoing gunshot for Donovan wounding Henry, so he fired a
.357 MagnumThe .357 S&W Magnum, or simply .357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, Colonel D. B. Wesson of firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson, and Winchester. It is based upon Smith & Wesson's earlier .38 Special cartridge. The .357 Magnum cartridge was introduced in...
in
Skywalker RanchSkywalker Ranch is the name of the workplace of film director and producer George Lucas in secluded but open country near Nicasio, California in Marin County. The ranch is located on Lucas Valley Road, although Lucas is not related to the road's namesake, a turn-of-the-century landowner in the area...
's underground car park, just as Lucas drove in. A rubber balloon was used for the earthquake tremors at the temple.
The Last Crusade was released in selected theaters in the 70 mm Full-Field Sound format, which allowed sounds to not only move from the front to the rear of the theater, but also from side to side.
Matte paintingA matte painting is a painted representation of a landscape, set, or distant location that allows filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that would otherwise be too expensive or impossible to build or visit. Historically, matte painters and film technicians have used various techniques...
s of the Austrian castle and German airport were based on real buildings; the Austrian castle was a small West German castle that was made to look larger. Rain was created by filming granulated
BoraxBorax, also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate, is an important boron compound, a mineral, and a salt of boric acid. It is usually a white powder consisting of soft colorless crystals that dissolve easily in water.Borax has a wide variety of uses...
soap against black at high speed. It was only lightly double exposed into the shots so it would not resemble snow. The lightning was animated. The airport used was at San Francisco's Treasure Island, which already had appropriate
art decoArt Deco was a popular international art design movement from 1925 until the 1940s, affecting the decorative arts such as architecture, interior design, and industrial design, as well as the visual arts such as fashion, painting, the graphic arts, and film...
architecture. ILM added a control tower, Nazi banners, vintage automobiles and a sign stating "Berlin Flughafen". The establishing shot of the Hatayan city at dusk was created by filming silhouetted cutouts that were backlit and obscured by smoke. Matte paintings were used for the sky and to give the appearance of
fill lightIn television, film, stage, or photographic lighting, a fill light may be used to reduce the contrast of a scene and provide some illumination for the areas of the image that are in shadow...
in the shadows and
rim lightIn the context of lighting design, backlighting refers to the process of illuminating the subject from the back. In other words, the lighting instrument and the viewer are facing towards each other, with the subject in between. This causes the edges of the subject to glow, while the other areas...
on the edges of the buildings.
Themes
Indiana's relationship with his estranged father is a common theme found in other Spielberg films such as
E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Dee Wallace. It tells the story of Elliott , a lonely boy who befriends a friendly...
and
HookHook is a 1991 family fantasy film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, Charlie Korsmo and Amber Scott. Hook acts as a sequel to Peter Pan's original adventures, focusing on a grown-up Peter who has forgotten his childhood...
.
The Last Crusades exploration of fathers and sons coupled with its use of religious imagery is comparable to two other 1989 films,
Star Trek V: The Final FrontierStar Trek V: The Final Frontier is a 1989 film released by Paramount Pictures and the fifth feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series. The film was directed by William Shatner, following two films directed by his co-star, Leonard Nimoy. Shatner also developed the initial...
and
Field of DreamsField of Dreams is a 1989 American fantasy/drama film, directed and adapted by Phil Alden Robinson from the novel Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella...
. Writing for
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
, Caryn James felt the combination in these films reflected
New AgeThe New Age is a decentralized Western social and spiritual movement that seeks "Universal Truth" and the attainment of the highest individual human potential. It includes aspects of cosmology, astrology, esotericism, alternative medicine, music, collectivism, sustainability, and nature...
concerns, where the worship of God was equated to searching for fathers. James felt neither Indiana or his father are preoccupied with finding the Grail or defeating the evil Nazis, but finding a professional respect for one another on their boys' own adventure. James contrasted the Biblical destruction of the temple with the more effective and quiet conversation between the Joneses at the end of the film. James noted Indiana's mother is not in the prologue and stated to have died by the events of the film.
Cultural references
The 1912 prologue refers to events in the lives of Indiana's creators. When Indiana cracks the bullwhip to defend himself against a lion, he accidentally lashes and scars his chin. Ford gained this scar in a car accident as a young man. Indiana taking his nickname from his pet
Alaskan MalamuteThe Alaskan Malamute is a generally large breed of domestic dog originally bred for use as an Alaskan sled dog. It is sometimes mistaken for a Siberian Husky, but in fact is quite different in many ways.-Appearance:...
is a reference to the character being named after Lucas's dog. The train carriage Indiana enters is named "Doctor Fantasy's Magic Caboose", which was the name producer Frank Marshall used when performing magic tricks. Spielberg suggested the idea, Marshall came up with the false-bottomed box through which Indiana escapes, and production designer Elliott Scott suggested the trick be done in one take. Spielberg intended the shot of Henry with his umbrella—after he causes the bird strike on the German plane—to evoke
Ryan's DaughterRyan's Daughter is a 1970 film directed by David Lean. The film, set in 1916, tells the story of an Irish girl who has an affair with a British officer during World War I, despite opposition from her nationalist neighbours...
.
Marketing
The
teaser trailerA teaser trailer, or teaser is a short trailer used to advertise an upcoming movie, game or television series.Teasers, unlike typical theatrical trailers, are usually very short in length and usually contain little, if any, actual footage from the film. Sometimes, it is merely a truncated version...
for
The Last Crusade debuted in November 1988 with
ScroogedScrooged is a 1988 comedy film, a modernization of Charles Dickens' novella, A Christmas Carol. The film was produced and directed by Richard Donner, and the cinematography was by Michael Chapman. The screenplay was written by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue...
and
The Naked Gun. Rob MacGregor wrote the
tie-inA tie-in is an authorized product based on a media property a company is releasing, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property...
novelization that was released in June 1989; it sold enough copies to be included on the
New York Times Best Seller listThe New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered to be the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in the The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is usually found inserted in the Sunday edition of The New York Times, or as a stand-alone...
. MacGregor went on to write the first six
Indiana Jones prequel novels during the 1990s. Following the film's release, Ford donated Indiana's fedora and jacket to the
Smithsonian InstitutionThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its shops and its magazines...
's
National Museum of American HistoryThe National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Dorothy's ruby...
.
No toys were made to promote
The Last Crusade; Indiana Jones "never happened on the toy level", said Larry Carlat, senior editor of the journal
Children's Business. Rather, Lucasfilm promoted Indiana as a lifestyle symbol, selling tie-in fedoras, shirts, jackets and watches.
Two video gamesIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade is the title of three different video games released for various video and computer home systems. The format of each particular video game is different, but they all loosely follow the film's storyline....
based on the film were released by
LucasArtsLucasArts Entertainment Company LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
in 1989:
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic AdventureIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure is a graphical adventure game, originally released in 1989 , published by Lucasfilm Games . It was the third game to use the SCUMM engine.-Plot:The plot closely follows, and expands upon, the film of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade...
and
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game.
A third gameIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a video game released in 1991 by Taito for the NES based in the film of the same name...
was produced by
TaitoTaito may mean:*Taito Corporation, a Japanese developer of video game software and arcade hardware*Taito, Tokyo, a special ward located in Tokyo, Japan*Taito, also known as matai, paramount chiefs according to Fa'a Samoa...
and released in 1991 for the
Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe and Australia in . In most of Asia, including Japan , China, Vietnam, Singapore, and the Philippines, it was released as the , commonly abbreviated as the...
. Ryder Windham wrote another novelization, released in April 2008 by Scholastic, to coincide with the release of
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).
HasbroHasbro is a U.S.-based, multinational toy and boardgame company. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States. The majority of its products, however, are manufactured overseas.-History:In 1923, two brothers—Henry...
released toys based on
The Last Crusade in July 2008.
Box office
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was released in North America on May 24, 1989 in 2,327 theaters, earning $29,355,021 in its opening weekend. This was the third-highest opening weekend of 1989, behind
Ghostbusters IIGhostbusters II is a 1989 sci-fi comedy film and sequel to Ghostbusters. Produced and directed by Ivan Reitman, Ghostbusters II follows the further adventures of a group of parapsychologists and their organization which combats paranormal activities . The sequel was originally to be called...
and
BatmanBatman is a 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, directed by Tim Burton. The film stars Michael Keaton in the title role, as well as Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl and Jack Palance...
. Its opening day gross of $11,181,429 was the first time a film had made over $10 million on its first day. It broke the record for the best six-day performance, with almost $47 million, added another record with $77 million after twelve days, and $100 million in nineteen days. It grossed $195.7 million by the end of the year and $450 million worldwide by March 1990. In France, the film broke a record by selling a million admissions within two and a half weeks.
The film eventually grossed $197,171,806 in North America and $277 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $474,171,806. At the time of its release,
The Last Crusade was the 11th highest-grossing film of all time. Despite competition from
Batman,
The Last Crusade became the highest-grossing movie worldwide in 1989. In North America,
Batman took top position. Behind
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and
Raiders of the Lost ArkRaiders of the Lost Ark is a action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford...
,
The Last Crusade is the third-highest grossing
Indiana JonesDr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. is a fictional adventurer, OSS agent, professor of archaeology, and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
film in North America.
Reviews
The Last Crusade opened to mixed reviews. It was panned by
Andrew SarrisAndrew Sarris is a U.S. film critic and a leading proponent of the auteur theory of criticism. He is generally credited with popularizing this theory in the Americas and coining the term "auteur theory" in his essay, "Notes on the Auteur Theory," which was inspired by critics writing in Cahiers du...
in
The New York Observer,
David DenbyDavid Denby is an American journalist, best-known as film critic for The New Yorker magazine.-Background and education:Denby grew up in New York City. He received a B.A...
in
New YorkNew York is a weekly magazine concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it offers less national news and more gossipy, tabloid-like stories, but has also published noteworthy articles...
magazine,
Stanley KauffmannStanley Kauffmann is an American author and critic of film and theatre. He has written for The New Republic since 1958 and currently contributes film criticism to that magazine.-Books on criticism:...
in
The New RepublicThe New Republic is an American magazine of politics and the arts. It is published semimonthly and has a circulation of approximately 60,000. The editor-in-chief is Martin Peretz and the current editor is Franklin Foer...
and Georgia Brown in
The Village VoiceThe Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper in New York City, United States featuring investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts reviews and events listings for New York City...
.
Jonathan RosenbaumJonathan Rosenbaum is an American film critic. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for the Chicago Reader from 1987 until 2008, when he retired at the age of 65...
of the
Chicago Reader called the film "soulless".
The Washington PostThe Washington Post is the newspaper with the largest circulation in Washington, D.C. and is the city's oldest paper, founded in 1877. Being located in the nation's capital, it has a particular emphasis on national politics and international affairs...
reviewed the film twice; Hal Hinson's review on the day of the film's release was negative, describing it as "nearly all chases and dull exposition". Although he praised Ford and Connery, he felt the film's exploration of Indiana's character took away his mystery and that Spielberg should not have tried to mature his storytelling. Two days later,
Desson ThomsonDesson Patrick Thomson is a speaker, movie reviewer and cultural commentator who wrote film reviews for 21 years as a critic for The Washington Post. Based in Washington DC, he speaks professionally at conventions, seminars, Sunday movie chats, and other events. He also blogs and reviews movies on...
published a positive review praising the film's adventure and action, as well as the thematic depth of the father–son relationship. Joseph McBride of
VarietyVariety is a weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the Daily...
observed the "Cartoonlike Nazi villains of
Raiders have been replaced by more genuinely frightening Nazis led by Julian Glover and Michael Byrne," and found the moment where Indiana meets Hitler "chilling". In his biography of Spielberg, McBride added the film was less "racist" than its predecessors.
Peter TraversPeter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
of
Rolling Stone said the film was "the wildest and wittiest Indy of them all".
Richard CorlissRichard Nelson Corliss is a writer for Time magazine who focuses on movies, with the occasional article on music or sports. Corliss is the former editor-in-chief of Film Comment...
of
TimeTime is an American newsmagazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong. As of 2009, Time no longer publishes a Canadian advertiser edition...
and
David AnsenDavid Ansen is a reviewer and senior editor for Newsweek, where he has been reviewing movies since 1977. He came to Newsweek after several years as the chief film critic at Boston's The Real Paper...
of
NewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly newsmagazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
praised it, as did
Vincent CanbyVincent Canby was an American film critic.Canby was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Katharine Anne and Lloyd Canby. He became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there...
of
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
. "Though it seems to have the manner of some magically reconstituted B-movie of an earlier era,
The Last Crusade is an endearing original," Canby wrote, deeming the revelation Indiana had a father he was not proud of to be a "comic surprise". Canby believed that while the film did not match the previous two in its pacing, it still had "hilariously off-the-wall sequences" such as the circus train chase. He also said that Spielberg was maturing by focusing on the father–son relationship, a call echoed by McBride in
Variety.
Roger EbertRoger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter.He is known for his film review column and for two television programs Sneak Previews and Siskel & Ebert at the Movies, which he co-hosted for a combined 23 years with Gene Siskel...
praised the scene depicting Indiana as a
Boy ScoutA Boy Scout is a boy or a girl, usually 11 to 18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group in a junior and a senior section...
with the Cross of Coronado; he compared it to the "style of illustration that appeared in the boys' adventure magazines of the 1940s", saying that Spielberg "must have been paging through his old issues of
Boys' LifeBoys' Life is the monthly magazine of the Boy Scouts of America . Its targeted readership is young American males between the ages of 6 and 18.Boys' Life is published in two demographic editions...
magazine... the feeling that you can stumble over astounding adventures just by going on a hike with your Scout troop. Spielberg lights the scene in the strong, basic colors of old pulp magazines."
The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood Reporter is an American trade publication of the entertainment industry. During the last century it was one of the two major publications — the other being Variety. Today both newspapers cover what is now more broadly called the entertainment industry.- History :The Hollywood Reporter...
felt Connery and Ford deserved Academy Award nominations.
The film was evaluated positively after its release. Internet reviewer
James BerardinelliJames Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Biography:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and spent his early childhood in Morristown. At the age of nine, he moved to Cherry Hill. He attended the University of Pennsylvania from 1985 through 1990, obtaining both a BS and...
wrote that while the film did not reach the heights of
Raiders of the Lost Ark, it "[avoided] the lows of
The Temple of Doom. A fitting end to the original trilogy,
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade captures some of the sense of fun that infused the first movie while using the addition of Sean Connery to up the comedic ante and provide a father/son dynamic." Neil Smith of the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
praised the action, but said the drama and comedy between the Joneses was more memorable. He noted, "The emphasis on the Jones boys means Julian Glover's venal villain and Alison Doody's treacherous beauty are sidelined, while the climax [becomes] one booby-trapped tomb too many." Based on 55 reviews listed by
Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films. The name derives from the historical cliché of throwing tomatoes and other produce at stage performers if a performance was particularly bad.- History :...
, 89% of critics praised
The Last Crusade, giving it an
averageThe weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 7.9/10.
MetacriticMetacritic is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
calculated an average rating of 65/100, based on 14 reviews.
Impact
The film won the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing; it had also received nominations for Best Original Score and Best Sound, but lost to
The Little MermaidThe Little Mermaid is a American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 17, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
and
GloryGlory is a 1989 drama war film based on the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry as told from the point of view of its commanding officer, Robert Gould Shaw during the American Civil War. The 54th was one of the first formal units of the U.S...
respectively. Sean Connery received a
Golden Globe AwardThe Golden Globe Awards are presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to recognize outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry, both domestic and foreign, and to focus wide public attention upon the best in motion pictures and television...
nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Connery and the visual and sound effects teams were also nominated at the
43rd British Academy Film AwardsThe 43rd British Film Awards, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1990, honoured the best films of 1989.Peter Weir's Dead Poets Society won the award for Best Film.-Best Film: Dead Poets Society ...
.
The Last Crusade won the 1990
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic PresentationThe Hugo Awards are given annually by members of the World Science Fiction Convention for the best science fiction or fantasy works. The awards are named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and given in various categories.Winners for the...
, and was nominated for Best Motion Picture Drama at the
Young Artist AwardThe Young Artist Awards also known as the 'Hollywood Young Artist Award' are presented yearly by the Young Artist Foundation. Started in 1980 by long-standing Hollywood Foreign Press member Maureen Dragone, they were envisioned specifically as awards to be presented to talented young people in...
s. John Williams' score won a
BMIBroadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
Award, and was nominated for a
Grammy AwardThe Grammy Awards —or Grammys—are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry...
.
The prologue depicting Indiana in his youth inspired Lucas to create
The Young Indiana Jones ChroniclesThe Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is an American television series that ran from 1992 to 1996. The series explores the childhood and youth of the fictional character Indiana Jones...
television show, which featured
Sean Patrick FlanerySean Patrick Flanery is an American actor known for such roles as Connor MacManus in The Boondock Saints as well as portraying Indiana Jones in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.-Early life:...
as the young adult Indiana and
Corey CarrierCorey Thomas Carrier , made a career as a child actor. He is also known as just "Core". His parents are Thomas and Carleen and he has a younger sister named Bethany....
as the 8–10 year-old Indiana. The 13-year-old incarnation played by Phoenix in the film was the focus of a
Young Indiana Jones series of young adult novels that began in 1990; by the ninth novel, the series had become a tie-in to the television show. German author
Wolfgang HohlbeinWolfgang Hohlbein is a German writer of science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction who was born in Weimar, Thuringia and today lives near Neuss, North Rhine-Westphalia. His wife, Heike, is also a writer and often works with her husband. She often comes up with the story ideas this is why she...
revisited the 1912 prologue in one of his novels, in which Indiana encounters the lead grave robber—whom Hohlbein christens Jake—in 1943. The film's ending begins the 1995 comic series
Indiana Jones and the Spear of DestinyIndiana Jones and The Spear of Destiny is a four-issue comic book mini-series published by Dark Horse Comics from April to July 1995. It was their seventh series about the adult Indiana Jones.-Premise:...
, which moves forward to depict Indiana and his father searching for the
Holy LanceThe Holy Lance is the name given to the lance that pierced Jesus's side in John's account of the crucifixion of Jesus....
in Ireland in 1945. Spielberg intended to have Connery cameo as Henry in
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), but Connery turned it down as he had retired.
External links