INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (1989)

Many Indiana Jones fans couldn't help but notice several references to their favorite swashbuckling archeologist in Episode 2 of THE MANDALORIAN (entitled "The Child"). I, for one, loved the glaring LAST CRUSADE tank/sandcrawler reference. 

Charcoal sketch by Chris Mich.

However, our guest writer this week doesn’t write about the ties between Mando and Indy. What he does write about is how AWESOME the third installment in the Indiana Jones film series is…and there are some minor spoilers. So, without further ado, here is special guest writer Dave Lindquist and his write-up on INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (1989)…

Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade

I want to start off by saying that Harrison Ford is, and always has been, my favorite movie actor. He is the quintessential star of character-driven action films for adults (and sometimes for the children inside us). Han, Indy, John Book in Witness, Richard Kimble in The Fugitive, Deckard in Blade Runner; all iconic. He's surly, funny, charismatic, and never, ever phones it in. And, he's the same age as my Mom. He could be my Dad!

Just the other day I watched Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade. I own an early DVD box set of the Indy trilogy from 2003 labeled as "Widescreen... enhanced for 16:9 TVs" which is a little disappointing because it's originally shot in glorious 2:35:1 ratio on 35mm with Douglas Slocombe as the cinematographer. All of the Indy films have a grandeur that harkens back to the glory days of Hollywood movies. The dinner scene from Temple Of Doom, and Donovan's apartment scene in Last Crusade, for example, both evoke classic Tinseltown. The location shooting is equally spectacular in Last Crusade; Arches National Park, Petra, and Venice ("Ahh, Venice"). While there is some early ILM wizardry in the FX, most of it is done practically, which is something sorely missed in action films of late. Not to mention John Williams legendary soundtrack.

Let's talk about characters. Indy 3 introduces Henry Jones, Indiana's somewhat estranged father. Played by Sean Connery, Dr. Jones has dedicated his life's work to discovering the secrets behind the Holy Grail. Hot on the trail of finding the final clue to the Grail's location, he is captured by Nazi's ("I hate these guys"). Meanwhile, Indy has been hired by an archeology enthusiast (with a sinister goal) to take up the hunt because Dr. Jones has gone missing. In the second act, father and son are reunited, and immediately captured. The chemistry between Ford and Connery is almost palpable, their comic timing is impeccable, and they both seem to be having a great time. Character development is fleshed out quickly and thoroughly, without feeling rushed. Many of the supporting characters like Brody, Sallah, Donovan, Elsa, and even River Phoenix as young Indy, get their due time to present rich back stories.

Reading the history of how this film got made, I found that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas went back and forth with different ideas and scripts before this final version was settled on. Some of those ideas were pretty bad, like Kingdom of the Crystal Skull bad. Thankfully Spielberg and Lucas hit a homerun with The Last Crusade. It's an epic, fun, funny, and touching story of redemption.

It's not my favorite Indy film, that would be the first one, but Last Crusade is a very close second. Odd numbered Indy films seem to be the best (side note, it's even numbers for Trek films), so let's hope that Indiana Jones 5, rumored to be filming later this year, will continue that streak. The fact that Harrison Ford shows no sign of slowing down at age 77 might be proof that he chose wisely when he took that sip of water from The Holy Grail.

This entry was written by Dave Lindquist.

David Lindquist is an on-air DJ and writer for YNotRadio.net, an indie rock streaming site based in Philadelphia with a background in theatre, television production, and family fun entertainment. He resides in beautiful Lancaster County, PA. with his wife of nearly 20 years, 2 teenage daughters, and 2 eccentric dogs. To pay the bills, he has been a Manager of two different fun centers over the last 10 years and will soon be taking on a new role as General Manager for Stumpy's Hatchet House in West Chester, PA.

His hobbies include listening to music, writing record reviews and poetry, and amateur photography. Catch his weekly 2-hour show "The Nooner w/ Dave Lindquist" every Wed. at 12pm on YNotRadio.net, your weekly fix of classic alternative and underground music from the 70's to the mid-00's.