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''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' is a 1989 American action- adventure film directed by
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...
, from a story co-written by executive producer
George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the '' Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as c ...
. It is the third installment in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise and a sequel to '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981).
Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...
returned in the title role, while his father is portrayed by
Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...
. Other cast members featured include
Alison Doody Alison Doody (born March 9, 1966) is an Irish actress and model. After making her feature film debut as Bond girl Jenny Flex in ''A View to a Kill'' (1985), she went on to play Elsa Schneider in ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' (1989). O ...
, Denholm Elliott, Julian Glover, River Phoenix, and John Rhys-Davies. In the film, set largely in 1938, Indiana searches for his father, a
Holy Grail The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...
scholar, who has been kidnapped and held hostage by the
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
while on a journey to find the Holy Grail. After the mixed reaction to '' Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'', Spielberg chose to lower the dark tone and graphic violence in the next installment. During the five years between ''The Temple of Doom'' and ''The Last Crusade'', he and executive producer Lucas reviewed several scripts before accepting Jeffrey Boam's. Filming locations included
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
,
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...
,
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
, and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. ''The Last Crusade'' was released by
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
in North America on May 24, 1989, and was a financial success, earning $475.8 million at the worldwide box office, making it the highest grossing film of 1989, and won the
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for Best Sound Effects Editing. A sequel, '' Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'', followed in 2008. A fifth film, '' Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny'', is scheduled to release on June 30, 2023.


Plot

In 1912, 13-year-old Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr., is exploring caves with his
Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...
troop at
Arches National Park Arches National Park is a national park in eastern Utah, United States. The park is adjacent to the Colorado River, north of Moab, Utah. More than 2,000 natural sandstone arches are located in the park, including the well-known Delicate Arch, ...
in
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...
. He discovers a group of grave robbers who have found a golden
crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (La ...
belonging to
Francisco Vázquez de Coronado Francisco Vázquez de Coronado y Luján (; 1510 – 22 September 1554) was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who led a large expedition from what is now Mexico to present-day Kansas through parts of the southwestern United States between 154 ...
and steals it from them, hoping to donate it to a museum. The men give chase through a passing
circus train A circus train is a method of conveyance for circus troupes. One of the larger users of circus trains was the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (RBBX), a famous American circus formed when the Ringling Brothers Circus purchased the B ...
, leaving Indiana with a cut across his chin and a new phobia of snakes. Indiana escapes, but the local sheriff makes him return the cross to the robbers. In 1938, Indiana Jones fights one of the robbers and his henchmen on a ship off the coast of
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
. Escaping overboard just before the ship explodes, he recovers the cross and donates it to Marcus Brody's museum. In
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
, Indiana learns that his father,
Henry Jones, Sr. Professor Henry Walton Jones Sr. is a fictional character in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise. He is the Scottish father of Indiana Jones and is a professor of medieval studies at Princeton University. Alongside his academic teachings, Jones Sr. ...
, was searching for the
Holy Grail The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...
and has since vanished. Indiana receives Henry's Grail diary via mail from
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
and heads there with Marcus, where they meet Henry's
Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
colleague, Dr.
Elsa Schneider This is a list of characters in the Indiana Jones (franchise), ''Indiana Jones'' series. Introduced in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' Indiana Jones Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. (Harrison Ford), the titular chara ...
. Beneath the library where Henry was last seen, Indiana and Elsa discover the tomb of a
First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ...
knight and an inscription that reveals the location of the Grail. They flee when the catacombs are set on fire by the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword, a
secret society A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ...
whose mission is to protect the Grail. After learning that Indiana only wants to find his father, not the Grail, Brotherhood member Kazim reveals Henry's location. Looking through the diary, Marcus finds a map drawn by Henry of the route to the Grail. It begins in the ancient city of Alexandretta. Indiana removes the map from the diary, gives it to Marcus for safekeeping, and sends him to
İskenderun İskenderun ( ar, الإسكندرونة, el, Αλεξανδρέττα "Little Alexandria"), historically known as Alexandretta and Scanderoon, is a city in Hatay Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Names The city was founded as Ale ...
, the city built on the ruins of Alexandretta, to rendezvous with their old friend Sallah. Indiana and Elsa head to Castle Brunwald, a
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
-controlled castle in
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. Indiana finds Henry there, but is quickly captured by SS Colonel Ernst Vogel. He learns that Elsa and old friend Walter Donovan are actually Nazis. They are using the Joneses to find the Grail. They then take the diary and depart. After many complications, Henry and Indiana escape from the castle, steal the diary back and leave Germany. In
Hatay Hatay Province ( tr, Hatay ili, ) is the southernmost province of Turkey. It is situated almost entirely outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province borders Syria to its south and east, the Turkish province ...
, Sallah tells them Marcus has been abducted. The Nazis are moving toward the Grail using his map. Indiana, Henry, and Sallah find the Nazi expedition, which is ambushed by the Brotherhood. During the battle, Henry is captured and the Brotherhood is decimated. With the aid of Sallah, Indiana saves Henry and Marcus. During the rescue, Vogel dies. Indiana, Henry, Marcus, and Sallah catch up with the surviving Nazis, led by Donovan and Elsa, who find the temple where the Holy Grail is kept in The Canyon of the Crescent Moon. However, the Nazis are unable to get past its booby traps. Donovan shoots and mortally wounds Henry, forcing Indiana to risk his life in the traps, find the Grail and save his father with its healing power. Using the information in the diary, Indiana reaches the Grail's chamber, which is guarded by a knight. The man has been kept alive for 700 years by the power of the Grail, which is hidden among dozens of false grails of various designs. The true Grail grants eternal life, while the false ones kill anyone who drinks from them. Elsa selects an incorrect cup for Donovan, causing him to rapidly age and crumble to dust. Indiana correctly identifies a simple clay cup as the true Grail, but the knight warns that it cannot be taken out of the temple, and that its guardian must stay within to remain immortal. Indiana uses the Grail to instantly heal Henry. Elsa disregards the knight's warning and tries to take the Grail with her, causing the temple to start collapsing. The Grail falls into a chasm in the floor, and Elsa dies trying to recover it. Indiana nearly suffers the same fate before Henry persuades him to leave it. The Grail Knight bids them farewell as they leave the temple and ride off into the sunset.


Cast

*
Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...
as Indiana Jones: The archaeologist professor and 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'?" ** River Phoenix as a younger Indiana Jones. Phoenix had portrayed the son of Ford's character in '' The Mosquito Coast'' (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. *
Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...
as
Henry Jones, Sr. Professor Henry Walton Jones Sr. is a fictional character in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise. He is the Scottish father of Indiana Jones and is a professor of medieval studies at Princeton University. Alongside his academic teachings, Jones Sr. ...
: Indiana's father, a professor of Medieval literature who cared more about looking for the Grail than raising his son. 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 Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage ...
, 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 Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...
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'' films."McBride, "An Awfully Big Adventure", p. 379 – 413
Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...
was also considered for the role. Connery initially turned the role down as he was 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
Richard Francis Burton Sir Richard Francis Burton (; 19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, writer, orientalist scholar,and soldier. He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as his extraordinary kn ...
," 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. **
Alex Hyde-White Alex Hyde-White (born 30 January 1959) is an American film and television actor. In 1978, he signed with Universal Pictures as one of the last " contract players" in Hollywood, in a group that included Lindsay Wagner, Andrew Stevens, Gretchen C ...
plays Henry in the film's prologue, though his face is never shown and his lines were dubbed by Connery. * Denholm Elliott as Marcus Brody: Indiana's bumbling English colleague. Elliott returned after Spielberg sought to recapture the tone of '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981), following the actor's absence in the darker '' Temple of Doom'' (1984). *
Alison Doody Alison Doody (born March 9, 1966) is an Irish actress and model. After making her feature film debut as Bond girl Jenny Flex in ''A View to a Kill'' (1985), she went on to play Elsa Schneider in ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' (1989). O ...
as
Elsa Schneider This is a list of characters in the Indiana Jones (franchise), ''Indiana Jones'' series. Introduced in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' Indiana Jones Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. (Harrison Ford), the titular chara ...
: An Austrian art professor and Indy's love interest, who is in league with the Nazis. She seduces the Joneses to trick them but seems to be in love with Indy. While the character of Elsa is in her 30s during the film, Doody was 21 when she auditioned and was one of the first actresses who met for the part. Amanda Redman was offered the role, but declined. * John Rhys-Davies as Sallah: A friend of Indiana and a professional
excavator Excavators are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, dipper (or stick), bucket and cab on a rotating platform known as the "house". The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. They are a natural progression fr ...
living in
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...
. Like Elliott's, Rhys-Davies's return was an attempt to recapture the spirit of ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''. * Julian Glover as
Walter Donovan This is a list of characters in the Indiana Jones (franchise), ''Indiana Jones'' series. Introduced in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' Indiana Jones Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. (Harrison Ford), the titular chara ...
: An American businessman who sends the Joneses on their quest for the Holy Grail out of a desire for
immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...
while secretly working with the Nazis for the same goal. Glover previously appeared as General Veers in Lucas's '' The Empire Strikes Back''. He originally auditioned for the role of Vogel. Glover, who is English, adopted an American accent for the film, but was dissatisfied with the result. Additionally, Michael Byrne portrays Ernst Vogel, a brutal '' SS'' colonel. Byrne and Ford had previously starred in '' Force 10 from Navarone'' (1978), in which they also respectively played a German and an American.
Kevork Malikyan Kevork Malikyan (born 2 June 1943) is an English-Armenian actor and teacher. He is known for his roles as Kazim in the film ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' (1989), Max Papandrious in the television sitcom ''Mind Your Language'' (1977– ...
portrays 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 Express'' (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 Leadam Eddison, OBE (10 June 1908 – 14 December 1991) was an English actor, who despite his lengthy career as a classical stage actor, is probably most widely remembered in the role of the Grail Knight in ''Indiana Jones and the Last C ...
appears 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 only appearing in a few films since the 1930s (including a supporting role in
Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...
's 1948 comedy '' Vice Versa''). Glover recalled Eddison was excited and nervous for his return to film, often asking if he had performed correctly.
Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage ...
was originally considered to play the Grail Knight, but he was too ill and died the same year in which the film was released. Michael Sheard appears as
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
, whom Jones briefly encounters at the book-burning rally in Berlin. Although a non-speaking role, Sheard could speak German and had already portrayed Hitler three times during his career. He had also appeared as
Admiral Ozzel This incomplete list of characters from the '' Star Wars'' franchise contains only those which are considered part of the official ''Star Wars'' canon, as of the changes made by Lucasfilm in April 2014. Following its acquisition by The Walt ...
in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' and as Oskar Schomburg in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In the same scene, Ronald Lacey, who played Toht in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', cameos as Heinrich Himmler. Alexei Sayle played the sultan of Hatay. Paul Maxwell portrayed "the man with the Panama Hat" who took possession of the Cross of Coronado. Wrestler and stuntman Pat Roach, 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 Jaeger Manfred Frederick Jaeger (9 May 1928 – 18 June 2004) was a German-born British film, television, theatre and radio character actor. Biography Jaeger was born in Berlin, Germany, but moved to England following Adolf Hitler's rise to power. H ...
), only for the pair to fall to their deaths after the flying ace makes an error. Richard Young played Garth, the leader of the tomb robbers who chased young Indiana Jones and then gives him his hat.
Eugene Lipinski Eugene Lipinski (born 5 November 1956) is a British-Canadian character actor and screenwriter. He was born in Wansford Camp, Soke of Peterborough, England, and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. He began acting at the age of twelve in amateu ...
portrayed the mysterious agent G-Man, while
Vernon Dobtcheff Vernon Dobtcheff (born 14 August 1934) is a British actor, best known for his roles on television and film, he has acted in numerous stage productions. Biography Dobtcheff was born in Nîmes, France, of Russian descent. He attended Ascham Pre ...
appeared as the butler of Castle Brunwald.


Production


Development

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the '' Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as c ...
and
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...
had intended to make a trilogy of '' Indiana Jones'' films since Lucas had first pitched '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' to Spielberg in 1977, though they signed for five films with
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
by 1979. After the mixed critical and public reaction to '' Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'', Spielberg decided to complete the trilogy to fulfill his promise to Lucas, with the intent to invoke the film with the spirit and tone of ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''. ''Temple of Doom'' writers Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz choose to not return due to both having other commitments and feeling satisfied with their work in the second film. Throughout the film's development and pre-production, Spielberg admitted he was "consciously regressing" in making the film. Due to his commitment to the film, the director had to drop out of directing '' Big'' and ''
Rain Man ''Rain Man'' is a 1988 American road movie, road Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass. It tells the story of abrasive, selfish young wikt:wheeler-dealer, wheeler-dealer C ...
''. Lucas initially suggested making the film "a haunted mansion movie", for which '' Romancing the Stone'' writer
Diane Thomas Diane Renee Thomas (January 7, 1946 – October 21, 1985) was an American screenwriter who wrote the 1984 film ''Romancing the Stone'' and also co-wrote Steven Spielberg's 1989 film ''Always.'' She was also originally hired to write the third ''I ...
wrote a script. Spielberg rejected the idea because of the similarity to ''
Poltergeist In ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; German for "rumbling ghost" or "noisy spirit") is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional desc ...
'', which he had co-written and produced. Lucas first introduced the
Holy Grail The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...
in an idea for the film's prologue, which was to be set in Scotland. He intended the Grail to have a
pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. I ...
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 (much like the fictional magical power given to the Ark in the first film of the trilogy). In September 1984, Lucas completed an eight-page treatment titled ''Indiana Jones and the Monkey King'', which he soon followed with an 11-page outline. The story saw Indiana battling a ghost in Scotland before finding the Fountain of Youth in Africa.Rinzler, Bouzereau, "The Monkey King: July 1984 to May 1988", p. 184 - 203.
Chris Columbus Christopher Columbus was an explorer born in Genoa, Italy. Christopher Columbus or Chris Columbus may also refer to: People * Chris Columbus (musician) (1902–2002), American jazz drummer * Chris Columbus (filmmaker) (born 1958), American direc ...
—who had written the Spielberg-produced '' Gremlins'', '' The Goonies'', and '' Young Sherlock Holmes''—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
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
to aid Dr. Clare Clarke (a
Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...
-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
Zambezi The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than ha ...
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 Toshiro Mifune-type), who dies eating a peach because he is not pure of heart. Columbus's second draft, dated August 6, 1985, removed Betsy and featured Dash—an
expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
bar owner for whom the Nazis work—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 scouting commenced in Africa but Spielberg and Lucas abandoned ''Monkey King'' because of its negative depiction of African natives, and because the script was too 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. Dissatisfied, Spielberg suggested introducing Indiana's father,
Henry Jones, Sr. Professor Henry Walton Jones Sr. is a fictional character in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise. He is the Scottish father of Indiana Jones and is a professor of medieval studies at Princeton University. Alongside his academic teachings, Jones Sr. ...
Lucas was dubious, believing the Grail should be the story's focus, 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 Meyjes, who had worked on Spielberg's ''
The Color Purple ''The Color Purple'' is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction.
'' and '' Empire of the Sun'', to begin a new script on January 1, 1986. Meyjes completed his script ten months later. It depicted Indiana searching for his father in
Montségur Montségur (; Languedocien: ''Montsegur'') is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France. It is famous for its fortification, the Château de Montségur, that was built on the "pog" (mountain) on the ruins of one of the last ...
, where he meets a nun named Chantal. Indiana travels to
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
, takes the ''
Orient Express The ''Orient Express'' was a long-distance passenger train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company ''Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits'' (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe and int ...
'' to
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
, and continues by train to Petra, where he meets Sallah and reunites with his father. Together they find the grail. At the climax, a Nazi villain touches the Grail and explodes; when Henry touches it, he ascends a stairway to
Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...
. Chantal chooses to stay on Earth because of her love for Indiana. In a revised draft dated two months later, Indiana finds his father in Krak des Chevaliers, 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 Montezuma's death mask with a man who owns gorillas as pets. Spielberg suggested '' Innerspace'' writer Jeffrey Boam perform the next rewrite. Boam spent two weeks reworking the story with Lucas, which yielded a treatment that is largely similar to the final film. 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 han 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 adult Indiana retrieving an Aztec relic for a museum curator in Mexico and features the circus train. Henry and Elsa (who is described as having dark hair) were searching for the Grail on behalf of the Chandler Foundation, before Henry went missing. The character of Kazim is here named Kemal, and is an agent of the Republic of Hatay, which seeks the grail for its own. Kemal shoots Henry and dies drinking from the wrong chalice. The Grail Knight battles Indiana on horseback, while Vogel is crushed by a boulder while attempting to steal the Grail. Boam's February 23, 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 Award—had the idea of making Indiana a
Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...
. The 1912 prologue as seen in the film 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 Malamute The Alaskan Malamute () is a large breed of dog that was originally bred for its strength and endurance to haul heavy freight as a sled dog and hound. It is similar to other arctic breeds such as the husky, the spitz, the Greenland Dog, Canadi ...
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 a single, uninterrupted shot. Spielberg intended the shot of Henry with his umbrella—after he causes the bird strike on the German plane—to evoke '' Ryan's Daughter''. 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 introduces Indiana and Brody to a large Venetian family that knows Henry.
Leni Riefenstahl Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, photographer and actress known for her role in producing Nazi propaganda. A talented swimmer and an artist, Riefenstahl also became in ...
appears at the Nazi rally in Berlin. Vogel is beheaded by the traps guarding the Grail. Kemal tries to blow up the Grail Temple during a comic fight in which gunpowder is repeatedly lit and extinguished. 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. Boam's revision of March 1 showed Henry causing the seagulls to strike the plane, and has Henry saving Indiana at the end. Between an undated " Amblin" revision and a rewrite by
Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and polit ...
(under the pen name Barry Watson) dated May 8, 1988, further changes were made. Stoppard polished most of the dialogue, and created the "Panama Hat" character to link the prologue's segments featuring the young and adult Indianas. The Venetian family is cut. Kemal is renamed Kazim and now wants to protect the grail rather than find it. Chandler is renamed Donovan. The scene of Brody being captured is added. Vogel now dies in the tank, while Donovan shoots Henry and then drinks from the false grail, and Elsa falls into the chasm. The Grail trials are expanded to include the stone-stepping and leap of faith.


Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as ...
began on May 16, 1988, in the Tabernas Desert in
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
's Almería province. 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 unit Second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming stag ...
had begun filming two weeks before. After approximately ten days, the production moved to the Escuela de Arte de Almería, to film the scenes set in the Sultan of Hatay's palace. Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park was used for the road, tunnel and beach sequence (at
Playa de Mónsul The Playa de Mónsul (English: Mónsul Beach), also known as the Ensenada de Mónsul (English: Mónsul Cove), is a beach located 4 km southwest of the municipality of San José on the coast of the Province of Almería in southeast Andalusia, Spa ...
) in which birds strike the plane. The shoot's Spanish portion wrapped on June 2, 1988, in Guadix,
Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...
, 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. The exteriors of "Brunwald Castle" were filmed at
Bürresheim Castle Bürresheim Castle (german: Schloss Bürresheim) is a medieval castle northwest of Mayen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. It is built on rock in the Eifel mountains above the Nette. Bürresheim Castle, Eltz Castle and Lissingen Castle are the on ...
in West Germany. In the movie the image of the castle has been flipped and the building was expanded with a Matte painting depicting a copy of the right facade to the left of the main tower. Filming for the castle interiors took place in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
from June 5 to 10, 1988, at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. On June 16 Lawrence Hall, London, was used as the interior of
Berlin Tempelhof Airport Berlin Tempelhof Airport (german: Flughafen Berlin-Tempelhof) was one of the first airports in Berlin, Germany. Situated in the south-central Berlin borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg, the airport ceased operating in 2008 amid controversy, lea ...
. 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 Airfield North Weald Airfield is an operational general aviation aerodrome, in the civil parish of North Weald Bassett in Epping Forest, Essex, England. It was an important fighter station during the Battle of Britain, when it was known as the RAF Sta ...
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 Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...
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 of hydraulics and ten gimbals 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 onto the right part of the crack. July 25–26 was spent on night shoots at
Stowe School , motto_translation = I stand firm and I stand first , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent school, day & boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmast ...
,
Stowe, Buckinghamshire Stowe is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and former village about northwest of Buckingham in the unitary authority area of Buckinghamshire, England. The parish includes the hamlet (UK place), hamlets of Boycott, Buckinghamshire, Boyco ...
, 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 prologue's 1938 portion was filmed in three days on a sixty-by-forty-feet (eighteen-by-twelve-meter) deck built on gimbals at Elstree. A dozen dump tanks — each holding three hundred imperial gallons (360 U.S. gallons; 3000 lb.; 1363 liters) of water — were used in the scene. Henry's house was filmed at
Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18,4 ...
, 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 focus lens In photography, a long-focus lens is a camera lens which has a focal length that is longer than the diagonal measure of the film or sensor that receives its image. It is used to make distant objects appear magnified with magnification increas ...
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 Docks The Port of Tilbury is a port 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 handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facilities for contai ...
in
Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...
. 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 School The Royal Masonic School for Girls (RMS) is an independent school in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, England, with day and boarding pupils. The school was instituted in 1788, with the aim of caring for the daughters of poor Freemasons. In 1978, ...
in
Rickmansworth Rickmansworth () is a town in southwest Hertfordshire, England, about northwest of central London and inside the perimeter of the M25 motorway. The town is mainly to the north of the Grand Union Canal (formerly the Grand Junction Canal) and th ...
, 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 Watts Robert Watts (born 23 May 1938)Adam Pirani, ''Robert Watts: Secrets of "The Temple of Doom"'', Starlog #94, April 1985, pp 23–26,62. is a British retired film producer who is best known for his involvement with the '' Star Wars'' and ''Indian ...
gained control of the Grand Canal from 7 am to 1 pm, sealing off tourists for as long as possible. Cinematographer Douglas Slocombe positioned the camera to ensure no satellite dishes would be visible. San Barnaba di Venezia served as the library's exterior. The next day, filming moved to the ancient city of Petra,
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, where Al Khazneh (The Treasury) stood in for the temple housing the Grail. The cast and crew became guests of King Hussein and
Queen Noor Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mo ...
. The Treasury had previously appeared in '' Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger''. The main cast completed their scenes that week, after 63 days of filming. The second unit filmed part of the prologue's 1912 segment from August 29 to September 3. The main unit began two days later with the circus train sequence at
Alamosa, Colorado Alamosa is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality and the county seat of Alamosa County, Colorado, Alamosa County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 9,806 at the 2020 United States Cens ...
, on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad. They filmed at Pagosa Springs on September 7, and then at Cortez 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 Utah's
Arches National Park Arches National Park is a national park in eastern Utah, United States. The park is adjacent to the Colorado River, north of Moab, Utah. More than 2,000 natural sandstone arches are located in the park, including the well-known Delicate Arch, ...
to shoot more of the opening. A house in Antonito, Colorado was used for the Jones family home. The production had intended to film at Mesa Verde National Park, but Native American representatives had religious objections to its use. When Spielberg and editor Michael Kahn viewed a rough cut of the film in late 1988, they felt it suffered from a lack of action. The motorcycle chase was shot during
post-production Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments. Th ...
at
Mount Tamalpais Mount Tamalpais (; ; Miwok: ''Támal Pájiṣ''), known locally as Mount Tam, is a peak in Marin County, California, United States, often considered symbolic of Marin County. Much of Mount Tamalpais is protected within public lands such as Mou ...
and Fairfax near Skywalker Ranch. The closing shot of Indiana, Henry, Sallah and Brody riding into the sunset was filmed in
Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Cou ...
in early 1989 by the second unit, directed by Frank Marshall.


Design

Mechanical effects supervisor George Gibbs said the film was the most difficult one of his career. He visited a museum to negotiate renting a small French World War I tank, but decided he wanted to make one. The tank was based on the Tank Mark VIII, which was long and weighed . Gibbs built the tank over the framework of a
excavator Excavators are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, dipper (or stick), bucket and cab on a rotating platform known as the "house". The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. They are a natural progression fr ...
and added tracks that were driven by two automatic
hydraulic pump Hydraulic pumps are used in hydraulic drive systems and can be hydrostatic or hydrodynamic. A hydraulic pump is a mechanical source of power that converts mechanical power into hydraulic energy ( hydrostatic energy i.e. flow, pressure). It genera ...
s, each connected to a Range Rover
V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and u ...
. Gibbs built the tank from steel rather than aluminum or fiberglass because it would allow the realistically suspensionless vehicle to endure the rocky surfaces. Unlike its historic counterpart, which had only the two side guns, the tank had a turret gun added as well. It took four months to build and was transported to Almería on a
Short Belfast The Short Belfast (or Shorts Belfast)Mondey 1981, p. 228. is a heavy lift turboprop freighter that was built by British manufacturer Short Brothers at Belfast. Only 10 aircraft were constructed, all of which entered service with the Royal Air ...
plane and then a low loader truck. The tank broke down twice. The distributor's rotor arm broke and a replacement had to be sourced from
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
. Then two of the device's valves used to cool the oil exploded, due to solder 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 , which Vic Armstrong said made it difficult to film Indiana riding a horse against the tank while making it appear faster.Rinzler, Bouzereau, "The Professionals: May 1988 to May 1989", p. 204 - 229. 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 cliff on location;
Industrial Light & Magic Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pr ...
created further shots of the tank's destruction with models and miniatures.
Michael Lantieri Michael Lantieri (born August 13, 1954) is a special effects supervisor. Lantieri went to school in Los Angeles, California with actor-director Ron Howard with the ambition to work in films as a director, which he had been interested in from a yo ...
, 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 Hollywood 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 Buechler __NOTOC__ John Carl Buechler (pronounced ''Beekler''; June 18, 1952 – March 18, 2019) was an American special make-up effects artist, film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He was best known for his work on horror and science-fictio ...
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 The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have to tak ...
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 1914 Ford Model T, a 1919 Ford Model T truck and a 1916 Saxon Model 14, fitting each with a Ford Pinto V6 engine. 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 1,000 disease-free gray rats for the catacombs scenes from the company that supplied the snakes and bugs for the previous films. Within five months, 5,000 rats had been bred for the sequence; 1,000 mechanical rats stood in for those that were set on fire. Several thousand snakes of five breeds—including a boa constrictor—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 Powell 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 tweed 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. The motorcycles used in the chase from the castle were a mixed bag: the scout model with sidecar in which Indy and Henry escape was an original
Dnepr Dnepr may refer to: *Dnieper, a river flowing through Russia, Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea *Dnepr (motorcycle), a Ukraininan motocycle brand *Dnepr (rocket), a 1999 space launch vehicle *Dnepr radar, Soviet space surveillance and early warn ...
, complete with machine gun
pintle A pintle is a pin or bolt, usually inserted into a gudgeon, which is used as part of a pivot or hinge. Other applications include pintle and lunette ring for towing, and pintle pins securing casters in furniture. Use Pintle/gudgeon sets have ma ...
on the sidecar, while the pursuing vehicles were more modern machines dressed up with equipment and logos to make them resemble German army models. Gibbs used Swiss Pilatus P-2 army training planes standing in for
Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...
s. He built a device based on an
internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal co ...
to simulate gunfire, which was safer and less expensive than firing blanks. 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. At least one reproduction Kübelwagen was used during filming despite the film being set two years prior to manufacture of said vehicles.


Effects

Industrial Light & Magic Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pr ...
(ILM) built an foam model of the Zeppelin to complement shots of Ford and Connery climbing into the biplane. A biplane model with a wingspan was used for the shot of the biplane detaching. Stop motion animation was used for the shot of the German fighter's wings breaking off as it crashes through the tunnel. The tunnel was a 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 bluescreen; the sequence required their car to have a dirty windscreen, but to make the integration easier this was removed and later composited 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. ILM's Wes Takahashi supervised the film's effects sequences. 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 " Iehova" 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, 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 perspective, 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 by 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 Glover's forehead and cheeks by Nick Dudman that made his eyes seem to recede during the character's initial decomposition, as well as a mechanical wig that grew his hair. The shot of Donovan's death was created over three months by morphing together three puppets of Donovan created by Stephan Dupuis in separate stages of decay, a technique ILM mastered on ''
Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...
'' (1988). A fourth puppet was used for the decaying clothes, because the puppet's torso mechanics had been exposed. Complications arose because
Alison Doody Alison Doody (born March 9, 1966) is an Irish actress and model. After making her feature film debut as Bond girl Jenny Flex in ''A View to a Kill'' (1985), she went on to play Elsa Schneider in ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' (1989). O ...
's double had not been filmed for the scene's latter two elements, so the background and hair from the first shot had to be used throughout, with the other faces mapped over it. Donovan's skeleton was hung on wires like a marionette; it required several takes to film it crashing against the wall because not all the pieces released upon impact. Ben Burtt 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 turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
for the plane crashes. Burtt wanted an echoing gunshot for Donovan wounding Henry, so he fired a
.357 Magnum The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...
in Skywalker Ranch's underground car park, just as Lucas drove in. A rubber balloon was used for the earthquake tremors at the temple. The film was released in selected theaters in the 70 mm Full-Field Sound format, which allowed sounds to not only move from side to side, but also from the theater's front to its rear. Matte paintings of the Austrian castle and the Berlin airport were based on real buildings; the Austrian castle "Schloss Brunwald" is
Bürresheim Castle Bürresheim Castle (german: Schloss Bürresheim) is a medieval castle northwest of Mayen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. It is built on rock in the Eifel mountains above the Nette. Bürresheim Castle, Eltz Castle and Lissingen Castle are the on ...
near Mayen in
Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, that was made to look larger. Rain was created by filming granulated
Borax Borax is a salt (ionic compound), a hydrated borate of sodium, with chemical formula often written . It is a colorless crystalline solid, that dissolves in water to make a basic solution. It is commonly available in powder or granular form ...
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
Administration Building Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...
at San Francisco's Treasure Island was used as the exterior of
Berlin Tempelhof Airport Berlin Tempelhof Airport (german: Flughafen Berlin-Tempelhof) was one of the first airports in Berlin, Germany. Situated in the south-central Berlin borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg, the airport ceased operating in 2008 amid controversy, lea ...
. The structure already had period-appropriate
art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
architecture, as it had been constructed in 1938 for planned use as an airport terminal. 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 light in the shadows and rim light on the edges of the buildings.


Themes

A son's relationship with his estranged father is a common theme in Spielberg's films, including ''
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott, a boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, d ...
'' and '' Hook''. The film's exploration of fathers and sons coupled with its use of religious imagery is comparable to two other 1989 films, '' Star Trek V: The Final Frontier'' and '' Field of Dreams''. Writing for ''
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'', Caryn James felt the combination in these films reflected
New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...
concerns, where the worship of God was equated to searching for fathers. James felt that neither Indiana nor his father is preoccupied with finding the Grail or defeating the Nazis, but that, rather, both seek professional respect for one another in their
boys' own ''Boys' Own'' or ''Boy's Own'' or ''Boys Own'', is the title of a varying series of similarly titled magazines, story papers, and newsletters published at various times and by various publishers, in the United Kingdom and the United States, fro ...
adventure. James contrasted the temple's biblically epic destruction with the more effective and quiet conversation between the Joneses at the film's end. James noted that Indiana's mother does not appear in the prologue, being portrayed as already having died before the film's events began.


Release


Marketing

The film's teaser trailer debuted in November 1988 with ''
Scrooged ''Scrooged'' is a 1988 American Christmas fantasy comedy film directed by Richard Donner and written by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue. Based on the 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'' by Charles Dickens, ''Scrooged'' is a modern retellin ...
'' and '' The Naked Gun''. Rob MacGregor wrote the tie-in novelization that was released in June 1989; it sold enough copies to be included on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list. 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 Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Found ...
's
National Museum of American History The 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 is t ...
. No toys were made to promote the film; 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 games based on the film were released by LucasArts in 1989: '' Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure'' and '' Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game''. A third game was produced by
Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. I ...
and released in 1991 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. 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''. Hasbro released toys based on ''The Last Crusade'' in July 2008.


Box office

The film was released in the United States and Canada on Wednesday, May 24, 1989, in 2,327 theaters, earning a record $37,031,573 over the 4-day Memorial Day weekend. The gross was boosted by high ticket prices in some venues ($7 a ticket). Its 3-day opening weekend figure of $29,355,021 was surpassed later that year by ''
Ghostbusters II ''GhostbustersII'' is a 1989 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ramis, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson, and A ...
'' and ''
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...
'', which grossed more in its opening 3 days than ''The Last Crusade'' in 4. Its Saturday gross of $11,181,429 was the first time a film had made over $10 million in one day. It broke the record for the best seven-day performance with a gross of $50.2 million, beating the $45.7 million grossed by ''Temple of Doom'' in 1984 on 1,687 screens. It added another record with $77 million after twelve days, and earned $100 million in a record nineteen days. In France, the film broke a record by selling a million admissions within two and a half weeks. In the UK it opened in three London theaters before opening two days later on 361 screens nationally, setting an opening weekend record of £1,811,542 ($2,862,200), breaking the one set the year before by ''
Crocodile Dundee II ''Crocodile Dundee II'' is a 1988 action comedy film and the second of the ''Crocodile Dundee'' film series. It is a sequel to ''Crocodile Dundee'' (1986) and was followed by ''Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles'' (2001). Actors Paul Hogan and Lin ...
''. It spent six weeks at number one in the UK. The film eventually grossed $197,171,806 in the United States and Canada and $277 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $474,171,806. At the time of its release, the film was the 11th highest-grossing film of all time. Despite competition from ''Batman'', ''The Last Crusade'' became the highest-grossing film worldwide in 1989. In North America, ''Batman'' took top position. Behind '' Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' and ''Raiders'', ''The Last Crusade'' is the third-highest grossing Indiana Jones film in the United States and Canada, though it is also behind ''Temple of Doom'' when adjusting for inflation.
Box Office Mojo Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon. History Brandon Gray be ...
estimates that the film sold over 49 million tickets in North America. The film was re-released in 1992 earning $139,000.


Home media

The film was released along with its two predecessors as part of a trilogy DVD box set in 2003. It contained extra materials and a special documentary covering the production of the films. Sales figures for the box set were extremely successful and 600,000 copies were sold in the US on the first day of release. In 2012, the film and was released on Blu-ray along with the three other films in the Indiana Jones film series at the time. In 2021, a remastered 4K version of the film was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, produced using scans of the original negatives. It was released as part of a box set for the then four films in the Indiana Jones film series.


Reception


Critical response

On
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, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Lighter and more comedic than its predecessor, ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' returns the series to the brisk serial adventure of ''Raiders'', while adding a dynamite double act between Harrison Ford and Sean Connery."
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
calculated a weighted average score of 65 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Jay Boyar of the ''
Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...
'' said that while the film "lacks the novelty of ''Raiders'', and the breathless pacing of ''Temple of Doom'', it was an entertaining capper to the trilogy." Peter Travers of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' remarked the film was "the wildest and wittiest Indy of them all". Richard Corliss of ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'' and David Ansen of ''
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'' praised it, as did
Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...
of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. "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, calling the revelation that Jones had a father who was not proud of him 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 Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
praised the sequence depicting Jones as a
Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...
with the Cross of Coronado, comparing it to the "style of illustration that appeared in the boys' adventure magazines of the 1940s". He said that Spielberg "must have been paging through his old issues of ''
Boys' Life ''Scout Life'' (formerly ''Boys' Life'') is the monthly magazine of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Its target readers are boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 18. The magazine‘s headquarters are in Irving, Texas. ''Scout Life'' is pub ...
'' 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 Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...
'' felt Connery and Ford deserved Academy Award nominations. It was panned by Andrew Sarris in ''
The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper printed from 1987 to 2016, when it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainmen ...
'', David Denby in '' New York'' magazine, Stanley Kauffmann in ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...
'' and Georgia Brown in ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
''. Jonathan Rosenbaum of the ''
Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by ...
'' called the film "soulless". ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' 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 Jones's character took away his mystery and that Spielberg should not have tried to mature his storytelling. Two days later,
Desson Thomson Desson Patrick Thomson is a former speechwriter for the Obama administration and former film critic for ''The Washington Post''. He was known as Desson Howe until 2003 when he changed his name after reuniting with his birth father. Biography ...
published a positive review praising the film's adventure and action, as well as the father–son relationship's thematic depth.


Influence

The film won the Academy Award for Best Sound Effects Editing; it also received nominations for Best Original Score and Best Sound ( Ben Burtt, Gary Summers, Shawn Murphy and Tony Dawe), but lost to '' The Little Mermaid'' and '' Glory'' respectively. Connery received a
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...
nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Connery and the visual and sound effects teams were also nominated at the
43rd British Academy Film Awards The 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. Winners and nominees Academy Fellowship: Paul Fox ...
. The film won the 1990 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, and was nominated for Best Motion Picture Drama at the Young Artist Awards. John Williams's score won a Broadcast Music Incorporated Award, and was nominated for a Grammy Award. The prologue depicting Jones in his youth inspired Lucas to create ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' television series, which featured Sean Patrick Flanery as the young adult Indiana and Corey Carrier as the 8- to 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 Hohlbein revisited the prologue in one of his novels, in which Jones 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 Destiny'', which moves forward to depict Jones and his father searching for the Holy Lance 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. Petra's use for the movie's climactic scenes greatly contributed to its popularity as an international tourist destination. Before the film's release, only a few thousand visitors per year made the trip; since then it has grown to almost a million annually. Shops and hotels near the site play up the connection, and it is mentioned prominently in itineraries of locations used in the film series. Jordan's tourism board mentions the connection on its website. In 2012, the satirical news site The Pan-Arabia Enquirer ran a mock story claiming that the board had officially renamed Petra "That Place from ''Indiana Jones''" to reflect how the world more commonly refers to it.


See also

* List of films shot in Almería * Otto Rahn, German scholar and Holy Grail researcher.


References


Further reading

* * * *


External links

* at * * *
Review of Chris Columbus's first draft
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Indiana Jones films 1989 films 1980s action adventure films Alternate Nazi Germany films American action adventure films American sequel films Arthurian films Cultural depictions of Adolf Hitler Films about father–son relationships Films about secret societies Films directed by Steven Spielberg Films scored by John Williams Films set in 1912 Films set in 1938 Films set in Austria Films set in Berlin Films set in New York (state) Films set in Portugal Films set in Turkey Films set in Utah Films set in Venice Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios Films shot in California Films shot in Colorado Films shot in the United Kingdom Films shot in Hertfordshire Films shot in Germany Films shot in Venice Films shot in Jordan Films shot in New Mexico Films shot in San Francisco Films shot in Almería Films shot in Texas Films shot in Turkey Films shot in Utah Films that won the Best Sound Editing Academy Award Films with screenplays by George Lucas Films with screenplays by Jeffrey Boam Films about the Holy Grail Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation winning works Lucasfilm films Films about Nazis Paramount Pictures films Rail transport films Scouting in popular culture Treasure hunt films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films