Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

"Germany has declared war on the Jones boys."

In 1938, Indiana Jones (Ford) learns that his father, Dr. Henry Jones (Connery) is missing.  He was searching for the Holy Grail and then Indy receives his father's diary about the Grail.  He and family friend/museum curator Marcus Brody (Elliott) decide to trace Henry's steps to find him.  Their trip is sponsored by American businessman Walter Donovan (Glover).  Donovan arranges to have them meet with Henry's colleague Dr. Elsa Schneider (Doody).  Indy and Elsa use the diary to find a clue about the location of the Grail.

While following the trail they are attacked by the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword, a secret society that protects the Grail.  The Brotherhood, led by Kazim (Malikyan), gives them Henry's location.  The Nazis, led by Colonel Vogel (Bryne), are holding Henry at the Castle Brunwald.  They want the map to the location of the Grail, which Henry had in his diary.  Indy gives the map to Marcus and sends him to meet with their friend Sallah (Rhys-Davies), while he and Elsa travel to the Austrian-German border to rescue Henry.  Can Indy find his father and the Grail in time?


This the third film in the Indian Jones franchise, following 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark and 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.  Once again, Steven Spielberg directed and George Lucas co-wrote the story (Menno Meyjes co-wrote the story and Jeffrey Boam wrote the screenplay).  After the darker, and less popular, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, they returned to the formula that worked in the first film: Nazis are the main antagonists, characters Marcus and Sallah are back, and the artifact is religious.

Raiders of the Lost Ark is probably the best of the films, but this film is my favorite in the series.  It is funnier than the others.  Sean Connery was a brilliant choice to be Indy's father.  They make sense and their relationship really elevates the film.  It was also nice to have Denholm Elliott and John Rhys-Davies back.  Denholm Elliott gets to go on the adventure and they explore his friendship with Henry.  And John Rhys-Davies gets to add some levity as Sallah.  Alison Doody is the love interest and, like the first film, gets to be an active participant (more than just react to the action).

The film opens with a teenage Indiana Jones, portrayed by River Phoenix.  This shows Indy's early interest in artifacts, explains his fear of snakes, and introduces his relationship with his father.  This scene inspired Lucas to create a TV show about Jones as a teenager, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.  The show was structured as to have an elderly Indiana Jones, played by George Hal, recounting stories from his childhood and teenage years.  Teenage, approximately 16 years old, Jones is played by Sean Patrick Flanery and Corey Carrier plays him at 10 years old.  The show ran for 2 seasons and 4 episodes of a TV film.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) 128 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for action/adventure, violence, and some sensuality
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones
Sean Connery as Dr. Henry Jones
Alison Doody as Dr. Elsa Schneider
Denholm Elliott as Dr. Marcus Brody
John Rhys-Davies as Sallah
Julian Glover as Walter Donovan
Michael Byrne as Colonel Vogel
Kevork Malikyan as Kazim