After the criticism thatIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) received, Spielberg chose to make a more lighthearted film for the next installment, as well as bringing back several elements fromRaiders of the Lost Ark. During the five years betweenTemple of Doom andThe Last Crusade, he and executive producer Lucas reviewed several scripts before accepting Jeffrey Boam's. Filming locations included Spain, Italy, West Germany, Jordan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[2]
In 1912,Boy ScoutHenry "Indiana" Jones, Jr. lives with his fatherHenry Jones, Sr. inMoab, Utah. One day, while undergoing a cave exploration, Indiana takes acrucifix owned byCoronado from a group ofgraverobbers, and after a brief horse chase, and losing them on a circus train, flees to his home, where the graverobbers find him and retrieve the crucifix with the help of the sheriff. The graverobbers' leader Garth admits his respect towards Indiana and gives him hisfedora before leaving.
In 1938, Indiana successfully takes back the crucifix from thegraverobbers' employer off the Portuguese coast. After returning to the United States, Indiana learns Henry has disappeared while searching for theHoly Grail.Walter Donovan, his father's financial backer, tasks Indiana with finding both Henry and the Grail.
Indiana receives a package containing Henry's diary, which includes his research on the Grail, and travels toVenice alongsideMarcus Brody to meet Henry's associate,Dr. Elsa Schneider. Beneath the library where Henry was last seen, Indiana and Elsa discover acatacomb containing an inscribed shield which reveals that the path to the Grail begins inAlexandretta. The two are subsequently attacked by a mysterious group who reveal themselves to be the secret Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword, dedicated to protecting the Grail.
After sparing the life of the group's leader Kazim, Indiana learns that Henry is being held at Brunwald castle inAustria. Indiana entrusts Marcus with a map from the diary detailing a route to the Grail and sends him to Alexandretta to rendezvous with their friendSallah. Discovering their rooms have been ransacked, Indiana reveals the diary's existence to Elsa before they sleep together.
In Austria, Indiana and Elsa infiltrate the castle, discovering it to be underNazi control. Indiana finds Henry and tries to escape and encounter Elsa being held at gunpoint byStandartenführer Ernst Vogel. Henry saw through the ruse by Indy conceded and she revealed herself to be a Nazi collaborator in which she takes the diary. Indiana and Henry are tied up and learn that Donovan is also working with the Nazis.
After arriving in Alexandretta, Marcus is captured by theGestapo. Elsa returns to Germany, while the Joneses escape the castle before traveling toBerlin to retrieve the diary. After recovering it from Elsa, the Joneses flee on aZeppelin before evading twoLuftwaffe planes pursuing them.
Once the Joneses arrive inHatay, Sallah informs them that the Nazis have also traveled there using the map. While they are following the trail, the Nazis led by Vogel are attacked by the Brotherhood but defeat them. Henry takes advantage of the distraction to try to rescue Marcus but is captured; Indiana attacks Vogel's convoy in response and is eventually able to destroy it and kill Vogel with help from Henry and Marcus.
The Joneses, Marcus, and Sallah proceed to a temple containing the Grail, where they observe the Nazis attempting to overcome the temple's traps before being captured. Donovan forces Indiana to find safe passage for them by mortally wounding Henry; reminding him that only a drink from the Grail can save him.
With the help of the diary, Indiana overcomes the traps and finds a room with many cups and anancient knight, who explains that only one cup is the true Grail. Donovan and Elsa enter the room, and Elsa deliberately gives him the wrong cup, killing Donovan after he drinks from it.
Indiana identifies the true Grail and rescues Henry, but is warned by the Knight that the grail must never cross the seal. Elsa falls to her death when her attempt to leave with the Grail causes the temple to collapse, despite Indy attempting to rescue her, and Indiana nearly suffers the same fate before Henry saves him. The Grail falls into an abyss as the Joneses, Marcus and Sallah escape and ride off into the sunset.
Harrison Ford asHenry "Indiana" Jones, Jr.: An 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'?"[3]
River Phoenix as a younger Indiana Jones. Phoenix had portrayed the son of Ford's character inThe 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.[4]
Sean Connery asHenry Jones, Sr.: Indiana's father, a professor ofmedieval 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 resemblingLaurence Olivier, whose relationship with Indiana is "strict schoolmaster and student rather than a father and son".[5][6] Spielberg had been a fan of Connery's work asJames Bond and felt that no one else could perform the role as well.[7] Spielberg biographerJoseph 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'sJames Bond films."[8] Connery, who had eschewed major franchise films since his work on the James Bond series, as he found those roles dull and wanted to avoid paparazzi attention, initially turned the role down (as he was only twelve years older than Ford) but eventually 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 ofRichard Francis Burton," Connery commented. "I was bound to have fun with the role of a gruff, Victorian Scottish father."[7] 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".[4] Connery signed to the film on March 25, 1988.[5] He improvised the line, "She talks in her sleep", which was left in because it made everyone laugh;[9] in Boam's scripts, Henry telling Indiana that he slept with Elsa occurs later.[5]
Alex Hyde-White plays Henry in the film's prologue, though his face is never shown and his lines were dubbed by Connery.
Alison Doody asElsa Schneider: AnAustrian art professor and Indy's love interest, who is in league with theNazis. She seduces the Joneses to trick them, but appears to have genuine feelings for 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.[5]Amanda Redman was offered the role, but declined.[10]
John Rhys-Davies asSallah: A friend of Indiana and a professionalexcavator living inCairo. Like Elliott's, Rhys-Davies's return was also an attempt to recapture the spirit ofRaiders of the Lost Ark.[4]
Julian Glover asWalter Donovan: A wealthy American businessman and grail hunter who sends the Joneses on their quest for the Holy Grail. Later revealed to be secretly working with the Nazis, he is motivated by a desire to achieveimmortality. He originally auditioned for the role of Vogel. Glover, who is English, adopted an American accent for the film,[11] but was dissatisfied with the result.[4]
Kevork Malikyan portrays Kazim, the leader of the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword, an organization that protects the Holy Grail through the centuries. Malikyan had impressed Spielberg with his performance inMidnight Express (1978) and would have auditioned for the role of Sallah inRaiders of the Lost Ark had a traffic jam not delayed his meeting with the director.[12]Robert Eddison appears as the Grail Knight, the guardian of the Grail who drank from the cup of Christ during the Crusades. Eddison was a stage and television veteran only appearing in a few films since the 1930s. Glover recalled Eddison was excited and nervous for his return to film, often asking if he had performed correctly.[13]Laurence Olivier was originally considered to play the Grail Knight,[14] but he was too ill and died the same year in which the film was released.
Michael Sheard briefly appears asAdolf Hitler, whom Jones encounters at a 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 theU-boat commander Oskar Schomburg inRaiders of the Lost Ark. In the same scene,Ronald Lacey, who playedSD agentArnold Toht inRaiders of the Lost Ark, cameos asHeinrich Himmler.Alexei Sayle played the fictional sultan of Hatay (the realHatay State was a republic).Paul Maxwell portrayed "the man with the Panama Hat" who took possession of the Cross of Coronado. Wrestler and stuntmanPat Roach, who played three roles in the previous two films (notably the musclebound German soldier who gets into a fistfight with Jones inRaiders of the Lost Ark), made a shortcameo 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 byFrederick Jaeger), 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 portrayed the mysterious agent G-Man, whileVernon Dobtcheff appeared as the butler of Castle Brunwald.
George Lucas andSteven Spielberg had intended to make a trilogy ofIndiana Jones films since Lucas had firstpitchedRaiders of the Lost Ark to Spielberg in 1977,[15] though they signed for five films withParamount Pictures by 1979.[16] After the mixed critical and public reaction toIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Spielberg decided to complete the trilogy to fulfill his promise to Lucas, with the intent to imbue the film with the spirit and tone ofRaiders of the Lost Ark.[17]Temple of Doom writersWillard Huyck andGloria Katz chose not to return due to both having other commitments and feeling satisfied with their work in the second film.[18] Throughout the film's development andpre-production, Spielberg admitted he was "consciously regressing" in making the film.[8] Due to his commitment to the film, the director had to drop out of directingBig andRain Man.[15]
Grail diary ofHenry Jones Sr. as seen in the filmChris Columbus's script featured the Monkey King in Africa.
Lucas initially suggested making the film "ahaunted mansion movie", for whichRomancing the Stone writerDiane Thomas wrote a script. Spielberg rejected the idea because of the similarity toPoltergeist, which he had co-written and produced.[8] Lucas first introduced theHoly Grail in an idea for the film's prologue, which was to be set in Scotland. He intended the Grail to have apagan 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,[3] 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 titledIndiana Jones and theMonkey King, which he soon followed with an 11-page outline. The story saw Indiana battling a ghost in Scotland before finding theFountain of Youth in Africa.[5]
Chris Columbus—who had written the Spielberg-producedGremlins,The Goonies, andYoung Sherlock Holmes—was hired to write the script. His first draft, dated May 3, 1985, changed the main plot device to aGarden of Immortal Peaches. It begins in 1937, with Indiana battling the murderous ghost of Baron Seamus Seagrove III in Scotland. Indiana travels toMozambique to aid Dr. Clare Clarke (aKatharine Hepburn-type according to Lucas), who has found a 200-year-oldpygmy. The pygmy is kidnapped by the Nazis during a boat chase, and Indiana, Clare and Scraggy Brier—an old friend of Indiana—travel up theZambezi 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 aToshiro Mifune-type), who dies eating a peach because he is not pure of heart.[5]
Columbus's second draft, dated August 6, 1985, removed Betsy and featured Dash—anexpatriate 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 iscaptured. Indiana subsequently battles the undead, destroysthe Monkey King's rod, and marries Clare.[5]Location scouting commenced in Africa but Spielberg and Lucas abandonedMonkey King because of its negative depiction of African natives,[19] and because the script was too unrealistic.[5] Spielberg acknowledged that it made him "... feel very old, too old to direct it."[3] Columbus's script was leaked onto the Internet in 1997, and many believed it was an early draft forthe fourth film because it was mistakenly dated to 1995.[20]
Dissatisfied, Spielberg suggested introducing Indiana's father,Henry 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.[8] Spielberg hiredMenno Meyjes, who had worked on Spielberg'sThe Color Purple andEmpire 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 inMontségur, where he meets a nun named Chantal. Indiana travels toVenice, takes theOrient Express toIstanbul, and continues by train toPetra, where he meetsSallah 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 toHeaven. Chantal chooses to stay on Earth because of her love for Indiana. In a revised draft dated two months later, Indiana finds his father inKrak 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 ofMontezuma'sdeath mask with a man who owns gorillas as pets.[5]
Indiana Jones (River Phoenix) finds the Cross of Coronado as a 13-year-old Boy Scout. Spielberg suggested making Indiana a Boy Scout as both he and Harrison Ford were former Scouts.
Spielberg suggestedInnerspace writerJeffrey 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.[5] 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 themlose the Grail, and let the father–son relationship be the main point. It's an archaeological search for Indy's own identity and coming to accept his father is more what it's about [than the quest for the Grail]."[8] Boam said he felt there was not enough character development in the previous films.[3] 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.[5]
Boam's February 23, 1988, rewrite used many of Connery's comic suggestions. It included the prologue that was eventually filmed; because of the mixed response toEmpire of the Sun, which was about a young boy, Lucas had to convince Spielberg to show Indiana as a boy.[3] Spielberg—who was later awarded theDistinguished Eagle Scout Award—had the idea of making Indiana aBoy Scout.[15] 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.[4] Indiana taking his nickname from his petAlaskan Malamute is a reference to the character being named after Lucas's dog.[21] The train carriage Indiana enters is named "Doctor Fantasy's Magic Caboose", which was the name producerFrank Marshall used when performing magic tricks. Spielberg suggested the idea, Marshall came up with the false-bottomed box through which Indiana escapes,[22] and production designer Elliott Scott suggested the trick be done in a single, uninterrupted shot.[23] Spielberg intended the shot of Henry with his umbrella—after he causes the bird strike on the German plane—to evokeRyan's Daughter.[21]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 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.[5][24]
During an undated "Amblin Entertainment" revision and a rewrite byTom Stoppard (under the pen name Barry Watson) dated May 8, 1988,[5] further changes were made. Stoppard polished most of the dialogue,[9][25] 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.[5][26]
The Double Arch in the Arches National Park in Utah, United States
Principal photography began on May 16, 1988, in theTabernas Desert inSpain'sAlmería 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.[4] Thinking he would not surpass the truck pursuit fromRaiders 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.[23] Thesecond unit had begun filming two weeks before.[13] After approximately ten days, the production moved to theEscuela 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 (atPlaya de Mónsul) in which birds strike the plane. The shoot's Spanish portion wrapped on June 2, 1988, inGuadix,Granada, with filming of Brody's capture at Alexandretta train station.[13] The filmmakers built a mosque near the station for atmosphere, rather than adding it as a visual effect.[23]
The exteriors of "Brunwald Castle" were filmed atBürresheim Castle in West Germany. In the movie the image of the castle has been flipped and the building was expanded with aMatte painting depicting a copy of the right facade to the left of the main tower. Filming for the castle interiors took place in theUnited Kingdom from June 5 to 10, 1988, atElstree Studios inBorehamwood,England. On June 16,Lawrence Hall, London, was used as the interior ofBerlin Tempelhof Airport. 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 atNorth Weald Airfield on June 29 to film Indiana leaving for Venice.[13] Ford and Connery acted much of the Zeppelin table conversation without trousers on because of the overheated set.[21] Spielberg, Marshall and Kennedy interrupted the shoot to make a plea to theParliament of the United Kingdom to support the economically "depressed" British studios. July 20–22 was spent filming the temple interiors. The temple set, which took six weeks to build, was supported on 80 feet (24 m) of hydraulics and tengimbals 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 6 feet (1.8 m) onto the right part of the crack.[23] July 25–26 was spent on night shoots atStowe School,Stowe, Buckinghamshire, for the Nazi rally.[13]
Filming resumed two days later at Elstree, where Spielberg swiftly filmed the library, Portuguese freighter, and catacombs sequences.[13] 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.[23] Henry's house was filmed atMill Hill, 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 along focus lens to make it appear the actors were closer to the propeller than they really were.[13] Two days later, on August 4, another portion of the boat chase usingHacker Craft sport boats, was filmed atTilbury Docks inEssex.[13] 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.[23] The following day, filming in England wrapped at theRoyal Masonic School inRickmansworth, which doubled for Indiana's college (as it had inRaiders of the Lost Ark).[13]
Shooting in Venice took place on August 8.[13] For scenes such as Indiana and Brody greeting Elsa, shots of the boat chase, and Kazim telling Indiana where his father is,[23]Robert Watts gained control of theGrand Canal from 7 am to 1 pm, sealing off tourists for as long as possible. CinematographerDouglas Slocombe positioned the camera to ensure no satellite dishes would be visible.[13]San Barnaba di Venezia served as the library's exterior.[4] The next day, filming moved to the ancient city ofPetra,Jordan, whereAl Khazneh (The Treasury) stood in for the temple housing the Grail. The cast and crew became guests ofKing Hussein andQueen Noor. The Treasury had previously appeared inSinbad and the Eye of the Tiger. The main cast completed their scenes that week, after 63 days of filming.[13]
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 atAlamosa, Colorado, on theCumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad. They filmed atPagosa Springs on September 7, and then atCortez 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'sArches National Park to shoot more of the opening. A house in Antonito, Colorado was used for the Jones family home.[27] The production had intended to film atMesa Verde National Park, butNative American representatives had religious objections to its use.[23] When Spielberg and editorMichael Kahn viewed arough cut of the film in late 1988, they felt it suffered from a lack of action. The motorcycle chase was shot duringpost-production atMount Tamalpais andFairfax nearSkywalker Ranch. The closing shot of Indiana, Henry, Sallah and Brody riding into the sunset was filmed inAmarillo, Texas in early 1989 by the second unit, directed by Frank Marshall.[13][11] Filming ended on September 16, 1988, after 123 days of filming.
Mechanical effects supervisorGeorge Gibbs said the film was the most difficult one of his career.[23] He visited a museum to negotiate renting a small FrenchWorld War I tank, but decided he wanted to make one.[13] The tank was based on theTank Mark VIII, which was 11 metres (36 ft) long and weighed 28 short tons (25 t). However, some liberties were taken with the design.[28] Gibbs built the tank over the framework of a 28-short-ton (25 t)excavator and added 7-short-ton (6.4 t)tracks that were driven by two automatichydraulic pumps, each connected to aRange RoverV8 engine. Gibbs built the tank from steel rather than aluminum or fiberglass because it would allow the realisticallysuspensionless 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 aShort Belfast plane and then a low loader truck.[23]
The tank broke down twice. Thedistributor's rotor arm broke and a replacement had to be sourced fromMadrid. Then two of the device's valves used to cool the oil exploded, due tosolder 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.[23] The tank only moved at 10 to 12 miles per hour (16 to 19 km/h), whichVic Armstrong said made it difficult to film Indiana riding a horse against the tank while making it appear faster.[13] 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.[23] A quarter-scale model by Gibbs was driven over a 15-metre (50 ft) cliff on location;Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) created further shots of the tank's destruction with models and miniatures.[29]
The tank chase was filmed in theTabernas Desert in Almería, Spain.
Michael Lantieri, 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 atUniversal Studios Hollywood were built on tubes that inflated and deflated to create a rocking motion.[23] 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 toJohn Carl Buechler 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 tofirst assistant directorDavid Tomblin's radioed directions by making the giraffes nod or shake their heads to his questions, which amused the crew.[29] For the villains' cars, Lantieri selected a 1914Ford Model T, a 1919Ford Model T truck and a 1916Saxon Model 14, fitting each with aFord PintoV6 engine. Sacks of dust were hung under the cars to create a dustier environment.[23]
The courtyard of theAlmería Art School, served as the palace of the fictional "Sultan of Hatay".
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.[4] 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;[4] 1,000 mechanical rats stood in for those that were set on fire. Several thousand snakes of five breeds—including aboa 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.[23]
Al Khazneh (The Treasury) at Petra, Jordan was used for the entrance to the temple housing the Holy Grail.
Costume designerAnthony 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 incorporatedtweed 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.[13]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 originalDnepr, complete with machine gunpintle 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 two SwissPilatus P-2 air force training planes standing in as pursuing LuftwaffeArado Ar 96s for the Zeppelin biplane escape sequence. He built a device based on aninternal combustion engine to simulate gunfire, which was safer and less expensive than firingblanks.[29] 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.[29]At least one reproductionKübelwagen was used during filming despite the film being set two years prior to manufacture of said vehicles.[citation needed]
Industrial Light & Magic built an 8-foot (2.4 m) foam model of the Zeppelin to complement shots of Ford and Connery climbing into theGotha Go 145C biplane. A biplane model with a 2-foot (0.61 m) 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 210 feet (64 m) 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 againstbluescreen; the sequence required their car to have a dirty windscreen, but to make the integration easier this was removed and latercomposited 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 hundredtim-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.[29] ILM'sWes Takahashi supervised the film's visual effects sequences.[30]
Indiana discovers a bridge hidden bycamouflage. Ford was filmed in front of a bluescreen for the scene, which was completed by a model of the bridge filmed against a matte painting.
Spielberg devised the three trials that guard the Grail.[3] 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, 30 feet (9.1 m) 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 byforced 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 9-foot-tall (2.7 m) by 13-foot-wide (4.0 m) model because Ford had filmed the scene against bluescreen, which did not incorporate the shaft of light from the entrance.[29]
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 toJulian Glover's forehead and cheeks byNick 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 the first all-digital composite scene in a movie,[31] and was created over three months bymorphing together three puppets of Donovan created byStephan Dupuis in separate stages of decay, a technique ILM mastered onWillow (1988).[21] A fourth puppet was used for the decaying clothes, because the puppet's torso mechanics had been exposed. Complications arose becauseAlison Doody'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 facesmapped over it. Donovan's skeleton was hung on wires like amarionette; it required several takes to film it crashing against the wall because not all the pieces released upon impact.[29]
Ben Burtt designed the sound effects. He recorded chickens for the sounds of the rats,[13] 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 awind turbine for the plane crashes.[29] Burtt wanted an echoing gunshot for Donovan wounding Henry, so he fired a.357 Magnum inSkywalker Ranch's underground car park, just as Lucas drove in.[13] A rubber balloon was used for the earthquake tremors at the temple.[32] 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'sfront to its rear.[29]
Matte paintings of the Austrian castle and the Berlin airport were based on real buildings; the Austrian castle "Schloss Brunwald" isBürresheim Castle nearMayen inRhineland-Palatinate,Germany, that was made to look larger. Rain was created by filming granulatedBorax soap against black at high speed. It was only lightlydouble exposed into the shots so it would not resemble snow. The lightning was animated. TheAdministration Building at San Francisco'sTreasure Island was used as the exterior ofBerlin Tempelhof Airport. The structure already had period-appropriateart deco 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 offill light in the shadows andrim light on the edges of the buildings.[29]
A son's relationship with his estranged father is a common theme in Spielberg's films, includingE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial andHook.[8]
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 andField of Dreams. Writing forThe New York Times, Caryn James felt the combination in these films reflectedNew Age 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 theirboys' own 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.[33]
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-dayMemorial Day weekend.[40] The gross was boosted by high ticket prices in some venues ($7 a ticket).[41] Its 3-day opening weekend figure of $29,355,021[42] was surpassed later that year byGhostbusters II andBatman, which grossed more in its opening 3 days thanThe Last Crusade in 4.[43] The film would hold the record for having the highest Memorial Day weekend gross until 1994 whenThe Flintstones took it.[44] Additionally, it had the largest opening weekend for a Harrison Ford film for eight years untilAir Force One surpassed it in 1997.[45] 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,[46] beating the $45.7 million grossed byTemple of Doom in 1984 on 1,687 screens.[41] It added another record with $77 million after twelve days, and earned $100 million in a record nineteen days.[47] In France, the film broke a record by selling a million admissions within two and a half weeks.[37] In the United Kingdom, 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 byCrocodile Dundee II.[48][49] It spent six weeks atnumber one in the United Kingdom.[50]
The film eventually grossed $197.1 million in the United States and Canada and $277 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $474.2 million.[1] At the time of its release, the film was the 11th highest-grossing film of all time. Despite competition fromBatman,The Last Crusade became the highest-grossing film worldwide in 1989.[51] In North America,Batman took top position.[43] BehindKingdom of the Crystal Skull andRaiders,The Last Crusade is the third-highest grossingIndiana Jones film in the United States and Canada, though it is also behindTemple of Doom when adjusting for inflation.[52]Box Office Mojo estimates that the film sold over 49 million tickets in North America.[53] The film was re-released in 1992 earning $139,000.[1]
The film was released along with its two predecessors as part of a trilogyDVD 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.[54] In 2012, the film was released on Blu-ray along with the three other films in the Indiana Jones film series at the time.[55] In 2021, a remastered 4K HDR version of the film was released onUltra 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.[56]
OnRotten Tomatoes,Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade has an approval rating of 84% based on 136 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 ofRaiders, while adding a dynamite double act between Harrison Ford and Sean Connery."[57]Metacritic calculated a weighted average score of 65 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[58] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[59]
Sean Connery received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for his performance.
Jay Boyar of theOrlando Sentinel said that while the film "lacks the novelty ofRaiders, and the breathless pacing ofTemple of Doom, it was an entertaining capper to the trilogy."[60]Peter Travers ofRolling Stone remarked the film was "the wildest and wittiest Indy of them all".Richard Corliss ofTime andDavid Ansen ofNewsweek praised it, as didVincent Canby ofThe New York Times.[13] "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,[61] a call echoed by McBride inVariety.[62]Roger Ebert praised the sequence depicting Jones as aBoy Scout 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 ofBoys' Life 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."[63]The Hollywood Reporter felt Connery and Ford deserved Academy Award nominations.[13]
It was panned byAndrew Sarris inThe New York Observer,David Denby inNew York magazine,Stanley Kauffmann inThe New Republic and Georgia Brown inThe Village Voice.[13]Jonathan Rosenbaum of theChicago Reader called the film "soulless".[64]The Washington Post 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.[65] Two days later,Desson Thomson published a positive review praising the film's adventure and action, as well as the father–son relationship's thematic depth.[66]
In 2025,The Hollywood Reporter listedIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade as having the best stunts of 1989.[67]
Shops using imagery from this film and the fourth film to promote themselves outside the entrance to Petra
The prologue depicting Jones in his youth inspired Lucas to createThe Young Indiana Jones Chronicles television series, which featuredSean Patrick Flanery as the young adult Indiana andCorey Carrier as the 8- to 10-year-old Indiana.[11] According toDark Horse Comics authorLee Marrs, Lucasfilm considered for a while to make a continuation to the film series starring Phoenix as a younger Jones, but these plans were dropped after his untimely death.[74] The 13-year-old incarnation played by Phoenix in the film was the focus of aYoung Indiana Jones series of young adult novels that began in 1990;[75] by the ninth novel, the series had become a tie-in to the television show.[76] German authorWolfgang Hohlbein revisited the prologue in one of his novels, in which Jones encounters the lead grave robber—whom Hohlbein christens Jake—in 1943.[77] The film's ending begins the 1995 comic seriesIndiana Jones and the Spear of Destiny, which moves forward to depict Jones and his father searching for theHoly Lance in Ireland in 1945.[78] Spielberg intended to have Connery cameo as Henry inIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), but Connery turned it down as he had retired.[79]
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.[80] Shops and hotels near the site play up the connection, and it is mentioned prominently in itineraries of locations used in the film series.[81] Jordan's tourism board mentions the connection on its website.[82] In 2012, the satirical news siteThe Pan-Arabia Enquirer ran a mock story claiming that the board had officially renamed Petra "That Place fromIndiana Jones" to reflect how the world more commonly refers to it.[83]
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