Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Summary

“Ships that pass in the night…”

Paramount Pictures has recently released the entire collection of Indiana Jones films on the 4K UHD format. Aside from Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, these films are widely considered to be some of the greatest adventure films ever made. I have been working my way through the box set with my oldest son Holden and this week we watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. For myself, and many Indiana Jones fans, this is where the series ends. I will definitely go check out the next Indiana Jones film if it materializes, but until then, I think The Last Crusade is a perfect finale for Indy and his adventures. My wife and youngest son joined me to watch The Last Crusade, and everyone loved it. I personally prefer Raiders by just a hair, but The Last Crusade is a brilliant sequel and one of my favorite adventure films of all time. 

The film begins in Utah in 1912. Young Indiana Jones (River Phoenix) and a troop of Boy Scouts ride on horseback through Arches National Park. While looking through a cave, Indy and a friend stumble upon a group of grave robbers who have located a golden cross that once belonged to Francisco Vasquez de Coronado. Indy manages to steal the cross from the robbers. He is chased across a circus train before making his way back to his home and his father Henry. The police show up and take the cross back from Indy and hand it to a man wearing a Panama hat. One of the robbers, impressed with Indy, gives Indy his signature hat. The film cuts to 1938 off the Portuguese Coast on a ship. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) has once again tracked down the cross and is held captive by the henchmen of the same man in the Panama hat. Indiana screams that the cross belongs in a museum. After a fight, Indiana escapes overboard and the ship explodes and sinks. Indiana returns to the museum and donates the cross to Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott.) Jones meets up with wealthy collector and museum benefactor Walter Donovan (Julian Glover) who explains that he needs Indy’s help. Donovan had been in search of the holy grail and had recovered a tablet with a partial inscription. Donovan had enlisted the help of Indiana’s dad Henry (Sean Connery,) but Henry had gone missing. The search for the grail was his father’s life work. Indiana is tasked with locating his father and potentially the grail. In the mail, Indiana receives Henry’s grail diary which has been sent from Venice. He flys to Venice with Marcus where he meets the beautiful Dr. Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody.) As Indiana searches for his father and the grail he will face danger from Nazis and those that still protect the grail.

The Last Crusade is essentially a perfect sequel. Typically a franchise will run into issues by the time the third film is made, but in the case of The Last Crusade, the series was completely reinvigorated by the picture. A lot of this can be attributed to the excellent writing skills of screenwriter Jeffrey Boam. Boam took an initial draft from screenwriter Menno Meyjes and formed it into essentially the final version that was put onscreen. Boam was an incredibly talented writer who wrote screenplays for classic films including Innerspace, The Lost Boys, The Dead Zone, and Lethal Weapon 2 and 3. Sadly, Boam died at the young age of fifty three in 2000. I wish he could have lived for another twenty years to keep writing films. For my money, his best script out of the bunch is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It has the perfect mixture of adventure and excitement that one would expect from an Indiana Jones film, but it also hits the right notes comedically. The banter between Sean Connery and Harrison Ford is timeless and wonderful. Developing that relationship onscreen comes from the two talented actors, but Jeffrey Boam did an amazing job of putting the right words in their mouth.

Like Raiders, The Last Crusade opens with an amazing opening sequence. The opening scene starring River Phoenix as Young Indiana Jones was so memorable and fantastic that it yielded a popular television show that followed the exploits of Young Indiana Jones. River Phoenix was perfectly cast. Every time I see River onscreen I feel sad at the untimely death of the young and extremely talented actor. He had that indescribable star factor and he could have had it all if he had not overdosed outside the Viper Room in 1993. He absolutely sells the opening sequence. The movie then moves onto the actual movie plot which is wonderful. Like Raiders, the film focuses on a spiritual object with Judeo-Christian origins. As I watched the film with my kids, I loved explaining that the Holy Grail is a legend and that it is not necessarily real or fake. I could see the wheels spinning as I explained this. I happen to be a Christian, and those types of discussions are really enjoyable to me.

Like in the two prior films before The Last Crusade, the direction by Steven Spielberg is perfect. There is not a wasted second or incorrectly formed shot in the film. Spielberg worked with cinematographer Douglas Slocombe whom he had used on the two prior films, and their working relationship together forms a cohesive look and feel across the original trilogy. Slocombe retired after The Last Crusade, and it is a perfect swan song. The film looks great and the production design is excellent. The film’s Venetian moments are visually lush and the Spanish moments are striking. It’s a globetrotting adventure film that also benefits from the wonderful score by John Williams.

Harrison Ford is wonderful as Indiana Jones. These films would not be the same without the actor who embodied the role. Sean Connery is a great addition to the world of the character. Connery is equal parts funny and charming as the scholarly Dr. Henry Jones. Connery is one of my favorite actors and this was one of his best roles. The absence of Connery in films in the future is certainly a loss. He was an amazingly charismatic onscreen presence who exuded intelligence. Denholm Elliott and John Rhys-Davies both are welcome returning players. Alison Doody is a beautiful femme fatale and Julian Glover is enjoyable in his role. River Phoenix brought so much to the opening sequence of the film and filled the shoes of Indiana perfectly.

Overall – there is no denying that The Last Crusade is a wonderful sequel and one of the greatest adventure films ever made. If you haven’t seen it, check it out.

Video

The new 4K HEVC/H.265 transfer from Paramount Pictures, like the prior two films in the set, is a tremendous improvement over the prior Blu-ray release. The Last Crusade has some of my favorite sequences in the trilogy. The Venetian chase scene in particular has never looked better than its presentation here. Everything is just a little more vivid than it has ever been and clarity is exceptional. HDR is very tastefully used. Fans will fall in love with the film all over again.

Audio

Paramount Pictures have updated the DTS-HD MA 5.1 track for this release to a new Dolby Atmos track. Like the great Temple of Doom track, The Last Crusade sounds great on the UHD format. The THX sound design for the film still sounds fantastic and has carried over well to the new format.  Clarity is excellent and the track is very immersive with strong surround and LFE channels. It’s a perfect representation of the sound design for the film.

Supplements:

The supplements featured aside from two trailers are only found on the bonus Blu-Ray disc included in the set. This is the same special features disc that was included in the original Blu-ray set. That said, the amount of special features on that disc is quite extensive. I have listed the full list of features on that disc below.

• On Set with Raiders of the Lost Ark
  • From Jungle to Desert
  • From Adventure to Legend
• Making the Films:
  • The Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
  • The Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark
  • The Making of The Temple of Doom
  • The Making of The Last Crusade
  • The Making of The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
• Behind the Scenes:
  • The Stunts of Indiana Jones
  • The Sound of Indiana Jones
  • The Music of Indiana Jones
  • The Light and Magic of Indiana Jones
  • Raiders: The Melting Face!
  • Indiana Jones and the Creepy Crawlies
  • Travel with Indiana Jones: Locations
  • Indy’s Women: The American Film Institute Tribute
  • Indy’s Friends and Enemies
  • Iconic Props
  • The Effects of Indy
  • Adventures in Post Production

Overall Scores: 

Video – 5/5

Audio – 5/5

Supplements – 4/5

Overall – 5/5

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is an absolutely wonderful film. With an excellent screenplay by Jeffrey Boam, perfect direction by Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, and River Phoenix – this film is still a joy to revisit. It still ranks as one of my favorite adventure films of all time. This new UHD from Paramount knows exactly how much people care about this film and they have put the work in. The film has never looked or sounded better. It earns our highest recommendation.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is currently only available in the 4K UHD set of Indiana Jones: 4-Movie Collection.