FlashBack66: INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (1989)

America, as it was meant to be

Indiana Jones is easily the last cowboy of modern American filmmaking. The archetype will endure and I'm sure you can rattle of names off movies since this one to counter my assertion, but the horse and whip aside, this really is the last time we get a character who is an undisputed, real American hero.

Who the fuck is Sean Patrick Flanery?

River Phoenix sets the table almost too well. Within the confines of LAST CRUSADE, his cameo as a young Indiana Jones is magical. His mannerisms, his diction, his whole essence perfectly captures Harrison Ford.  Phoenix is saying to the audience "Don't make any effort, I'm going selling this so well, you don't have to 'buy' anything you're watching." And as a result, he establishes the first and only worthy "prequel" in the George Lucas universe. I can picture Lucas high-fiving Ben Burtt in the editing suite: "Ben, quit sourcing all of those meat-slab punch sound FX, and look at what's happening on the Moviola!" You know this is where Lucas' hubris took a dark and fateful turn. "I'm going to make those prequel Star Wars movies, Ben. And I am going to hire any fucking body because this shit is too easy!" After doing several lines of the best cocaine money can buy, I'm sure even Alec Guinness would have agreed with Lucas had he been there.

Sir. Sir, I've isolated the reverse, power flux coupling!

LAST CRUSADE rides a trilogy formula that Lucas solidified with his STAR WARS series. The first film is the "creation" story for the hero, the second film is the dark, smaller story and the third one takes the first story and makes it bigger. So, with LAST CRUSADE comes some very familiar story beats and straight up plot. Indy is tasked with finding the Cup of Christ, the literal Holy Grail of archeology. Why not? This is going to be the last INDIANA JONES film, right? It's got "LAST" in the damn title. Like it's studio sibling release STAR TREK V: THE FINAL FRONTIER, the trend was clear- we're closing up shop, kids. Whereas STAR TREK required another entry to end the series on a strong, respectable note, LAST CRUSADE finds its director, cast and music composer at their mightiest pop strength. 

First, let's look at Steven Spielberg's career leading up to this film. INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, which came out in 1984, was arguably Spielberg's last box office hit. After DOOM, Spielberg went on to make THE COLOR PURPLE, EMPIRE OF THE SUN and ALWAYS. While they all found audiences, Spielberg was actively shunning the label of "blockbuster director" with these films. He wanted to win an Oscar, he probably admitted openly to such at the time. The golden statue was his Holy Grail as a director- and after three attempts, Spielberg returned to his strongest genre and his most reliable star.

Harrison Ford had gone 5 years without playing Indiana Jones at this point. It was also 6 years since he appeared in RETURN OF THE JEDI. While in no danger of losing his star appeal, Ford was in a similar situation. He starred in WITNESS (his first and only Oscar nomination for Best Actor), THE MOSQUITO COAST, FRANTIC and a supporting role in WORKING GIRL. Ford too was leveling off- certainly rich enough to not need another blockbuster but maybe the ultimate success of LAST CRUSADE inspired Ford to make what would be his last bona fide run as a box office megastar when he took over the role of Jack Ryan in 1992's PATRIOT GAMES and Richard Kimble in THE FUGITIVE in 1993. You have to remember what Ford's star power was at the time- he called a rival studio to tell them to move their film off AIR FORCE ONE's release date of July 25, 1997. A quick glance at Wikipedia tells me it probably wasn't GOOD BURGER that he wanted moved, but it may have been either FACE/OFF or SPEED 2. Ha! I recall this being brought up on an interview Ford did on the "Today" show at that time, so if I ever find the true answer, I'll update this post.

How many Highlander movies did you do?

Back to LAST CRUSADE, Ford is joined by the Man Who Would Be Sybok, Sean Connery. Connery was Shatner's first choice to play Spock's emotional zealot, half-brother, but for some crazy reason Connery decided to go with Spielberg and Lucas instead.  Connery was stunt casting that worked tremendously well. And for the two James Bond fanboys producing and directing this film, they got their prototype for Indiana Jones in the damn movie. I bet Lucas and Spielberg gave their housekeepers extra large tips that Christmas.

I am the last one!

As for the story, it's quite good. I saw the film a couple of months ago on the big screen, thanks to the Alamo Drafthouse. All those mind-numbing SyFy marathons of the INDIANA JONES were a distant memory as I watched this film again. I felt chills several times, mostly born of nostalgia, as Ford, Connery, heck even John Rhys-Davies play out this adventure. The film's pace is flawless- we go from Venice to Austria to Berlin and eventually the Middle East and none of it feels like filler. Even when there are no action pieces, the magnetism of these characters works courtesy of a very witty script by Jeffrey Boam who got some help from Tom Stoppard and Sean Connery, himself. Usually, scripts by committee lose their way but this film kept its focus on the father-son relationship between the elder and junior Joneses.

Before this river becomes an ocean...

What of the Maguffin? The Holy Grail doesn't overwhelm when it appears. The film does such a good job of making the characters the focus that when the prize is found, you're left wanting to go back to the brisk repartee. It's almost as if the Holy Grail interrupts the film just as it was going so well. Of course, this is an INDIANA JONES movie and it has to live up to its formula, so the Grail is another object with death attached to it. As the Nazis and their Western turncoat agent Donovan plan on using the grail for immortality, Indiana wants it to save his father who was shot by Donovan as a way of forcing Indiana's cooperation. This was a deft twist for the hero. No longer was he just saving humanity from unmitigated evil, now we see Indiana is trying to save someone he loves.

I want to pee

With such a desirable object as its centerpiece, LAST CRUSADE plays on three distinct perspectives related to such a religious artifact. For the Knight Templar guarding it for centuries, it's a burden. The chivalric code demands undying loyalty to the cause of protecting the Grail, but when Indiana crosses the threshold into the Grail room, the Knight takes a half-hearted swing at Jones before deciding "You beat me, take my post so I can die." There's something glib in the delivery, but there's a point here worth considering- being devoted to a cause can be one's purpose but how sad to see this man alone as he has been left to perform his task as an eternal sentinel for God. Does God speak to the Knight, as a way of providing companionship to His loyal servant? Is the Knight truly eager to find death the moment he meets anyone to whom he can pass on his burden? Did they really speak English or would it have been more likely that the Knight would have spoken French? (By the 1980s, it seemed all French characters were British anyway, h/t Jean-Luc Picard).

She gives me money when I'm in need!

Poor Elsa and the Nazis. You would think after messing with the Ark of the Covenant that Hitler would say "Guys, let's stay away from God's stuff." True to Nazi form, greed overrides rational thought.  None of this is historically based, despite whatever those documentaries on A&E at 3 a.m. tell you, but the script tries to show the layers of "evil" starting with the Nazis at the very top, down through Donovan as a selfish but recognizable power-monger and finally to Elsa, the archaeologist with a thing for bad seeds. I'm sure Indy wanted another crack at Elsa, but she too was something of a Grail. She was unobtainable, dangerous and she too belonged in the cave for eternity. Greed, despite its adjacent intentions, is still greed nonetheless. Elsa, you're one messed up girl.

I said "shaken, not stirred" Junior!

 From the less dogmatic circle of this Venn Diagram of human motivation comes Henry Jones, Sr. (and by extension, his son, Indiana). Professional "hunters" of history's prized artifacts, the Jones family seek knowledge, or "truth"as the Professors will tell you. They are scientists- methodical and skeptical- they do not seek the Grail for religious fulfillment. They want to simply know what the object is and tell of their findings to the world. They are the children of the Renaissance, descendants of the devout Crusaders- having evolved to explain through study that which had been otherwise accepted by their ancestors through faith. What's interesting about this and the previous two JONES films is that science is told to shut its filthy mouth. Yes, science will get you to the finish line in finding the desired object but don't you dare try to control or understand its power once it's in your hands. As a kid, I remember thinking that this recurring lesson didn't fit into the overall tone of the films. Certainly, you don't want to see a movie about a cup that's just a friggin' cup, but to show overtly the magical powers the Grail possesses seems almost over-the-top. It's a corner that the trilogy seems to sprint towards willingly, but for almost no purpose. Do the Joneses run off to church when they get home? Probably not. If there's any failing in this and the other films, it's that they do not make a point with what they give the audience. We don't need Indiana Jones' opinion on whether there is a God, but it would be interesting to see him struggle with his own beliefs to determine how he was affected by the whole adventure.

Perfection

Like I mentioned earlier, seeing this on the big screen again was emotionally powerful. Back in 1989, I remember waiting on line and being a tired little brat as I sat through the film. I was happy seeing it but it didn't overwhelm me emotionally until 25 years later. Looking at the frame above, I can hear John Williams regal notes (the Grail Theme) playing the LAST CRUSADE Overture (in one of Williams' overall best scores). Spielberg holds onto this last shot for a few minutes, you can tell he doesn't want to let go of his heroes as they ride into the setting sun. As this is the last time Indiana Jones appeared in a film,* this old-fashioned tale of friendship, family and adventure ends perfectly.  Of the films from 1989 that I've discussed so far, this is probably my favorite in retrospect. If you haven't watched it recently, I humbly recommend you do so soon.

*Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was the first movie I saw with Crasis. We both agree it never took place.