Amazon.com essential video: The third episode in Steven Spielberg's rousing Indiana Jones saga, this film recaptures the best elements of Raiders of the Lost Ark while exploring new territory with wonderfully satisfying results. Indy is back battling the Nazis, who have launched an expedition to uncover the whereabouts of the Holy Grail. And it's not just Indy this time--his father (played with great acerbic wit by Sean Connery, the perfect choice) is also involved in the hunt. Spielberg excels at the kind of extended action sequences that top themselves with virtually every frame; the best one here involves Indy trying to stop a Nazi tank from the outside while his father is being held within. For good measure, Spielberg reveals (among other things) how Indy got his hat, the scar on his chin, and his nickname (in a prologue that features River Phoenix as the young Indiana). --Marshall Fine
Amazon.com: Not as good as the first one, but better than the second. That’s been the consensus opinion regarding Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the final installment in Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’ original adventure trilogy, throughout the nearly two decades since its 1989 theatrical release. It’s a fair assessment. After the relatively dark and disturbing Temple of Doom (1984), The Last Crusade (1989) recalls the sheer fun of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). With its variety of colorful locations, multiple chase scenes (the opening sequence on a circus train, with River Phoenix as the young Indy, is one of the best of the series, as is the boat chase through the canals of Venice), and cloak-and-dagger vibe, it’s the closest in tone to a James Bond outing, which director Spielberg has noted was the inspiration for the trilogy in the first place; what’s more, it harkens back to Raiders in its choice of villains (i.e., the Nazis--Indy even comes face to face with Hitler at a rally in Berlin) and its quest for an antiquity of incalculable value and significance (the Holy Grail, the chalice said to have been the receptacle of Christ's blood as he hung on the cross). Add to that the presence of Sean Connery, playing Indy’s father and having a field day opposite Harrison Ford, and you’ve got a most welcome return to form.
Special features include a six-minute introduction by Spielberg and Lucas, who discuss the grail as a metaphor for bringing Indy and his estranged father together and agree that Crusade is the funniest of the three films; "Indy’s Women," an American Film Institute tribute with leading ladies Karen Allen, Kate Capshaw, and Alison Doody each discussing her character (Capshaw candidly describes Temple of Doom’s Willie Scott as "whiny, petulant, and annoying"); "Indy’s Friends and Enemies," a look at the films’ various villains and sidekicks; plus storyboards and photo galleries. --Sam Graham
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - The Man With the Hat is Back, This Time With His Dad...
After preventing the Nazis from gaining control of the all-powerful Ark of the Covenant, and freeing slave children from an oppressive cult, Indiana Jones is back once again for yet another thrilling adventure. ... Read More
Rating: - Great, great, great, great, great!
Just as good as the first, see it as soon as possible. Sean Connery is excellent, this deserved Best Picture.
Rating: - Illumination
As the title so prominently mentions, INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE was originally intended to be the last of the Indiana Jones film series. The movie is an origins story and fills in many of the questions ... Read More
Rating: - INDIANA JONES meets JAMES BOND!!!
The third chapter of Indiana Jones is awesome and hilarious! Sean Connery co-stars as Indy's dad who always calls him 'Junior' Indy's dad is being held hostage by Nazi's, so Indy must save his dad, and find the Holy ... Read More
Rating: - Not as good as the other ones, sadly.
After reading the reviews of this movie, I finally rented it and well, I didn't think it was as good as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, or Temple of Doom. I mean, don't get me wrong it's a good ... Read More
- The Man With the Hat is Back, This Time With His Dad...
- Great, great, great, great, great!