It is a rare and magical thing when an actor so perfectly encapsulates a fictional character that you can see no other in the role. It is one of those lightning in a bottle things; no one can predict it, plan it, or repeat it. Even those responsible have no clue how it happens, it just does. Perhaps that is the beauty of it. There are a miniscule number of actors who have been blessed with this rarest of cinematic gifts, and Harrison Ford is one of them. He earned his status in film history, no question about it, but he was also never first choice, never predicted to be such a perfect fit for the character, and never knew himself what it was he was about to accomplish. Harrison Ford is and always shall be Indiana Jones.
To celebrate the release of the Indiana Jones series on blu ray, we offer a four part retrospective article series honouring one of the most beloved franchises in film history.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Work began in earnest in 1985 to complete the adventures of Indiana Jones, but with two done and dusted already, it seemed the road to a script everyone could agree one was getting much longer (something that continued for the next entry in spades, and is rumoured to be plaguing the 5th attempt).
Lucas had wanted to focus on the supernatural far more in the third one, with a haunted castle idea, but Spielberg was unenthused. Lucas also tried including different permeations of the Monkey King with several writers to no avail. Spielberg also was not keen on the Grail idea. Eventually, after three years and many attempts, the two came to a compromise. Lucas would get his way with the McGuffin: it would be the Grail; and Spielberg would get his way as well, making this Indy far more character-centric by including Indy’s father.
The late Jeffrey Boam, who had written several projects for Amblin, ended up writing the winning script (with Tom Stoppard on polishing duties) where Indy is convinced by a seemingly philanthropic American businessman to search for the Grail when he finds out his own father, Henry Jones Sr. has disappeared on the same mission.
In keeping with his edict to come much closer in tone to Raiders, Spielberg brought back John Rys Davies as Sallah and Denholm Elliot in a much more comedically charged turn as Marcus Brody. Also gone were the more horror-centric elements of Temple of Doom, and the return of the Nazis as the main antagonists. There was a concerted effort to play a little cloak and dagger through this adventure, with the audience not really knowing which side some of the supporting players were on for the bulk of the film. But by far the most successful addition to this story, and the one that makes this the most successful in Indy’s character development, is the father/son relationship element that plays out through the whole movie. This was Spielberg’s contribution, which he argued hard for, opposing Lucas’s wish that the focus of the story be the Grail. In the final product, the Grail is really ancillary to the journey Indy takes to heal the rift between him and his old man. It, in some ways, presents Indiana Jones at his most relatable, and displays some truly touching moments with the adventurer (something that Kingdom of the Crystal Skull attempted but missed the mark on).
Allison Doody would be Indy’s love interest in this one, and she is the most surprising of the three leading ladies in many ways. She played Dr Elsa Schneider, a beautiful Austrian, so well you wouldn’t know she was Irish. She also displays a good sense of comedic timing in a love scene with Ford, but the function of her character is to suggest duplicity, and in that she was successful. She’s no Marion, and she’s certainly nothing like Willie, but she’s a worthy female lead.
Douglas Slocombe, who, good fortune willing, will turn 100 soon, was responsible for the photography on all three of the original Indiana Joneses. All three look distinctly different, and yet they share a DNA the fourth doesn’t. What astounds is that, as disparate as these three films can look from each other, they all have this wondrous classical feel to them. Last Crusade is much closer to Raiders in palette (locations are certainly more similar), but there are times, like Monument Valley and the bike chase that was shot up in Marin County and Petra, where the colour and scale of the shots is jaw dropping.
This entry really cleaned up at the box office, with nearly 600 million worldwide and left no doubt that the world was pleased with the third Indy adventure (although some critics weren’t). Yet this was, according to Spielberg, supposed to be the final entry. His final shot of Indy and company riding off into the sunset was not subtle and very deliberate—this was the end. Indy had shared with us a trilogy of unique and thrilling adventures, and as he disappeared into that bold orange horizon it would be left to us to imagine what was next in the life of the world’s most famous archaeologist…
At least for a couple of decades.
Check out part one of the four part series - Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures Box Set - Raiders of the Lost Ark
Check out part two of the four part series - Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures Box Set - The Temple of Doom
Check out part four of the four part series - Indiana Jones" The Complete Adventures Box Set - Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
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