Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (May 24, 1989) is a movie directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Denholm Elliott, Julian Glover, River Phoenix and John Rhys-Davies. It is the third installment of the Indiana Jones movies.
When Dr. Henry Jones, Sr. (played by Sean Connery) vanishes while pursuing a life-long search for the Holy Grail, Indiana must retrace his father's steps in the hopes of rescuing him -- and the Grail -- from the clutches of the Nazi military machine.
Lucasfilm Games released both a graphical adventure game and an arcade game based on the film.
Indiana Jones artist, Drew Struzan created the film's distinctive artwork.
This installment in the Indiana Jones series has a greater amount of humor than the previous two films. The humor is mainly shown through the relationship between Indiana and his father. A very notable prop of the movie, is the Grail Diary of Henry Jones, and many fans attempted to make replicas.
The movie starts in 1912 with Indy (played by River Phoenix) as a Boy Scout in a failed attempt to retrieve the Cross of Coronado from grave robbers. The small adventure inspires his whip, fear of snakes, fedora (and style of dress), and even the scar on his chin. The story then advances to 1938; Indy (Ford), now a grown man, is successful in getting the Cross and donating it to Marcus Brody's (Elliott) museum.
Walter Donovan (Glover) informs Indy that Henry Jones Sr., his father, vanished while searching for the missing half of a clue leading to the Holy Grail, which has the power to grant eternal life. Indy and Marcus travel to Venice to meet Dr. Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody) to follow the footsteps of his father. Inside the library/church where his father was last seen, Indy discovers the tomb of a knight of the "Last Crusade" which holds information needed to begin the quest for the Grail. Indy encounters a secret society of Grail protectors who tells him that his father is being held in Germany.
In Germany, Indiana finds his father but both find themselves being betrayed by both Schneider and Donovan. Indy discovers that both work for the Nazis and that his father's kidnapping was staged to get him to solve the mystery of the Grail for them. Indy and his father escape the Nazis and go to Berlin, to retrieve his father's Grail diary needed to complete the quest. Meanwhile, the Nazis capture Brody and learn where to start the Grail quest.
Donovan and Schneider, with Brody, begin the Grail quest as does Indy with his father and Sallah. But on their trail is a fanatical religious cult determined to protect the Holy Grail at all costs. Eventually, their individual quests cross paths and lead to a confronation where Kazim, the cult leader, is killed by Donovan's men, and a desert chase which reunites Indy and Papa Jones with Brody and Sallah.
The quest reaches its climax at the Canyon of the Crescent Moon, where the Holy Temple (home to the secret Grail) is located. Donovan captures Indy in the temple with the Grail and shoots Indy's father, forcing him to face a set of challenges and retrieve the Grail to save his life. Indy, guided by his father's diary, surpasses the challenges, arriving in a room with Holy Grail hidden amongst many false grails and a knight of the last Crusade surviving by the Grail's power. Schneider unwittingly chooses a false grail for Donovan, killing him. Indy picks the true Grail, but the knight commands him not to let the Grail go "past the Great Seal", in accordance with the law of God. Indy takes the Grail with the holy water and heals his father. Crossing the Great Seal, Schneider then tries to leave with the Grail. As the knight warned, the building collapses and she loses her balance. Indy just saves her from falling into a crevasse. Schneider, however, is overwhelmed by her greed and tries to reach for the grail below with her free hand. She can't quite touch it, and the glove on her other hand slips off. Schneider falls to her death. Then Indy reaches for the grail, but his father tells him to "let it go", thus the Grail is never recovered. The band of heroes escape the deteriorating Holy Temple. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ends with Henry Sr. revealing that "Indiana" is the family dog's name; Indy, his father, Sallah, and Marcus ride off into the sunset.Plot summary