Movie of the Week – Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

This week’s movie is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).

The film is the third in the series and is about Indy’s quest to find the Holy Grail. Steven Spielberg returns as director (having done all four in the series), bringing with him his fantastic crew including: composer John Williams (delivering possibly my favorite of all his iconic scores), cinematographer Douglas Slocombe and production designer Elliot Scott (it was the last film both Slocombe and Scott worked on). George Lucas produced and came up with the story, but really the film is amazing thanks to Spielberg’s Hollywood-style auteur directing and the phenomenal cast, who bring both good performances and characters to the screen but also a lot of fun (as this is maybe the funniest of the franchise). The film stars Harrison Ford and features supporting work from Sean Connery, Denholm Elliot, Alison Doody, John Rhys-Davies, Julian Glover, and River Phoenix. While Raiders of the Lost Ark is universally regarded as the best in the series, Last Crusade is my favorite. Both films share many fantastic scenes and sequences, great jokes and Indy fighting against Nazis, but Last Crusade has Connery. His scenes playing against Ford and their chemistry are what make this film all the more special. I recommend this film (and the whole initial trilogy) to all movie-lovers. Check out the trailer.

Available on DVD and Trilogy Box Set

Movie of the Week – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

This week’s movie is Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).

The film is the second in the Indiana Jones series and finds Indy in India on a mission to track down a missing holy stone for a small village that has fallen on very hard times since the stone was stolen. Director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas team up again for the film, and it features a fabulous score from John Williams (as do all the films in the series), wonderful cinematography from Douglas Slocombe and great production design from Elliot Scott. Like all the films, it stars Harrison Ford, and this installment features supporting work from Kate Capshaw (who then became Mrs. Spielberg), Jonathan Ke Quan, and Amrish Puri. Look out for Dan Aykroyd’s cameo as well. While not considered quite as good as Raiders of the Lost Ark or Last Crusade, Temple of Doom is still a very fun and entertaining adventure film. The opening sequence in Shanghai is great and Ford’s charisma carries the film. Plus, Short Round, the action and the jokes make up for the otherwise complete annoyance of Willie Scott. Fans of the series no doubt already love this film, and if you have not seen the first three films in the series – get on that and watch them. Check out the trailer.

Available on DVD and to Rent