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Henry the Indy
Happy third day of Christmas, everyone, though many of you are still in the 26th, Saint Stephen's Day, aka Wren Day, aka Boxing Day. I chose Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade for that day, though it's arguably more of an Easter movie. I guess it was on my mind because of screenwriter Tom Stoppard's death.
Last Crusade is the last of the original, classic Indiana Jones trilogy, and many assumed it would be the last Indiana Jones movie ever (and many wish it was). While it retains qualities in common with the first two films that the filmmakers would no longer feel comfortable employing to-day in the franchise (a religious message and McGuffin as well as casual sex), it also marks the beginning of Spielberg and Lucas making films with a sense of moral responsibility. The no holds barred days of Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Temple of Doom were gone as Spielberg took to reinforcing virtue in Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Amastad, and others. Lucas retconned the character of Indiana Jones himself from a scholarly fortune hunter who gradually learned the truth of God's might and the worth of altruistic acts into a champion of virtue from boyhood. Offended at the sight of dirty ruffians obtaining the Cross of Coronado, he immediately shows a willingness to risk everything because the artefact "belongs in a museum". He assumes, based on zero information, that the ruffians aren't employed to eventually deliver the item to a museum, a fact that becomes all the more curious when you consider the leader of the ruffians wears a costume similar to the one Indy will wear as an adult, setting him up as an influence on the path Indy will take through life. It's possible the idea was that this incident diverted Indy from youthful idealism and taught him to be more mercenary, though this is kind of lost when the jump cut takes us to adult Indy still pursuing the cross for exactly the same reason.
As a film about a relationship between father and son, it's interesting that it begins by introducing an alternate father figure, the unnamed ruffian leader, played by Richard Young. He even gives Indy his famous hat. An alternate version of this film could've had Young's character as a Falstaff figure opposite Sean Connery's Henry Jones Sr. as a Henry IV. God, their names are even Henry! Was the intention at one point to make Indy like Henry V and Connery's character Henry IV? There's a film I really wish I could've seen. The Jones family quest to recover ancient artefacts and bring them back to museums in civilised countries is not so dissimilar to the questionable quest of the Kings Henry to invade France.
One moment I've always liked comes in the climax when Connery's character finally calls him Indiana instead of Junior. Calling him Junior is a way of asserting an impression of the child originating from the father. "Indiana" represents the adult identity Harrison Ford's character has carved out for himself. Like a lot of parents, it's hard for Connery's character to admit the validity of this persona of independent origin, thereby acknowledging that the character has emerged from his father's shadow. Again, this is like Shakespeare's Henriad, in which the prince, in the company of Falstaff and his cohorts, even has another name, "Hal".
I still don't like the plot device of the Grail's power being limited by a seal carved into the floor but I'm not sure what a more elegant method would've been to getting to those character points.
In any case, it occurred to me I was enjoying the film in a way I hadn't before; I was enjoying the depiction of people passionate about pursuing objectives beyond their survival. They have "better things to do than survive" to borrow a line from Ani DiFranco.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is available on Amazon Prime in Japan.
Last Crusade is the last of the original, classic Indiana Jones trilogy, and many assumed it would be the last Indiana Jones movie ever (and many wish it was). While it retains qualities in common with the first two films that the filmmakers would no longer feel comfortable employing to-day in the franchise (a religious message and McGuffin as well as casual sex), it also marks the beginning of Spielberg and Lucas making films with a sense of moral responsibility. The no holds barred days of Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Temple of Doom were gone as Spielberg took to reinforcing virtue in Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Amastad, and others. Lucas retconned the character of Indiana Jones himself from a scholarly fortune hunter who gradually learned the truth of God's might and the worth of altruistic acts into a champion of virtue from boyhood. Offended at the sight of dirty ruffians obtaining the Cross of Coronado, he immediately shows a willingness to risk everything because the artefact "belongs in a museum". He assumes, based on zero information, that the ruffians aren't employed to eventually deliver the item to a museum, a fact that becomes all the more curious when you consider the leader of the ruffians wears a costume similar to the one Indy will wear as an adult, setting him up as an influence on the path Indy will take through life. It's possible the idea was that this incident diverted Indy from youthful idealism and taught him to be more mercenary, though this is kind of lost when the jump cut takes us to adult Indy still pursuing the cross for exactly the same reason.
As a film about a relationship between father and son, it's interesting that it begins by introducing an alternate father figure, the unnamed ruffian leader, played by Richard Young. He even gives Indy his famous hat. An alternate version of this film could've had Young's character as a Falstaff figure opposite Sean Connery's Henry Jones Sr. as a Henry IV. God, their names are even Henry! Was the intention at one point to make Indy like Henry V and Connery's character Henry IV? There's a film I really wish I could've seen. The Jones family quest to recover ancient artefacts and bring them back to museums in civilised countries is not so dissimilar to the questionable quest of the Kings Henry to invade France.
One moment I've always liked comes in the climax when Connery's character finally calls him Indiana instead of Junior. Calling him Junior is a way of asserting an impression of the child originating from the father. "Indiana" represents the adult identity Harrison Ford's character has carved out for himself. Like a lot of parents, it's hard for Connery's character to admit the validity of this persona of independent origin, thereby acknowledging that the character has emerged from his father's shadow. Again, this is like Shakespeare's Henriad, in which the prince, in the company of Falstaff and his cohorts, even has another name, "Hal".
I still don't like the plot device of the Grail's power being limited by a seal carved into the floor but I'm not sure what a more elegant method would've been to getting to those character points.
In any case, it occurred to me I was enjoying the film in a way I hadn't before; I was enjoying the depiction of people passionate about pursuing objectives beyond their survival. They have "better things to do than survive" to borrow a line from Ani DiFranco.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is available on Amazon Prime in Japan.