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"INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE" (1989) (Harrison Ford, Sean Connery) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Mild Heavy Extreme *Heavy Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate Mild Moderate None Minor Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Moderate Minor Moderate Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Action/Adventure: An archeologist and his father search for the Holy Grail in a race against Nazis seeking the same thing. PLOT: Dr. Indiana Jones (HARRISON FORD) is enlisted in a quest to find the Holy Grail by financier Walter Donovan (JULIAN GLOVER). The only reason he agrees is because his father, Henry Jones (SEAN CONNERY), has disappeared while looking for the historical artifact. With the slightly addled Marcus Brody (DENHOLM ELLIOTT) in tow, Indiana travels to Venice in search of the first clue. There he meets up with Dr. Elsa Schneider (ALISON DOODY) who was working with his father before his disappearance. Together they find the entrance to an ancient catacomb where a medieval knight is entombed. On his shield is written a clue that will lead them to the Grail. Also looking for the Grail is a battalion of Nazi soldiers who seem to be always right on the heels of Indiana and Elsa. Indy avoids capture, rescues his imprisoned father, and discovers that Elsa is a double agent working for the Nazis. The rest of the film is a race between Indy and the Nazis as to who will reach the Holy Grail first. Along the way, Indy and his father must also come to terms with their often troubled relationship. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Absolutely. It's a franchise that has proven to be popular with all ages. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For violence and perilous situations. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: HARRISON FORD plays Indiana Jones, a teacher of archeology and part-time adventurer who travels the world in search for valuable antiquities. He's not above resorting to violence in order to protect his interests. SEAN CONNERY plays Dr. Henry Ford, Indiana's father. A teacher and historian, his lifelong quest has been a search for the Holy Grail, the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper. His obsession caused him to be distant from his son during his formative years and so the relationship between them is somewhat strained. DENHOLM ELLIOTT plays Dr. Marcus Brody, an academical and friend of the Jones' whose bumbling antics demonstrate his limited experience in Indy's adventurous world. ALISON DOODY plays Elsa, a European historian who is also after the Grail and doesn't seem to care with whom she partners to get it. She uses her sex to gain the trust of men who can help her. Both Indiana and his father fall prey to her wiles. JOHN RHYS-DAVIES plays Sallah, the resourceful Arab contact of Indiana Jones. JULIAN GLOVER plays Donovan, the financier behind the quest for the Holy Grail that he believes holds the key to eternal life. Donovan will stop at nothing to find the Grail, even enlisting the Nazis to do his dirty work. RIVER PHOENIX plays Indiana Jones as a teenager in a segment that sheds light on some of Indy's famous trademarks (his hat, his fear of snakes, and the scar on his chin). We also see his motivation for searching for ancient relics ("It belongs in a museum."). CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a brief summary of the content found in this action/adventure flick that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of a minor expletive, while some colorful phrases and non-explicit, but sexually related dialogue are present. That includes brief mention of a father and his adult son both, but separately, bedding the same woman (we briefly see the non-explicit beginning of one of those encounters). A considerable amount of old-fashioned movie violence (performed in an adventurous, Saturday matinee manner) is present, resulting in various deaths and injuries. Some of that has bloody results, and that material and various moments of peril might be unsettling or suspenseful to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. All of the stunts, fighting, etc. may be enticing for some kids to imitate, while various characters have bad attitudes. There's brief drinking and smoking, as well as some occasional tense family moments. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Donovan pours a glass of champagne for Indy who drinks it. Indy then uses a drop of champagne to clean a historical artifact. Indy is drinking something in a highball glass while relaxing in his hotel room. BLOOD/GORE We see blood on the chin of a young boy who hit himself with a bullwhip. There is blood on the lip of a man who is being beaten by others. There is blood on the lip of a man being interrogated. We see a close-up of a dead Arab. There is blood on his tunic. A man is shot in the forehead. We see blood trickling down his forehead from underneath his bandana. We see blood on the lip of a Nazi after his head is repeatedly slammed into a metal hatch. Indy has bloody scratches on his face. A man's decapitated head rolls out of a passageway past the feet of those who sent him in. Indy's father is shot in stomach. We see blood on his shirt, stomach, and hands. A man drinks from a vessel he believes to be the Holy Grail. He ages rapidly, becoming a dried out skeleton within seconds. He falls backwards and his bones shatter into dust. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Donovan is a villain who operates from self-serving motivations, showing no consideration for others. He teams with the Nazis who share his selfish mindset. During the course of the film, they beat, shoot at, and try to kill Jones and his father in order to achieve their ultimate goals. When a chubby boy scout falls off his horse, another child laughs and says, "Herman's horse-sick." Indy steals a German citizen's car. There is a Nazi rally featuring a book burning that takes place in the background of a scene. Elsa uses her sexuality to disguise her true intentions and affiliations. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful, or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. Others will likely view some or all of that material more as just adventurous and action-oriented. A snake slithers onto a boy. Indy picks it off him and casually tosses it away. Elsa is lowered into the catacombs and lands on skeletons. Indy crashes through a wall into a burial chamber flooded with petroleum and filled with rats. As Elsa crawls along the wall of the chamber, she passes by a small opening at shoulder height that contains more rats. Indy flips a tomb over and, with Elsa, ducks under it to escape an approaching fire that's spreading across the water on a thin layer of fuel. Rats, also looking for safety from the flames, begin to enter the upside down tomb. Elsa steers a boat between the hulls of two big ships. The space between the ships is narrowing. Men chasing them decide to follow between the ships. One of the boats is crushed and explodes. Indy and a man are in a boat that is being drawn towards a giant propeller. As the boat starts getting chewed up by the propeller, Indy interrogates the man. At the last moment, Indy and the man jump onto the boat driven by Elsa. Indy's dad drops a lit cigarette lighter on the rug of the room, setting it on fire. The fire spreads as Indy and his dad frantically try to untie themselves from their bonds. Nazis are marching on the parade grounds in full uniform and swastika regalia. Indy is hanging off a tank by the leather strap of his pouch. He cannot free himself and a jutting rock formation looms just ahead. The Nazi gives the command to steer toward the formation, which will crush Indy. Indy and his father struggle with Nazis on a moving (driverless) tank as it heads towards the edge of a cliff. A man enters into a dangerous passageway and discovers the dead bodies of the men who had recently entered the passageway before him. Indy is then forced to go through that same passageway. Indy steps on a tile that breaks under his weight causing him to fall through. He catches himself just before he plunges into a deep chasm. Indy stands on precipice of a huge chasm. Using faith that he'll be okay, he steps out without seeing an invisible bridge that spans the chasm. A man drinks from a vessel he believes to be the Holy Grail. He ages rapidly, becoming a dried out skeleton within seconds. He falls backwards and his bones shatter into dust. When Elsa takes the Grail beyond the "great seal," the underground cavern begins to collapse. A huge tear in the surface is opened. Elsa, chasing the Grail that she dropped, falls into the chasm and hangs onto the edge. Indy slides to her and grabs her hand before she falls. She continues to stretch towards the Grail, which causes Indy to lose his grip, and she falls into the abyss and is swallowed up by the mist. The earth gives way under Indy's feet and he falls over into the abyss but his father grabs his hand just in time. Indy then begins to stretch for the Grail that is just out of reach. Indy and his father run out of the cavern as it collapses around them. GUNS/WEAPONS Pistols/Machine guns/Daggers/Swords: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound, or kill others. See "Violence" for details. Indy uses a bullwhip in defense against a lion. A Nazi plane drops a bomb upon Indy and his father. It also strafes the ground near them. A Nazi tank is used in an attempt to crush Indy. Its cannon is also fired at Indy and other characters. A booby-trapped passageway uses two giant blades that can decapitate and dismember. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Herman's horse-sick," "Holy smokes" and "You dolt." All of the stunts, fighting, etc. may be enticing for some kids to imitate. Young Indy leaps from a horse onto a moving circus train, followed by a handful of men chasing him. Indy uses a bullwhip to swing from building to building. A Nazi does a "wheelie" and slams his front wheel on the back of Indy's bike, narrowly missing Indy's dad, seated in the sidecar. Indy's father uses an umbrella to scare a flock of birds. JUMP SCENES Young Indy enters the reptile house of a moving circus train. He crawls on a platform above cages containing alligators and snakes. When the platform gives way, he sprawls forward and comes face to face with a giant, hissing snake. He spins and falls into a cage filled with smaller snakes and is completely covered by them. We see the outside of the circus train as we hear him scream. Young Indy crashes through a vent to land inside a train car containing a lion. Elsa is lowered into the catacombs and lands on skeletons. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A moderate amount of suspenseful, ominous, dramatic, and action-oriented music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 1 damn and 1 use each of "Jesus Christ" and "My God." SEX/NUDITY Indy, in a bathrobe, kisses Elsa, who is dressed in a nightgown. Elsa then kisses Indy back and chews on his ear. They fall forward onto a bed and out of the frame of the camera. We discover that both Indy and his father have slept with Elsa when Dr. Jones Sr. explains that he learned of Elsa's political leanings because she talks in her sleep. Elsa kisses a bound Indy and, as she pulls back, she playfully bites his lower lip and pulls it towards her. SMOKING Elsa, sitting in the back of a limousine, lights a cigarette. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Young Indy approaches his father with a problem but is ignored by his self-absorbed dad. There's later some comedy-based tension between them. Indy and his father learn that they have slept with the same young woman. Indy's father thinks that his son was killed when the tank he was in rolls off a cliff. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Nazism. Nazis hold a book burning in Berlin. Father/son relationships. Quests/obsessions. Elsa uses her sexuality to disguise her true intentions and affiliations. The Holy Grail. VIOLENCE Young Indy jumps from a precipice aiming for the horse waiting below him but his horse moves at the last moment and Indy lands on the ground. Young Indy, on top of a train, is grabbed by a man chasing him. He kicks the man off him and continues running. The man grabs a metal hook and uses it to trip Indy by the ankle. Indy falls on the roof of the train and his impact disturbs the rhino within the car. The rhino begins to thrust his horn through the roof of the train car, narrowly missing Indy and the bad guy as they wrestle. A man uses a gun to shoot open the lock of the train's door. Young Indy grabs a large water spout, kicks a man, and swings off the train to come fully around and land on another section of the train. He lands directly in front of the leader of the men who were chasing him. Young Indy grabs a bullwhip and cracks it, snapping himself in the chin. We see blood on his chin. Men wrestle with young Indy to obtain the relic in his possession. As they do, a snake slithers from Indy's sleeve, which causes them to lose their grip. Indy, now an adult, is being held by men as he is punched in the face. He has a bloody lip. The men holding him attempt to throw him over the side of a boat in the middle of a heavy storm. A struggle ensues. Indy throws one punch and connects with the chins of two men. The storm causes a barrel to topple and fall onto crates of explosives, igniting them in a huge fireball. A man sneaks up behind Brody and knocks him out with a gun handle. A man lights a match and sets a sea of petroleum on fire. Indy and Else flee on a speedboat. A man jumps onto the back of the boat and Indy wrestles with him. The man has a gun that is fired as they wrestle. The bullets come dangerously close to hitting Elsa who is steering the boat. During the attack, Indy is punched repeatedly in the face. Indy finally hits the man with a blow that knocks him out of the boat. Indy and Elsa, on the boat, are being chased by men who fire machine guns at them. Indy jumps onto their boat and wrestles with the gun as he punches a second man. Indy kicks a man so that he falls overboard. Elsa then steers the boat between the hulls of two big ships. The space between the ships is narrowing, and men chasing them decide to follow between the ships. One of the boats is crushed and explodes. Indy backhands a butler so that he falls backward against a wall. Indy crashes through a window and then is struck on his head by a vase swung by a man who has come up behind him. Nazis burst into the room and point guns and Indy and his father. Indy, yelling at his father, grabs a machine gun and guns down two Nazis. No blood is seen. A Nazi holds a gun to Elsa's neck and threatens to shoot her. Sallah holds up a newspaper and punches through it to hit a man in the face, knocking him over the cart of a street vendor. He then pushes another man into a second cart. Indy and his father are seated back to back and bound by heavy ropes. A Nazi punches a bound Indy in the face causing his head to recoil backwards and knock into the back of his father's head. After freeing themselves, Indy and his father discover a secret passage through a revolving wall in the fireplace. When they go through it, they find a roomful of Nazis who open fire on them as they spin back around to the other side of the wall. Indy wrestles with a Nazi who has come up from behind him. The wall pivots, separating Indy from his father. When it revolves again, we see an unconscious Nazi but no sign of Indy or his father. Indy falls down a secret staircase that suddenly opens up when his father accidentally triggers the device. Indy, driving a motorcycle with a sidecar, plows into two Nazi soldiers and knocks them into the river. Indy crashes through a barricade and grabs a flagpole that he will use as a jousting stick against a Nazi on a motorbike coming at them from the opposite direction. Indy knocks the Nazi off his bike that continues to travel into the path of two other soldiers chasing Indy. Their bikes hit and flip over the unmanned bike sending them flying through the air. Indy then jams the broken end of his jousting stick through the spokes of another Nazi motorbike that has pulled along side him causing the bike (and rider) to flip end over end through the air before it crashes to the ground. Indy's dad slaps him in the face for saying "Jesus Christ" in a disrespectful manner. From underneath a car, we see a pair of feet wearing Nazi boots being dragged into an alley. Moments later, Indy steps out of the alley wearing a Nazi uniform. Indy punches and then throws a man out of a zeppelin window. The man lands on a pile of suitcases. Indy and his father escape the zeppelin via an airplane that is attached to its underbelly. They are immediately chased by two other planes that fire at them. Indy's father shoots the plane's guns at them but accidentally shoots the tail of his own plane. Indy, losing control of the aircraft, crashes into a house. On the ground and then in a car, they are strafed by enemy aircraft. The car then enters a tunnel. The plane follows them in, shearing its wings off. The plane, now sliding along its belly, exits the tunnel and bursts into flames. A plane then drops a bomb just in front of Indy's car, creating a huge pothole into which the car plunges. Indy's father then runs towards a flock of seagulls, using his umbrella to scare them into flight. The birds soar en masse into the path of an enemy aircraft causing it to crash into the side of a mountain. A Nazi tank fires its heavy artillery shell that lands just beyond Sallah, Indy and his father. We see a burning automobile tire roll past them seconds after the explosion. A sniper fires at Nazis, signaling other men with rifles to begin firing. The Nazis throw hand grenades at the snipers. The snipers flee from their stations and are shot in their backs by the Nazis. Indy jumps from a precipice and knocks a man off his horse. Indy punches him and gets on his horse. As the man rises to his feet, Indy backhands him and knocks him to the ground again. A man removes his gloves and uses them to slap Indy's father in the face. A tank repeatedly fires its cannon at Indy who is on horseback. A car runs into the tank and is impaled upon the tank's cannon. The tank fires its cannon blowing the car free. The tank then rolls over the car. Indy, on horseback, rides alongside the tank and shoves a rock into the tank's cannon. The tank fires the cannon, which causes a backfire. A Nazi guard pistol-whips Indy's father. A Nazi, on a tank, and Indy, on horseback, exchange gunfire. Indy is tackled by an armed Nazi guard. As they wrestle, two more Nazis come to the scene. Indy frees himself and shoots all three with one bullet. We see blood appearing on their tunics. A Nazi with a dagger leaps onto Indy and they wrestle. Another Nazi comes up from behind and wraps a chain around Indy's neck. Indy frees his arm and punches one of the Nazis who falls upon the tank's moving tread. He falls off the tank and is presumably run over. Indy is then thrown face first into the tank's periscope. He repositions himself and kicks the scope that knocks a Nazi into the Nazi commander who, in turn, falls into Indy's father who grabs the pistol and begins to wrestle with the Nazi. Meanwhile, Indy's face is held down against the moving tank treads. Indy's father, being held from behind by a Nazi, releases the ink cartridge of his ballpoint pen into the eye of his attacker. He then knocks him out by pushing his head into the steel hatch. Indy's father then fires the tank's cannon into the side of a Nazi troop transport vehicle, resulting in a big explosion and bodies flying through the air. Indy has since fallen from the treads and is now hanging onto the side of the tank. A Nazi stomps on his fingers, then picks up a shovel and swings it at Indy to try to make him fall underneath the tank treads. Indy's father starts to climb up the tank's turret but is pulled back down by a revived Nazi. A Nazi pushes Indy's father down onto a table and punches him in the face. He pulls a pistol but before he can fire it, Brody hits him in the head with a lead pipe. As he falls, the pistol discharges and we hear the bullet ricochet off of the steel walls of the tank. It finally hits the driver in his forehead, killing him. We see blood trickling down his forehead from underneath his bandana. Indy pulls himself onto the tank and punches a Nazi soldier. Brody is accidentally knocked backwards and falls off the rear of the tank. A Nazi swings a shovel at Indy who ducks. The shovel makes impact with Indy's father who falls upon the moving tank treads. As he is pulled towards the front of the tank, Indy uses his bullwhip to lasso his father's ankle and keep him from being dragged under the tank. While doing this, a Nazi comes up from behind him and punches him in the kidneys. Indy grabs a Nazi and repeatedly slams his head into the metal hatchway (resulting in blood on the Nazi's lip). The tank then falls over the cliff edge. We see a Nazi, still hanging onto the tank's turret as it plummets to earth. The tank crashes to the ground and its turret is torn free. The turret (and the Nazi's body) roll end-over-end down the mountainside. A giant blade swings down and decapitates a man. A man shoots Indy's father in the stomach. We see blood on his shirt, stomach, and hands. Indy narrowly avoids two giant blades that he triggers by entering a passageway. An aged medieval knight draws his sword and swings it at Indy, who easily dodges it. The knight lifts the sword over his head and the weight of it causes him to stumble backwards. Sallah holds a rifle and keeps the Nazi guards at bay. Reviewed December 7, 2006 / Posted January 9, 2007