Film at 11: Episode 40 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

I had originally wanted to do a Thanksgiving-themed episode for the Film at 11 podcast this week, but then I realized the best Thanksgiving movie (Planes, Trains & Automobiles, obviously) is rated R. Instead, Joseph and I finished off the Indiana Jones trilogy with the franchise’s third and final movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

I kid, of course. We talk a little bit in the episode about the series cranking out two more legacy sequels decades later, but I have no immediate plans to cover those in the podcast.

Rounding out the original Indy trilogy made Joseph happy, and I can justify Last Crusade as being a really good father/son bonding movie, which is sort of in the spirit of Thanksgiving. Right?

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) - The Tablet
Title:Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Year of Release: 1989
Director: Steven Spielberg
Watched On: Blu-ray
Also Available On: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Amazon Prime Video
Paramount+
Fubo
Roku Channel
Various VOD rental and purchase platforms

The Blu-ray

Not to repeat myself too much from what I’ve written about the previous two Indy movies, but for this re-review of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, I made a conscious decision to watch the Blu-ray edition from 2012 rather than the newer 4K Ultra HD release. I already reviewed the 4K version (linked below), and while I might concede that it has some improvements in video quality over the Blu-ray, the 4K remaster still looks very digitally manipulated and the Dolby Atmos soundtrack remix is a disaster.

Of the Blu-rays for the original three Indy movies, Last Crusade holds up the best and looks better than either Raiders or Temple of Doom, leaving less need for a 4K upgrade. Even if just 1080p, the 2.35:1 image is quite sharp and detailed, revealing a pleasing amount of texture in Sean Connery’s tweed jacket. Grain looks a little manipulated and may freeze in place on screen in a few instances, but the movie doesn’t suffer too obviously from DNR otherwise. To be honest about it, the dodgy blue-screen effects during the dirigible and aerial combat sequence blend a little better in 1080p than in the harsh resolution of 4K.

Like the other movies in the Indiana Jones Blu-ray set, Last Crusade was color graded with a controversial yellow bias over most of the movie. It’s fairly subtle here. Personally, I don’t find it objectionable, or even unappealing, though if forced to choose I’d concede that the 4K remaster is probably more accurate. Other colors remain strong, especially the vibrant blue skies.

Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures Blu-ray box set

When it played in theaters back in 1989, Last Crusade had a terrific sound design that was nominated for a Best Sound Oscar, and won for Best Sound Effects Editing. Unfortunately, much of that work was watered down in subsequent home video remixes over the years, each of which sounds more noise-reduced and filtered than the last. To my ears, the Atmos mix on the 4K release is the worst of them, a sonically dull travesty with dynamic range compressed to practically a flat line. I realize that I may be in a minority with the strength of my opinion on this, but I hate the Indiana Jones Atmos mixes.

The older DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track on the Blu-ray sounds better to my ears, if also imperfect. Gunshots, punches, a lion roar during the prologue, and many other sound effects that ought to hit with some bass are still pretty weak, but less so than the Atmos version. This issue seems to get a little better as the movie goes along; the tank cannon fire in the second half sounds fairly decent, and an earthquake at the end has some moderate rumble. I’ll gladly take this over the 4K’s audio. Still, I know the movie could and should sound better.

In other respects, the 5.1 mix is highly directional, with sound effects smoothly panning all around the room. The flying scenes expand well to height speakers with Dolby Surround Upmixer applied.

The only extras on the Last Crusade disc are a couple trailers. An additional “Bonus Features” disc in the UK box set I own offers further content encompassing the entire franchise up through Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The only item specific to Last Crusade is a vintage making-of special. Other featurettes covering topics such as stunts, music, the characters, and so forth bridge multiple films.

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3 thoughts on “Film at 11: Episode 40 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)”

  1. My favourite Indy movie!! Can’t wait to watch it with my son. Isn’t Trains, Planes and Automobiles rather tame and kid-friendly, other than the one scene with the F-bombs? (Pretty sure your kids already know sais curse word)

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