Madere - Last Crusade

This scene, taken from the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is indicative that Indiana has reached the final stage 0f the knight's quest--that of the Grail Knight. Although each stage of the knight's quest is highlighted individually in each Indiana Jones movie--the Mercenary Knight in Temple of Doom, the Indentured Knight in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and of course the Grail Knight in Last Crusade--scenes that portray Indiana in each of these roles all appear in the final movie.

The scene that shows Indiana Jones as a Mercenary Knight in Last Crusade happens at the very beginning of the movie when he discovers the cross of Coronado in a cave in Utah. Despite the fact that the cross was found by someone else (and thus belongs to him), and despite Indiana's righteous quote, "It belongs in a museum," it is clear from the look on Indy's face that he's somewhat starstruck by the cross. While it is clear that he steals the cross with the intent of having displayed in museum, there is also an undercurrent of perhaps wanting to be the person who famously recovered it. The scene immediately following this one also sets the story for Indiana's overall "anything goes" Mercenary Knight attitude in Temple of Doom, as he is betrayed, and this squashes any intent he had to go on his quest for any higher purpose than money and glory.

The scene in Last Crusade that shows Indiana Jones as an Indentured Knight are the scenes where Indy agrees to go on the journey to find his father at Donovan's request and on Donovan's dime. It is clear that he is only on the quest to serve one end--to find his father--and, unbeknownst to him, becomes Donovan's puppet in his quest to find the Grail and, ultimately, eternal life and power.

Indiana's transition into Grail Knight in Last Crusade begins with the scenes conquering the three tasks that you must pass in order to prove yourself worthy of finding the Grail. These scenes show Indiana's new found faith and belief in God and the Grail, as well as his exhibiting the mythic characteristics needed for a Grail Knight. His transition is complete when, in the second-to-last scene of the movie, he gives up reaching for the Grail (and eternal life, fortune, and glory) in order to save his life and the life of his comrades. This scene proves that he has conquered his demons and his love of material things and grasped onto a larger purpose.

Kuebler-The Last Crusade

As my classmates before me mentioned, the trilogy of Indiana Jones serves as a three part reflection on the trials of the knight. Yet each movie seems to hold in it a set of its own tasks. In the Last Crusade we first see Indy as a very young boy fighting for what he believes is right. He lost, but that doesn't mean that he has to like it. Years later we see him still pursuing the same artifact that he feels "belongs in a museum." As the mercenary knight he fights for what he believes and seems to always get away by the hair on his chin.

We transition past the rogue, thief, and mercenary knight and move on to the indentured knight where we find Indy needing to look for his father. Yet it is not just for this reason, he is working for a man who he cannot trust and seems to be a knight on a quest. But it is not until he is with his father that his decision must come. He can either save his friend and the maps and leave the book or continue along on the grail quest to serve a higher purpose. Indy’s father does a good job of convincing him even though Indy is still a non-believer in the grail’s power. Finally as they enter the temple, Indy becomes a knight of the grail and while still technically unworthy of the grail he is able to take up the challenge. He is not seeking the grail for the glory of himself but of sacrifice and care for his father. Indy is able to retrieve the grail and is proven worthy by not being taken by the temptress who killed the last man.

It is not until he listens to his father and releases the grail that he is a fully realized knight. It is because of these stages that we see the transformation of one man into legend. If he was anyone else these events would have never taken place, but that’s not much fun. Indiana Jones, through these quests, is made into more than human. He is a knight of Arthurian Legend and is fit to live on for eternity.

Gooch- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Although each of the movies in the Indiana Jones trilogy is meant to show Indiana’s journey through each stage of knightly formation, The Last Crusade has elements of all three stages in one movie. This last mission of the trilogy is the perfect mission for him to fully transform into the Aristocratic, or Spiritual, Knight because it is personal. The journey with the father he barely knows challenges Indy to search more inside himself for what he believes. He is challenged to confront his

past and the resentment he holds against his father. The first part of The Last Crusade explains where Indiana’s love for escaping death in the pursuit of ancient artifacts was first born. In this back story, we see so many reasons why Indiana Jones is the way he is: his fear of snakes, his belief in preserving artifacts, why he has little belief in the law, and the distance between him and his father. In the ending scene of the back-story he is confronted with his pursuers and the sheriff, being forced to give the crucifix back. In this scene we see how he is formed into a Mercenary Knight. He no longer believes the law can help him, so instead he works on his own fighting without belief in the cause, but simply to achieve the artifacts and achieve

the thrill.

Then as Indiana finds out that his father is in trouble, he becomes much more invested in his mission to save him. This personal connection attaches Indiana to a bigger cause and transforms him into the Indentured Knight. We see how much he lacks spiritually still when we compare him to his father. His father is on this journey not for the thrill or to retrieve an artifact, but to protect the artifact from evil and find “illumination.” This is shown in the scene where Indiana is at the cross roads with his dad arguing about where to go. His father explains why he has searched for so long for the Holy Grail, but Indiana still won’t believe because he has suffered from his father’s dedication to his mission.

We see Indiana reach his final stage at the end of the movie when he has to retrieve the Holy Grail in order to save his father. He has to go through three stages that are no longer based simply on cunning, like his previous tests, but on spiritual kn

owledge. We see him accept his role as a Spiritual Knight when he is hanging from his father’s arm trying to reach the grail. He is faced with the choice to risk his life one more time and retrieve an ancient artifact, or simply appreciate what it had done to save his father and leave it behind. In his refusal to reach for it and walk away with his father, he proves his worthiness to be a Spiritual Knight.