To get in the spirit of the upcoming release of the fifth and final Indiana Jones movie we watched Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade last night. (Temple of Doom was a definite 'no' for me; I've always found it a disappointing follow-up to Raiders.)
I saw Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade on the day it opened in 1989. I was in Bristol, VA, visiting a friend of my then partner. The three of us had lunch (meat and three) at Morrison's Cafeteria in the mall and then went to the multiplex, at my insistence. As I recall, the two of them were blasé about the movie, but I loved it.
Even so, as much as I enjoyed that movie, I can't remember the last time I saw the whole thing. I had forgotten that River Phoenix plays a young Indiana Jones in the opening scene and that all of his iconic possessions and experiences, from the whip to the snakes to the scar, fedora, and leather jacket, are explained there, too.
As we watched last night, my brother used the miracle of the internet to deliver interesting information about the production and characters. "Sean Connery was only 12 years older than Harrison Ford," he told us, "much too young to actually be his father."
"How old was Connery when they made the movie, then?" I asked.
"59," Bill answered.
"That's your age," I pointed out. "You look much better than that."
Old movies can do that to you, though, mess with your mind. There's a disorienting intersection between who you were when you first saw the movie, your memories of your thoughts about the situations, characters, and actors then, and who you are now.
Because, seriously?
No way is my little brother old enough to be Indian Jones's father!
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