Indiana Jones and the Real Blasphemy

I have seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade so many times that I practically have it memorized, but there’s something different about seeing a movie in the theater.

I’ve spoken before about the importance of consuming art in the form in which it was intended, such as watching a movie in a theater where the darkness and silence (and yes, inability to pause) forces you into undivided attention rather than listening to a movie while you scroll your phone and pause for snacks. And sometimes it leads you to emotional impacts and insights that you will never get in your living room.

[Spoilers abound for movies that have been out for decades.]

Last Crusade was the first Indy movie I saw in the theater, as I was too young when Raiders and Temple came out for theater viewing. In fact, I can’t be sure that I had seen Temple of Doom at all at that point, as my parents may have ruled it too dark for me in my childhood. That could just be the fog of memory mixed with the fact that Temple has always been my least favorite of the Indy series. Yes, including the recent ones.

Last Crusade, however, is my favorite. I’m aware that this is considered heresy by Raiders fans and I don’t care. There’s a few questionable moments in Raiders, such as the number of times Marian is captured and the hint that she may have been…