Before we leave for Vegas, I hope to be caught up on all the movie stories/reviews. The on thing I can’t convince Somara to do is see one while we’re there which is a long story involving Casino Royale. There’s this and a great time at Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion, what follows? Not sure, hopefully my big, big finale with the help of my cousin Dana who is the biggest fan I know of the selection.
For those who don’t live in the Austin area and aren’t nuts about movies, the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz location undertook a major upgrade (or downgrade if you’re into the digital thing) with its largest theater. The company installed two 70mm projectors, mainly to accommodate Paul Anderson’s upcoming film The Master, aka the most anyone can poke at L. Ron Hubbard without being sued into oblivion. Anderson isn’t too impressed with the digital distribution/screening that has been on on the rise; I’m indifferent to it but I know it’s mainly aimed toward destroying projectionist as a profession, one day there will be someone in India or China doing the work remotely while it’s $20/head for a matinee; thanks for the “savings” M-B-Assholes.
Anyway, Alamo decided to round up other 70mm treats to show in a mini festival like their Summer of ’82. The list is varied yet tends toward the past (early Sixties) since 70mm was another gimmick the Movie Industry tried in order to get butts in seats as TV whittled away its attendance. Other than The Master, the only which interested me was Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I would be cool with the true 70mm flicks (West Side Story and Cleopatra) if there were more time.
True? Before Crusade started, there was a brief introduction by an Alamo person to give a quick history of 70mm to the non-badge holders. Due to the costs and onerous nature of shooting in 70mm Crusade was really a 35mm blown up to 70mm (although my co-workers in Pro-Apps say special effects were done in 60 or 65mm). During its release Paramount had 200 prints made. I guess to spur a brief 70mm revival. Either way, it worked out for Alamo because the remaining choices made after the Sixties were Baraka and Ghostbusters.
On to the movie!
When Crusade made its debut (May 1989), I totally missed it and thought it was a Christmas release for years. The Summer of 1989 was the greatest Summer I had in college or my life (until others came along) but Batman was the movie I focused on. There weren’t many choices while I was a resident of downtown Milwaukee and car-less. College was often the time I was living in a current events bubble too: politics and music, no; everything else, a big fat yes. I guess its appeal was rather limited since it didn’t remain in multiplexes all Summer like Raiders.
I did finally see Crusade in its entirety on DVD shortly after Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It was part of a boxed set with the first three. Somara and I wanted to revisit those to rinse out Shia’s presence. Contrary to the naysayers, the other gripes people tend to have with Skull don’t bother me much…Indy has defeated Physics numerous times before, surviving a nuclear blast in a fridge wasn’t a stretch for his franchise. Besides, he has found two fictional items from the Bible. Tell me how aliens suddenly don’t fit in the Indy mythos?
Crusade is much cooler on the big screen. I gained a greater appreciation for it like Star Trek II yet Raiders is the best of the batch. Can anyone explain the title? The legend involves the first crusade and the three knights finding the Holy Grail. Is Indy versus the Nazis considered the last crusade because the Grail is lost at the end?
There’s also a big shift in how the story plays out. Many bitch about how they dislike Temple of Doom which I readily admit was a darker movie; my key gripe was having a precocious kid sidekick. Crusade returned to Raiders‘ roots by restoring the Nazis as the primary villains, the desired object being a Christian myth and seeing Indy’s alter-ego teaching classes (all those adoring young women). Maybe Spielberg and Lucas reacted to the Doom complaints through Crusade? It’s hard to tell with Lucas. While bringing back Raiders elements, Crusade changes the formula by gambling on a larger ensemble to assist Indy, using the first act to tell more about Indy’s background (the whip, the hat and fear of snakes), the love interest not panning out (she’s a Nazi ally) and ratcheting up the comedic elements. The “more is more” formula worked with this sequel. Thus, Crusade is about on par with Raiders, it just can’t be better…it makes little sense without seeing Raiders first to understand the characters.
One side note. I couldn’t help noticing Julian Glover’s performance as the American Nazi sympathizer Walter Donovan. Many Americans know him as General Veers from The Empire Strikes Back. However, I recently saw the Doctor Who episode “City of Death” which stars Glover too. I really think Spielberg and/or the casting director saw this and had him in mind. I recommend watching this via Netflix, you may catch the resemblance.
After the movie, I got a quick explanation from the booth on how 70mm is shown (our balcony seats put us right near it). The physical film is significantly larger than what I worked with. Alamo uses two projectors like theaters used to so someone has to pay attention to the cigarette burns every 20 minutes (see Fight Club). There is a platter/brain system in place, it’s just for the 35mm material.
In the tradition of the Alamo, the warmup goodies were various serials from the Thirties (the Tiger woman was hilarious), Diet Coke/Diet Pepsi campaigns for Crusade, a Disney WWII propaganda cartoon and the Raiders re-make shot by some kids.