Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Jeffrey Boam, based on a story by George Lucas and Menno Meyjes. It is the third installment in the Indiana Jones film series and the narrative sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Harrison Ford reprises his role as the titular character, while Sean Connery co-stars as his father. Other cast members featured include Alison Doody, Denholm Elliott, Julian Glover, River Phoenix and John Rhys-Davies. In the film, set in 1938, Indiana Jones searches for his father, a Holy Grail scholar, who has been kidnapped and held hostage by the Nazis while on a journey to find the Holy Grail. The film balances action, mystery and humour exceptionally well, moving from prologue adventure and academic clues to Nazi pursuit, ancient legends and one of the series’ most memorable finales.
The film was shot across several countries, and that wide geographical spread is a major reason it feels so grand and varied. Principal photography began in Almería in southern Spain, where the Tabernas Desert and the Cabo de Gata-Níjar area were used for the tank chase and the coastal plane sequence, while Guadix station in Granada stood in for Iskenderun. In England, Elstree Studios provided major interiors such as Donovan’s apartment, the Venetian catacombs and the Zeppelin, while other British locations were used for the university and related scenes. The Austrian-German border castle of Brunwald was represented by Burg Bürresheim in Germany, and the film’s most famous image of the Grail temple was created with Al-Khazneh at Petra in Jordan. The opening prologue was also tied to the American West through filming around Utah, which helped create the 1912 Boy Scout adventure. Altogether, the locations move from deserts and coastal landscapes to castles, ancient façades, railway settings and studio-built interiors, giving the film a much richer physical world than a simple globe-trotting backdrop.
Al-Khazneh
Al-Khazneh was the iconic filming location for the Temple of the Holy Grail in the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Burresheim Castle
Burresheim Castle is best known internationally from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), where it appears as Castle Brunwald.
Church of San Barnaba
The Church of San Barnaba in Venice is a 18th-century church renowned for its role in the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as a library.
Double Arch
Double Arch is best known from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, where it appears during the prologue with young Indiana Jones, played by River Phoenix.
Guadix Railway Station
Guadix Railway Station has appeared in North West Frontier, Doctor Zhivago, A Bullet for the General, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and many more.
Indiana Jones Bed & Breakfast
Indiana Jones Bed & Breakfast in Antonito, Colorado, is one of the most charming real-world locations connected to "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade".
Mónsul Beach
Mónsul Beach appears in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The NeverEnding Story, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Antony and Cleopatra, and Shalako.
Palazzo Barbaro
Palazzo Barbaro has appeared in Brideshead Revisited, Nosferatu in Venice, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, In Love and War, The Wings of the Dove and more.
Ponte dei Pugni
Ponte dei Pugni ("Bridge of Fists") in Venice, Italy, is a famous filming location, most notably in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
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