The Bearded Trio

Let's Go On A Movie Location Journey We are honoured to have a wonderful guest post from Justin Wilkinson from the excellent MovieLocationHunter website. Justin shares with us some of the iconic movie locations that we will be familiar with from being Lucas and Spielberg fans. Take it away, Justin! My fascination with movie locations all started when I was a young boy, awe struck by the outer-space settings of Star Wars, the time travelling in Back to the Future, the gadgets and glamour of 007 – ‘Bond, James Bond’ (Roger Moore was my childhood Bond) and the swashbuckling adventures of Indiana Jones. I never imagined as a child that these places were accessible – they were magical, mysterious all part of the alluring movie going experience. As I grew up my love of movies became stronger and my curiosity in what was involved in the process of movie making deepened. I would wait expectantly to watch the movies I had seen at the cinema again when they came out on different media – f...

I hadn’t watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) in quite a while. But the other morning, out of nowhere, a theory came to me that I felt compelled to write about. The grail knight, as seen in the grail chamber during the film’s climax, does not exist. I believe the grail knight is a projection of Indy’s belief and purity of quest. He has read the stories of the grail knights, but within his own mind, needs the support and affirmation of the grail knight.  I use the script and the direction of the actors as my supporting evidence. Allow me to explain. Indy successfully navigates the three challenges, as laid out in Henry’s book about the grail. He crawls into a candlelit chamber with chalices scattered about and a solitary figure genuflecting away from him. They have a brief conversation in which Indy says the grail knight has guarded the grail for more than 700 years. “A long time to wait,” the knight agrees. Also note how differently the knight is lit within the scene ...

Alan Jones Gives Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade A Right Whipping! We all love Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade .  It was a much loved addition to the Indiana Jones franchise back in 1989 and has aged well over the decades. But not all, it seems enjoyed the movie.  Critic of the time, Alan Jones had something of a no holds barred reputation when it came to reviewing TV shows and movies and the third Indy movie was equally not spared.   The short review from Starburst volume 11, number 11 July 1989 was ruthless and ultimately Alan gave the movie a straight down the middle five out of ten stating that he liked the movie but not as much as the others.  He called The Last Crusade "an inferior clone of the original" and said "The Last Crusade now travels such a well-worn path.  The over extended desert tank battle is one example of how exhilarating familiarity slides into contempt by Spielberg never knowing when to stop milking the formula despite inventing...

Let's be honest, we've all had a day like this where you feel all washed out and drained.  It's been a busy day on the set of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and tomorrow looks like it's not going to be any different.   Tilbury Docks then on to  Campo San Barnaba, Venice! The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more.

This month we lost a legend in the world of movies as Sir Sean Connery passed away at the age of 90.  Dan Dudych takes a look back at the first time he watch The Last Crusade and how Sean Connery became a fan favourite. I was shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of Sean Connery. Now, the first Bond film I saw was “Moonraker”, and that was on television, so Roger Moore was the first James Bond I came to know. I eventually did see all the films, no matter who was playing 007, but what I most remember Connery from was “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”. I still remember a local record store was giving out complimentary tickets to an advance screening of the film, and I got there before the store even opened to be sure I secured mine. I went with a friend and remember the sound going out two or three times in the first ten minutes of the film and thought; “This is off to a great start.”, but then everything ran smoothly, it was a great time, and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie...

Brad’s April Escape - Part 15 April 23 - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Each weekday this month, I’ll screen a film from The Bearded Trio Cinematic Universe and list 10 random scenes, characters, musical cues or performances that I particularly enjoy and look forward to upon every viewing. I’d love to hear similar little things you enjoy about these films, and hope you join me in this escape from the present-day world. Next up is the long-awaited conclusion to the original trilogy, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Last Crusade - An Introduction I can't, and I won't, rank the films of the Indiana Jones franchise. I am too attached in too many unique ways to those first three. Today, I tackle a more mature Indy, and corresponding film, Last Crusade. This film shares a lot of story beats with Raiders of the Lost Ark , and purposefully so, according to filmmaker Steven Spielberg. He says he missed the prevailing tone of Raiders after Indy m...

Scotland Holds The Secret To The Holy Grail Even when Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was enjoying being at the top of the cinema box office back in 1984, George Lucas was already thinking of Indy III.  Just six months after Temple of Doom, Lucas had produced an eight-page story treatment.  The story was called Indiana Jones and the Monkey King and it was easy to see that even with this short treatment a few elements would end up in the final third Indy movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade . A boat chase, a female archaeologist, a package in the post, the return of Marcus Brody, a German tank and the quest for eternal life were all packed into this eight-page treatment.  This official Lucasfilm memo from 1984 shows that George Lucas was not only trying to get the Holy Grail involved but also a connection to Scotland.  George Lucas tells us: "The Holy Grail had been an early idea on the artefacts...I think it was one of the original ideas around Tem...

- EXCALIBUR (1981) - Merlin's (Nicol Williamson) Robe & Helmet SOLD FOR  £91,500   - Peter “ Star-Lord” Quill’s Hero Helmet (Chris Pratt) from GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014) SOLD FOR  £134,200 - LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (2001) - Witch-king of Angmar's Crown   SOLD FOR  £51,850 Other items sold at auction included Jack Torrance’s Jacket (Jack Nicholson) from THE SHINING (1980) sold for  £73,200  – and the Alien Creature Costume from Aliens (1986) – which sold for  £61,000 Last year’s auction saw the Hero Batpod Vehicle from The Dark Knight Rises (2012) sell for an impressive £312,000 ($ 406,184)   Prop Store  – one of the world’s leading film and TV memorabilia companies – announced the results from last week's largest live auction of film and TV memorabilia in the UK, with items on offer fetching in excess of  £3.8   million. The Prop Store live auction,  run in partnership with...

Technically Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was the first sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark as Temple of Doom was a prequel set in 1935 to Raiders 1936. Here are 25 behind the scenes photos from the 1989 classic. Deleted scene from Last Crusade.  When Indy stepped on one of the wrong stones in the trials at the end, a huge spider appears and climbs up Indy. Rob @thebeardedtrio THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST