|
January 19, 2003
only the pennington man shall pass
The above was spoken by Mike Barnett shortly before the Raiders' dismantling of the New York Jets in their recent playoff game. Chad Pennington is the New York quarterback, failing miserably in the contest, and the line references the instructions given to Indiana Jones in the climactic final moments of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." The game continued, the Raiders kept amassing points and rushing yardage, and our conversation turned naturally to the subject of Indiana Jones. Much like the Raiders, Indy is an unstoppable force. And also like the Raiders, Indy is getting up there in years. In fact, the final sequence in "Last Crusade" seems designed to disguise Harrison Ford's advancing age (he was 47) and lack of mobility. He passes the first challenge by remembering, "Only the penitent man shall pass," and then kneeling down. The second challenge is solved by spelling the name of God in Greek. His supposed "leap from the lion's head" involves Indy simply falling and landing on an invisible bridge. All told, these stunts could have been performed by Harrison Ford, ex-president Gerald Ford, or ex-Beatle George Harrison without much decline in effectiveness. After completing these "challenges," Indy is given a task that only a sufficiently cultured, middle-aged man can do properly - pick out wine glasses. No young man would have the patience and experience to select the true Grail. Plus, Harrison Ford doesn't have to run or jump. Plans are reportedly in the works for a fourth Indiana Jones movie. Right now, Harrison Ford is 60 years old. The action sequences are going to have to be scaled down a great deal to accomodate his age and infirmity. Young Nubile Adventureress: Indy, the Nazis have flown the ancient relic back to Germany! How are we going to find the cash to pay for our plane tickets?
Comments
I have to commend you for your sensative address of two defining films for any child of the 1970s/1980s: Back to the Future and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. However, I feel one film that you've failed to address thusfar in this forum is Superman III (although it isn't a last of a trilogy). Compared to the others in the francise, this is the quintessential film for the end of the millenium. The idea of an intricate bank fraud that's even referred to in Office Space; Good Superman v. Bad Superman; Face of Fire, Richard Pryor; Lana Lang, who now plays Mrs. Kent on the tv show Smallville; and of course, Christopher Reeves, the greatest Superman ever, who also faces possibly the worst fate imaginable for a super man. All of these things go through my head each time I watch Superman III. And it is one, two, three roman numeral I's in the title. Posted by: K. A. Nizami on January 21, 2003 02:18 PMPost a comment |
About This Site
Sean Keane on Tumblr
Sean Keane Comedy Dot Com
Short posts, better name-branding
Recent Entries
blogging the roll call vote
belize it or guat, part four: central american booze an excerpt from my romance novel, "the irish whisperer" belize it or guat, part three: pasayos y huérfanos swing vote and the power of costner belize it or guat, part two: harper's index of my vacation belize it or guat, part one: the return garfield is correct singles night: the aftermath singles night at at&t park
Archives
Search
Backup Blog
Friends and Associates
Cementhorizon
Bertrand Russell Ate My Balls Being Famous Big Stupid Jerkface Brian Dermody Carthage Concrete Skyline Dan Ilic Dolores Park Couture Excess & Defects Fried Twinkie Girl I Fought The Law Hitsville KB Web Nuts To You Omar Seyal Penguin Peckings Pentavirate West - Bow Down When You Come To Our Town Scott Greenwalt Snoqualmie Sushi Tilted Fish The Weblog of J. Alfred Prufrock
San Francisco Comedy
SF Standup
Ali Mafi Amir Malekpour Chris Garcia on Tumblr Kevin Munroe Joe Klocek's Zen of Funny Joe Tobin Justin Lamb's Let's Make A List First Laura Swisher's Untitled Blog Project Mike Spiegelman's Luggage Tuesdays Scamboogah! Trying To Get My Blog On (Beata)
Fine Sporting Websites
Carl Pavano
Deadspin Football Outsiders Free Darko Gilbert Arenas The Mighty MJD MJD @ The Fanhouse Too Much Rod Benson True Hoop
Local Bands
Chuckbeat Records
Elegant Clydes Inflatable Supermodel Last of the Blacksmiths The John Francis We Be the Echo
Artists
Sean Keane's Internet Famousness
Sean's Squelch Stuff
Sean Ghostwrites Jon Carroll: June 15, 1999 Sean On ModernHumorist.com McSweeney's: Scenes From A Blockbuster Action Movie Featuring A Technology Expert With Approximately My Own Real-Life Skill Level McSweeney's: Campaign-Trail Quotes From George W. Bush, If He Were Running for President in 1848 The Shirt Off Sean Keane's Back Seankeanester | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||