How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Quote #1
PANAMA HAT: This is the second time I've had to reclaim my property from you.
INDIANA: That belongs in a museum.
PANAMA HAT: So do you.
Indiana Jones is kind of like the Robin Hood of archaeology. Instead of stealing from the rich to give to the poor, he steals priceless artifacts from greedy collectors to give to museums.
Quote #2
INDIANA: Archaeology is the search for fact, not truth. If it's truth you're interested in, Dr. Tyree's philosophy class is right down the hall. So forget any ideas you've got about lost cities, exotic travel, and digging up the world. We do not follow maps to buried treasure, and X never, ever marks the spot.
Indiana's speech to his students reveals loads about his belief system as an archaeologist. He's guided by truth and knowledge, not by fame and greed.
Quote #3
DONOVAN: Like yourself, Dr. Jones, I have a passion for antiquities.
They may both dig up antiquities, but what they do with them when they get them couldn't be more different. Indiana wants to put the artifacts in museums where people like us can appreciate them. Donovan wants to hoard them in his house for his own selfish reasons.
Quote #4
DONOVAN: The Holy Grail, Dr. Jones. The chalice used by Christ during the last supper. The cup that caught his blood at the crucifixion and was entrusted to Joseph of Arimathea.
INDIANA: The Arthur legend. I've heard this bedtime story before.
DONOVAN: Eternal life, Dr. Jones! The gift of youth to whoever drinks from the Grail! Now that's a bedtime story I'd like to wake up to.
INDIANA: An old man's dream.
DONOVAN: Every man's dream, including your father's, I believe.
This exchange does two things. First, it shows Donovan's motives: he wants the Holy Grail, and he wants it for himself so that he can live forever. Second, it demonstrates that Donovan totally misunderstands Henry's interest in the Grail. Henry's been after the Holy Grail his entire life because of its cultural and spiritual significance, not so he can see how the 2056 World Series turns out.
Quote #5
HENRY: I misjudged you, Walter. I knew you would sell your mother for an Etruscan vase, but I didn't know you would sell your country and your soul to the slime of humanity.
In other words, "I knew you were a greedy slimeball, Walt, but I didn't know you were willing to go full Nazi. Gross."
Quote #6
ELSA: Don't look at me like that. We both wanted the Grail. I would've done anything to get it. You would've done the same.
INDIANA: I'm sorry you think so.
It's pretty clear that Indiana has legit feelings for Elsa, so when she insinuates that he's lacking in principles just as she is, it's a huge bummer for him.
Quote #7
HENRY: The only thing that matters is the Grail.
INDIANA: What about Marcus?
HENRY: Marcus would agree with me!
INDIANA: (Sarcastically:) Two selfless martyrs. Jesus Christ.
Henry slaps him.
HENRY: That's for blasphemy.
Slapping somebody for blasphemy? That's pretty old school, and it says a lot about how firmly Henry's principles are rooted in Christian beliefs (at least of a certain kind). It's pretty clear he takes this Grail stuff very seriously.
Quote #8
DONOVAN: Whattaya say, Jones? Ready to go down in history?
INDIANA: As what? A Nazi stooge like you?
DONOVAN: The Nazis? Is that the limit of your vision? The Nazis want to write themselves into the Grail legend, take on the world. Well, they're welcome. But I want the Grail itself, the cup that gives everlasting life. Hitler can have the world, but he can't take it with him. I'm going to be drinking my own health when he's gone the way of the dodo.
Here's how warped ol' Water Donovan is. Based on this speech, we can see that he thinks he's more exceptional than Hitler. Yeah, that Hitler.
Quote #9
Elsa picks up the Grail and heads for the exit.
ELSA: We have got it. Come on!
INDIANA: Elsa. Elsa don't move.
ELSA: It's ours, Indy, yours and mine.
INDIANA: Elsa, don't cross the seal! The knight warned us not to take the Grail from here!
Elsa ignores Indiana, crosses the seal, and causes the building to start collapsing.
Oh, Elsa. Just like Donovan, her weakness is her self-centeredness and greed. When she gets her hot little hands around that Grail, she turns into a wild-eyed greed monster, incapable of rational thought—you know, like heeding the wisdom of a centuries-old knight.
Quote #10
Dangling off the edge of the cliff, Elsa sees the Grail on a nearby ledge as Indiana tries to lift her to safety.
INDIANA: Elsa.
Elsa pulls her left hand free to reach for the Grail.
INDIANA: Elsa. Don't, Elsa. Elsa. Your other hand, honey. I can't hold you!
ELSA: I can reach it. I can reach it.
Elsa's hand starts slipping out of the glove that Indiana's holding on to.
INDIANA: Elsa. Give me your hand. Give me your other hand!
Elsa almost reaches the Grail, the glove slips off her hand, and she falls into the abyss.
INDIANA: Elsa!
How lacking in principles is Elsa? So much so that she's willing to risk dying a grisly, fall-into-a-gnarly-abyss death over a cup. As in the Arthurian mythology, the way people react to the Grail says a whole lot about who they are and what makes them tick.