Monday, December 1, 2014

TODAY'S NUGGET: Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade (1989) - Sight Gags

[Quick Summary: Indiana Jones searches his father, who has gone looking for the Holy Grail.]

I like that this script doesn't take itself too seriously.

The tone is light with gaffs and gags.

I think this adds a dash of the unexpected to scenes with exposition, or routine actions.

One of my favorites is when Indy breaks into the library floor.

The scene itself is routine, but necessary, to get to the next clue.

The writer used a funny gag to make it memorable:

"Indy rushes past Brody to a cordon held in place by a brass stand underneath the stained-glass window.

Indy raises the brass stand and timing his actions, hits the tile precisely as the Librarian stams a book. The Librarian regards the stamper curiously.

Indy continues to pound at the tile as the Librarian resumes his stamping, still puzzled by the SOUND ECHOING through the library.

Finally Indy breaks the tile.  As he bends to remove the pieces of broken tile, a TWO-FOOT SQUARE HOLE IS REVEALED."

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: A sight gag in the right place can add a new twist to an otherwise ordinary scene.

Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade (1989) 
by Jeff Boam
Story by George Lucas & Menno Meyjes

No comments:

perPage: 10, numPages: 8, var firstText ='First'; var lastText ='Last'; var prevText ='« Previous'; var nextText ='Next »'; } expr:href='data:label.url' expr:href='data:label.url + "?&max-results=7"'