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Elsa: What's this?

Indiana Jones: Ark of the Covenant.

Elsa: Are you sure?

Indiana Jones: Pretty sure.

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At one point Indiana's father blows the tail of the plane in which they were flying to pieces in an attempt to shoot at the Germans. This is obviously in a close-up studio shot. The next moment the plane is shown flying in the distance with its tail still intact. See more...

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Michael Byrne had previously portrayed a Nazi opposite Harrison Ford in "Force 10 from Navarone" (1978). See more...

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Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989) - 74 corrections

Directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Alison Doody, Denholm Elliott, Harrison Ford, John Rhys-Davies, Julian Glover, River Phoenix, Sean Connery (add more)

Genres: Action, Adventure

Comments made in brackets are corrections from other visitors. To submit your own corrections for mistakes, just click "edit" under an entry, then choose "correct entry". You can also submit corrections for corrections, if you think a mistake has been unfairly removed.

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When Indiana Jones is escaping with his father and he sets off a boat as a decoy, there is no large crate on the dock. But a few minutes later, when the Germans show up, as they start going towards the boats, a large crate has suddenly appeared on the dock, from which Indy and his dad emerged on a motorbike. [The crate is on the dock the whole time. it is just off screen which is why Indy walks off screen while his father complains about not getting in the boat.]
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The film is set in 1938, yet the Jones' fly to Europe from America on a commercial airliner and attempt to leave Germany in a Zeppelin. Pan America's first commercial transatlantic airliner didn't take off until May of 1939, and commercial Zeppelin flights were suspended after the Hindenberg's crash in May of 1937. [Pan-American airlines was offering transatlantic charter service on its M-130 flying boat in 1934. Several other carriers, American and European were offering commercial transatlantic flights by 1938 although most were charters. Indy's patron is shown to be very wealthy and could charter any plane he wished. Also, although transatlantic zeppelin service ended with the Hindenburg crash, lighter-than-air craft were used frequently for passenger transport, especially in Europe. The airship Indy and Henry board is much too small to be a Hindenburg / Graf Zeppelin class ship anyway; it is more likely a helium or helium/hydrogen dirigible for short to medium haul trips.]
Edit Corrected by Gibbsdoc
Indiana's boat was destroyed by a giant propeller. However, no boat in history has a propeller that is only half submerged in water and the other half in the air. [Actually, there are a number of legitimate reasons why a ship's propeller may be only partly submerged. Several types of heavy-load ships have their propellers exposed when they carry neither load nor ballast. Almost every type of nuclear submarine has part of its propellers clear of the water when its ballast tanks are blown dry. Since the ship was moored and the propeller turning rather slowly, it was probably supposed to be deballasted for yard repairs and undergoing an engine test.]
Edit Corrected by Doc
When Marcus Brody arrives in Iskenderun, many men are seen wearing fezzes. However, wearing a fez was outlawed in Turkey in 1925. [The film is set in 1938, during which Iskenderun was part of the Republic of Hatay. Hatay did not join Turkey until the following year. Regardless, the existence of laws doesn't mean that people don't break them.]
Edit Corrected by JC Fernandez
When Adolf Hitler autographs Indiana's grail diary, he does so with his right hand; in reality, Hitler was left-handed. [This is simply untrue. Hitler was NOT left handed. There are too many websites to prove this, but if you Google "Hitler signs" and look for the images, you'll see all the proof you need.]
Edit Time
The boat chase in Venice. Just after Indy says "don't go between them" a jet stream is visible above the two boats. Not very likely in 1938. [Extremely likely in 1938. Piston engined aircraft leave vapour trails, too. Daytime bomber pilots in World War 2 considered them a curse as they gave the position of their aircraft away.]
Edit Time
When Indy is in the castle and the butler says ". I am Mickey Mouse" - you can see someone walk past the crack on the right hand side of the front door, most likely someone from the crew. [It could also be a film character who is at the castle - a soldier, an employee, a guest, etc., who just happens to be walking by. Since this person is unseen, they cannot be identified as a crew member.]
Edit Corrected by raywest
In the scene in the castle, the weather outside is changing dramatically. When Indy enters his father's room, it is very dark and pouring rain. When in Elsa's room, the sunrise is shining brightly through the windows. When in the large hall, we can hear thunder again and see reflections of water running down the windows. [This is actually very natural. I've been in the middle of terrible storm and suddenly it stopped for a few moments and she sun shone through. Then it started up again.]
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When Indy and Henry are going around in the fireplace, the Germans are firing on them. They are firing tracer rounds, as we can see them spark on the fireplace. However, tracer rounds spark orange, not blue, as in the movie. [Only one in ten bullets loaded into a magazine will be a tracer round, and some marksmen can do with as few as one in twenty. All the other bullets will be regular metal jacket ball and will produce the pyrotechnics you see in the film.]
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When driving from Venice to the castle we see a map of the route. In it Austria is marked with its own borders and its name is indicated. But in 1938 (which is after the anschluss), Austria no longer existed. It was part of Germany. [It is true that Austria was no longer sovereign, but it still existed as a province of Germany until 1945 (it was renamed in 1942, but that's irrelevant for this issue). Marking Austria on the map serves to better inform the viewer where the events are taking place. Given that the weather looks like that of late spring, and Aschluss took place in March-April of that year, all contemporary maps would still include Austria.]
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In the scene where Indy and Dr. Shneider are looking for the Roman numerals in the library, look closely at the signs specifying where to go to find a specific category. You may need to use the Zoom button, but they are printed in English. They are in Venice: the signs should be in Italian. [Many public buildings have English signs in addition to the native language. The only airport I have ever been to that had signs only in its country's native language was in England, every other country having signs in more than one language. I've been to libraries, museums, restaurants and shopping centers in Russia with signs in both Russian and English.]
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After the "Protectors of the Grail" set the petrol alight to kill Indy and Elsa, they must have thought that they couldn't survive it. Yet they then run out of the library fast and look around to find them, as though they expected them to escape. [Perhaps their goal was not to kill them, but to flush them out of the sewers? They apparently knew the Venice system well and knew that escape was possible. It's not unlikely they knew about Jones and judged him likely to survive, at least likely enough to try to cover the exits.]
Edit Time
Why is there a sea of petroleum below Venice - and how can it be below the water line? (The basement is deeper than the distance from the surface of the ground to the surface of the water in the next scene). [Petroleum has seeped into the sewer/catacomb system and is just floating on the surface of the water. It being below the water line is a simple matter of the basement being sealed off from the surrounding water.]
Edit Corrected by Phixius
The Joneses leave Berlin in the Zeppeliner. After supposedly no more than 1-2 hours flight they escape in a biplane and crash after a few minutes. Nevertheless they have reached the Mediterrenean. That would have taken a lot longer. [We do not know how long the Zeppelin was under way when the Jones's escape with the biplane. It might actually have been four to five hours - there's no real indicator of the passed time.]
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There is a problem with the following scene: The Nazi plane crashes into the tunnel, slides past Harrison Ford and Sean Connery and explodes when exiting the tunnel. The problem is that the plane shouldn't explode since its wings (filled with gas) were torn off. It couldn't have been a bomb attached to the plane either, since, as it is seen only seconds afterwards, a bomb would leave a big crater in the street and make it impossible for the car to go on. Yet, Harrison Ford has no problems at all driving through what's left of the plane. [The engine and hosing that delivers the gas to it is attached to the fuselage.]
Edit Corrected by JC Fernandez
After the moterbike chase, Indiana drives past the road sign, which points to Venice and Berlin. He then talks to his dad before looking strait ahead at a sign which is behind him. [He's not looking at the sign, he's making a decision. The shot of the sign was for the audience's benefit.]
Edit Corrected by JC Fernandez
Once Indy has found the grail, he goes back with Elsa to heal his father. But how was it possible for him to get back? Wouldn't he have to face the challenges again, but in reverse order? [Yes, but he knows what they are now, so he can pretty much just walk (or run) straight through them. The filmmakers just chose not to waste valuable screen-time showing it.]
Edit Corrected by Tailkinker
When the Nazi officer is thrown out of the Zepellin by Indy, you can see the safety mat underneath the luggage. [What on earth is the point of putting a crash mat under anything? That's a bog standard tarpaulin used to protect the passengers' luggage from the damp ground.]
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After the Grail protector is shot, his shirt covers up his chest, and then someone opens up his shirt to reveal the logo on his chest. Is this normal Nazi practice to check the chests of people after they've died? The Grail Protector gave no indication to the Nazis as to who he was, therefore it was illogical for the Nazis to check. [A character displaying curiosity is now a plot hole, is it? Do bear in mind that these are Nazis who are specifically looking for the Grail and have studied the legends surrounding the artifact in considerable detail, so they're likely to be aware of possible opposition groups. When they're ambushed and Kazim refers to himself as a messenger from God, it seems entirely reasonable that they would check his chest to see if he carries any identifying marks corresponding to the legends. Given the circumstances, it would really be pretty illogical for them not to check.]
Edit Corrected by Tailkinker
When Indy gets on the plane to go to Venice, the map traces his route from New York City. But when he first set out in Raiders of the Lost Ark - when he was working with Denholm Elliot at the same university - the map showed him starting out from California. [The fact that the map starts tracking his journey from a different starting point doesn't make it a mistake. He could have gone to New York for any number of reasons before setting out.]
Edit Corrected by Jason Hoffman
When Indiana breaks in through the window, he lets go of his whip, yet he has it through the rest of the film despite us never seeing him retrieve it. [Just because we don't see it onscreen doesn't mean it didn''t happen. He could have retrieved it anytime after killing the guards.]
Edit Corrected by Guy
When Indie rescues his father and shoots the Germans, the one that he pushed over stayed on the floor. Surely being pushed over couldn't have caused him that much damage. [He probably stayed down to avoid getting shot, since that's what happened to the others.]
Edit Corrected by Phixius
When Indy and his father are rotating via the fireplace into the radio room and are noticed by the female operator, she screams in German: 'Los. Die Gewehre.' and the soldiers fire their pistols. But in German, the word 'Gewehre' refers to rifles; for pistols or handguns the word 'Pistole' is used. [The operator is pretty flustered by the appearance of two bound prisoners in the secret door, and just screams out the first command she can think of. She forgets that the other persons in the room are officers who do not carry rifles, but they get the message; to shoot at the Joneses.]
Edit Corrected by Twotall
During the airplane chase Indy is seen firing his revolver at the German planes, after he crash-lands he pulls his revolver and breaks open the action to see if its loaded. Not only is the revolver empty but there are no shell casings in the chambers. The reason this is a mistake is that unlike an auto loader a revolver doesn't eject spent shell casings, and even if Indy had fired all 6 shots, the shell casings would still be in the chambers of the revolver. In fact as Indy opens the revolver you can see the ejector mechanism operating. And there are no casings being ejected. [It's not that Indy has fired all six shots, it's that he hasn't reloaded since he last used his gun. Remember he just escaped from the Nazis and had to get himself and his father transport, it's possible he never had time to find any more ammunition. He checks it when he's being attacked because he's hoping he reloaded it.]
Edit
When the operators try to shoot Indy and his father as they rotate back into the burning room, the bullets flying towards and ricocheting off the rotating wall are evidently tracer bullets. Normally, tracer bullets are not normally issued for handguns; they are used more for rifles and machine guns. [The Germans in the film also carry MP38 sub-machine guns, which are chambered for the same 9mm Parabellum round as the Lugers that are being fired in the scene in question. Being sub-machine guns and therefore fully automatic, they would invariably have been issued with tracer rounds.]
Edit
When Indy makes a rubbing of the knights' shield in the tomb under the library, he dives underwater with it. This would ruin the paper and make it unreadable, yet we see him later with it and it's perfect. There's no way he had time to seal it in a water-tight container before he dived. [Indy used a wax crayon to make the rubbing,and he did it on wax paper. Both are waterproof.]
Edit
That knight in the temple of the grail - how does he know contemporary English after spending centuries in that cave? He's only alive because of the water - he's not imbued with mystical futuristic knowledge. A Medieval English knight (assuming he even is English, since Crusaders came from all over Europe) would be speaking either Old French or Middle English, neither of which would make any sense to the modern ear; they'd both sound like foreign languages. [Remember that he is the subject of supernatural powers, namely immortality. He has been chosen by God to guard the Holy Grail. It is not a stretch to assume that part of that entails the ability to automatically understand and converse with someone in a language he did not previously know. There are such stories in the Bible.]
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Three people involved in this film have won the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award. They are George Lucas, Harrison Ford, and Sean Connery. [So what? I'm sure that it's not unique in that regard. Trivia is about the film, not about coincidences relating to those who made it.]
Edit Corrected by Tailkinker
When Indy and his father come to the crossroads after having escaped the Nazis the sign says "Berlin" and "Venedig". When they leave it says "Berlin" and "Venice". It's the same side of the sign both times. [Yes, it does. And the wavery effect in the middle of the shot is meant to be a translation so that viewers can understand where Indy is driving to.]
Edit Corrected by Guy
While Donovan and Indy are looking at the tablet, if you freeze the movie while it shows the tablet, you can clearly see the word "deorum", meaning "of the gods". Not something you would expect a Christian to be carrying around, considering they are monotheistic. [Firstly if you have to pause the movie then it's not a mistake but aside from that, some early Christian theology believed that the holy trinity was to be interpreted literally and hence Christianity was not monotheistic.]
Edit Corrected by tw_stuart Time
The two first frames of the shot when the German bike flies after Indiana obstructs the front wheel with a stick show a dummy in a motorcycle that never moves. [It has been established that if you have to use freeze frame or slow motion to see a mistake - it needs to be something such as a cameraman in the picture or something of that nature. The fact that they used a dummy that you can see for two freeze frames and is not really noticeable in real time cannot be contributed as a mistake.]
Edit Corrected by Zwn Annwn
When the tank driver has been shot, he leans on one of the levers. The tank slews round, saving Indy. In the next shot it shows the tank heading straight forward. This would not happen if the driver is still leaning on the lever. Even if one of the crew takes over, they would see the canyon up ahead and steer away from it. [The force of the turn could have made the driver fall off the lever, making it return to its normal position.]
Edit
That camouflage bridge at the end is in fact just a rock bridge painted to blend in with the other side of the canyon. Fair enough. That doesn't alter the fact that when Indy looks down into the void there is nothing there, just blackness. Camouflage or not, the bridge should be visible when looking straight down. [The bridge is actually invisible. The special effect used when the movie was made was a real bridge cleverly painted, that's true, but the effect was made to show how the bridge is invisible until you have the courage and the faith to step out onto it. So when Jones is looking down, he is actually seeing through the stone slab, and when he manages to step into the void and hits the bridge it becomes visible to him.]
Edit Corrected by Twotall
When the Zeppelin takes off, you see the German officer has fallen into a pile of bags. These bags obviously belonged to the passengers on the Zeppelin, so why weren't they on the Zeppelin when it took off? [Perhaps the bags belonged to passengers on the incoming flight rather than the outgoing flight?]
Edit Corrected by Damian Torres Time
When Indy is atop the tank with his father, he is facing his father. Suddenly, they show a close-up of Indy's face, head-on, with the Nazi leader behind him swinging a shovel towards Indy's head in the background. Indy gasps, and ducks. How did Indy see the shovel being swung at his head if it was completely behind him?" [He heard the sound of it slicing through the air.]
Edit Corrected by Myridon
When the flames are shooting down the tunnel, they overturn the coffin for protection. Just before this, however, Elsa is holding the torch, the next second it's gone. [Well, obviously since she was in a state of panic, she dropped it. Or, since she knew they were going under highly flammable petroleum, she could have thrown it away from herself.]
Edit Time
Wouldn't Indiana Jones pass out from wearing a leather jacket in a hot desert?. [As the stuntman and Harrison Ford probably spent many weeks in the jacket in the desert, the answer would have to be 'No'.]
Edit Corrected by Soylent Purple
When Indy and Marcus are in Indy's father's house, one of the letters in the mail on the desk has a three cent Texas centennial stamp on it, which was 1945, not 1938. This can easily be seen in the closeup. [The Texas Centennial was celebrated in 1936 to celebrate Texas's independence from Mexico in 1836, not its statehood in 1845, which some in the state still lament. Texas Centennial stamps could therefore have still been in circulation in 1938.]
Edit
When Indy and Elsa are back at the hotel after the boat accident, Elsa's room is wrecked. How did Indy not know she wrecked it herself or hear her wrecking it? He was only 2 doors down. He could hear the music playing in the bathroom but not her trashing her own room. He should have known she did it when she came out the bathroom surprised. Seriously, how can you be in the bathroom and not hear someone trashing your hotel room? [If the music was loud enough for him to hear it, it would have been loud enough to cover up the noise.]
Edit
When a second "volunteer" gets to the first challenge, he looks down and sees a body lying on the floor with its head lying next to it. Yet when he gets decapitated, his head flies off and rolls about 10 meters, before finally being stopped by a rock. [Considering that this "Booby Trap" was built about 1000 years ago and was powered by gears, you could assume that it wouldn't be precise enough to cut at the exact same speed each time it was tripped. So, each time someone walked through the trap and their head was sliced off it wouldn't land in the same place each time.]
Edit Time
As Donovan and Indy are looking at the tablet, Donovan's wife enters the room to say he is neglecting his guests. Donovan answers her and as she retreats from the room, she nods at Indy to acknowledge him, although in the very next shot, Indy's got his back to her. [Indy did have his back to her, ignoring her, but being a good hostess, she nodded to him anyway. A lady like that would not be put off her manners by Indy's boorish behaviour, engrossed as he was with Donovan's artifacts and proposal.]
Edit Time
When Indiana finally breaks through the giant 'X' on the library floor, he simply pops out the remaining marble in that area. In reality, the marble "tiles" would have been held together by some sort of cement joint, rendering it impossible for him to remove a neat square of marble without using some sort of cutting tool first. [the pieces were meant as a secret door.]
Edit Time
When Indy is using the grail to heal his father, he empties the grail on the wound. Moments later there is water in the grail. [Hmm... a holy artifact performing a miracle refilling itself... Well, that's just odd, now isn't it?]
Edit
In the library scene Indy spots the Roman numeral X on the floor. The X is a dark green and the marble around it is a light green colour. When Indy eventually smashes through it the camera pans back to show that the X has gone and that all the marble is dark green. [The X has not disappeared- it is just barely visible. Part of the challenge is that the X is only visible when looked upon at a height.]
Edit Time
Elsa states that the knights came from France at the beginning of the Crusades. The original Crusaders came from Spain. France didn't get involved until later. [The first Crusade was Frankish in origin (http://www.brighton73.freeserve.co.uk/firstcrusade/Overview/Overview.htm). The Spanish had been fighting Moslems before, but not in the way of a Crusade.]
Edit
On the zeppelin, after Indy knocks the Nazi out, everyone stares at him in horror and confusion. He says to them, in plain English, "He didn't have a ticket" and EVERYONE on the zeppelin responds by getting out their tickets. The problem is, it's a German zeppelin leaving Berlin. Even if there were some people on board who knew English, it's highly unlikely that everybody on board would. [Well, first of all, it's a joke. But also when Indy says "No ticket," you can see that some of them are confused. One woman keeps repeating it, trying to figure out what he said. Then one or two people who DID understand get their tickets out, so everyone figures it out.]
Edit
When Elsa and Jones are in the catacombs, Elsa says that the Christians would have dug their own passages and burial chambers centuries later, so the knight shouldn't be with those tombs. However, the Crusades spread Catholicism, so the knight should be with the Christians. [When they go in Elsa sees pagan symbols on the catacombs. She says that the Christians would have dug their own passages, and Indy says that the knight will be with them, meaning the Christians. There's nothing wrong with what they say.]
Edit
In the scene where Indy and Elsa are under an overturned casket in the burning catacombs and Indy is swimming with his eyes open looking for an exit, wouldn't his eye be burning since it is petroleum he is swimming in? When he comes up for air he doesn't seem bothered by it. [Petroleum floats on water. If all the liquid in the catacombs was petroleum, the entire block would have exploded in a gigantic fireball when the guardians lit it a bit later. So Indy was under the layer of petrol when he opened his eyes.]
Edit Corrected by Grumpy Scot
In the library scene, the Grail Protectors hit Marcus in the head and drag him. What kind of spies/soldiers/agents are they if they didn't find the grail diary on Marcus's pocket? Surely the book would be interesting to them, since it contains lots of directions to find the grail... [The Protectors have a much higher priority - eliminating Indy and Ilsa before they can find the directions to the Grail. They've got no reason to search the unconscious Marcus - it would simply waste time. There's no indication that they know about Henry's Grail diary, so they wouldn't know to look for it.]
Edit Corrected by Tailkinker
Both this movie and the first one revolve around Hitler's fascination with the occult. In reality, Hitler only had a mild interest with spiritual matters. Heinrich Himmler was the one with the strong interest in such things. [We never see that it is literally Hitler ordering these missions, though the non-German characters generalize that Hitler is pursuing them. Someone within his administration, like Himmler, could be carrying these out without specific approval and the Americans would assume that it is Hitler's orders. Actions of a country are attributed to that country's leader.]
Edit Corrected by Phoenix
In the scene where Indy and Kasim are fighting on the speedboat while it is being chopped up by the propeller of a ship, the windscreen on the boat is upright, and just as Indy says to Kasim " why are you trying to kill us?" the windscreen is lying flat. [The windshield is always flat after Indy grabs Kasim, but the light reflecting off the panels sometimes make it look upright. You can see them vibrating.]
Edit Corrected by Phoenix
How did the Coronado-guys manage to come after Indy so quickly? He had a horse, while they had a car, and they certainly couldn't drive it in that rocky landscape, so they would have to run some distance on foot. [Both Indy and the thieves run to the same rocky outcrop, with the thieves about twenty seconds later than Indy. Both call their respective rides from the same point, and the cars turn up just fine. The thieves close some of the distance for the chase to the train.]
Edit Corrected by Phoenix
When River Phoenix first finds the whip in the car with the lion. He uses the whip, hits himself in the chin and is bleeding, the camera flashes to the lion, and when it flashes back, he is bleeding down the other side of his chin. [In both of these shots, and the others in the lion's car, he is bleeding from a diagonal cut that runs down the left side of his chin.]
Edit Corrected by Phoenix
When the nazi drives the tank off the cliff and the turret falls off, the top of the tank body has no opening into, as Sallah would put it, "the belly of that steel beast". Obviously, a very cheap prop model tank with a turret glued on top. [The entrance is the dark spot on the top of the turret. It is visible as the tank falls off the cliff, in the closing shot on the Nazi, and when the tank hits the ground.]
Edit Corrected by Phoenix
When Indy and his father are captured in the castle and the Germans leave (with Donovan) it's rainy and dark outside, yet when Indy and his father escape a few moments later and take the motorcycle it's clear daylight. [When the Joneses are tied up in the hall, light is streaming through the windows and making strong shadows on the floor. When Donovan leaves, it is shadowed but obviously not raining, therefore probably in a garage or covered area.]
Edit Corrected by Phoenix
During the scene in the Zeppelin, Sean Connery is reading his newspaper upside down. [The paper is upside-down because Connery doesn't have his glasses on. He can't tell it's upside-down. That's why he squints when the German pulls the newspaper down.]
Edit Time
In the catacombs under the library in Venice (again) there is a mess of wrong historical references. Leaving aside the obvious difficulties of building catacombs in a city which is a LAKE, Venice was not founded until several centuries later (previously it was an empty swamp). Moreover, the sepulchre they find is obviously medieval (that is, even several centuries older than that) and the inscription on it is done in "romantic" XIX Century gothic style. [Venice was founded in the 5th century on a group of islands. By the Medieval era, it was a thriving republic. Venice having catacombs is unlikely due to geography- but not history. Venice was founded way before the middle ages- near the time of Rome's fall and in a time when Rome's catacombs were used.]
Edit
When Indiana flips the knight's coffin over into the petrol, and they're underneath it, it should be sinking. There are holes in the top that the rats come through, yet this stone coffin floats so well. [It's not a stone coffin. It's wood. That is evident by the ease with which Indie takes off the lid then flips it in the water. A stone coffin would not have holes eaten through and termite burrows.]
Edit
When Indiana Jones bumps into Adolf Hitler. Hitler takes the book from Indiana's hand, gets a pencil and signs his autograph. The signature finally used in the Close Up was readable. The real Hitler signature was unreadable. They originally had a signature expert to do this, but they decided to change it so that the audience could read it. [Not quite right. Hitler's autograph changed through the years, in 1938 it still was readable. See: http://www.simnet.is/gudnib12/gudnib12/hit1d.htm]
Edit
For the first challenge "only the penitent man will pass", Indy realises that he must kneel. The first blade does miss him, but what about the second blade? Anyone else who kneeled as the instructions pointed out would have been killed by the second blade coming through the floor (which Indy somersaulted over after kneeling). [But if you're kneeling, then you're probably facing the floor, meaning that you can see the slot the blade comes out of and you can avoid the trap. That IS how Indy knew to avoid it, after all.]
Edit
Once Indy gets past the blades, he stops them and shouts that he is through, once past the "Leap of Faith", he throws sand on the bridge to make it visible. But what about the "Word of God" device? Indy does not shout what to do, and as pointed out, Donovan & Elsa didn't know what else was in the book (about the final challenge). They didn't even know that the second device was called the "Word of God". Unless she took a wild guess that they had to spell Iehovah... [After Indy climbs back up after mistakenly stepping on the J, and as he figures out he needs to step on the I, Elsa and Donovan can be seen watching him from behind, next to the blades from the first challenge. He didn't need to tell them how to get through it because they were standing right there.]
Edit Corrected by Vader47000
When Hitler signs Indy's diary, he signs 'Adolph' he should sign 'Adolf.' [The signature does read 'Adolf']
Edit Corrected by ChiChi
In both 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' and 'The Last Crusade', the Germans and their lackeys use MP 38 or MP 40 submachine guns extensively. The MP 38 (the predecessor of the MP 40) was still a new weapon in 1938, and it was originally distributed to paratroopers and tank crews; the Wehrmacht soldiers received it later as a standard issue. Most of the SMGs the Germans used at that time looked liked cut-down rifles with side-loading magazines, like the Bergmann MP 35 and the Austrian Steyr-Solothurn. The guns used by Kazim in Venice and the SS-men in the desert scene (as they shoot the retreating grail defenders) in The Last Crusade are therefore more appropriate weapons for 1938. [Considering the importance of the mission to capture the Ark/Grail, Hitler would make sure the men assigned to the detail had the best weapons available.]
Edit Corrected by Grumpy Scot
After being pursued by the protectors of the grail in the streets of Venice, Indy and Else Schneider leap into a boat. As it's gaining momentum to speed off, we see one of the protectors hurl himself onto the back and roll over - we see him just about to fall off the edge. The shot then cuts to Else and Indy, and when the back of the boat is filmed again, the protector is securely gripping the rear of the boat. [He's "securely gripping the rear of the boat" because he never had an INSECURE hold. He grabbed onto something solid with his left hand when he first leaped onto the boat. The momentum of the leap swung the lower half of his body around, but he never lost his grip. The delay between this shot and the succeeding shot gives him plenty of time to swing his body back around for an even more secure purchase.]
Edit Corrected by Phil C.
The gorgeous temple that is carved into the canyon of the crescent moon's cliffs has since been blown up by the Taliban. What a shame. [You are confusing with the destruction of the rock-carved Buddha that was blown up by the Taliban in 2001. The "temple" you are referring to is in Petra, Jordan.]
Edit Corrected by megamii
The biplane attached to the airship is obviously meant as fighter support in case the zeppelin is attacked (after all, it is armed with a rear machine gun). The only problem is that it is an aged German D-VII from World War I. These planes were no longer built after 1918, and all common military planes of 1938 were vastly superior to the old biplanes. Why would you try to protect an airship with a 20-year-old biplane? [Actually the biplane is a Belgian Stampe S4. Looks a bit like a Tiger Moth. I doubt any real DVIIs are around and in any event, the Germans weren't flying them. As a footnote, in the 30s the US was experimenting with biplanes attached to dirigibles because of their slow stall speed- they could hook up to the big mother ship by matching the relatively slow air speed.]
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Indy is being chased through Venice by the Brotherhood of the Fez. At this point he assumes they are bad guys and thinks nothing of killing a few of them. Then he has a fight with Kazeem and finds out that they aren't actually baddies. Kazeem seems quite happy to leave it at that and doesn't appear to mind that half his colleagues have in fact just been killed for no good reason. [Indy wasn't responsible for any of the deaths that occurred during the boat chase. The only man he had any interaction with was the man he punched in the face to throw off the side of the boat. The Brotherhood members who died chose, on their own, to drive through a space that was too narrow for their boat. What's Kazim going to do about it? Kill Indy in retribution? Especially when he's been disarmed and is now outnumbered two to one?]
Edit Corrected by Phil C.
Why doesnt Elza just drink from the cup while they are still in the room with the knight before Indy takes it to his father? [The Grail doesn't grant immortality after one drink - it requires the owner to drink regularly to maintain their life. Ilsa needed to take the Grail with her, hence the collapse of the cave and her subsequent demise.]
Edit Corrected by Tailkinker
When Indy & his father first sit down in the airship, Henry picks up a paper and starts to read it. Look closely and you can see that it's upside down. [He doesn't have his glasses on; you even see him later squinting to read the paper. It's very likely that he didn't realise the paper was upside down because of his lack of glasses.]
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When the Nazi convoy enters the canyon the Nazi leader says "it must be one or two miles away from here" but if he is German wouldn't he use kilometres instead of miles? [Not in the late '30s. It took a while longer to become a standard (ie. daily usage) even in Europe.]
Edit Corrected by Kaite13
Indy and Marcus seem to have no problem getting into Italy. Italy at this time was already a Fascist country, which would have made it quite difficult for two Americans to get in. [It would actually be very easy for Marcus and Indy to get into Italy. They explain earlier that Donovan is making the arrangements for the trip. Donovan is working with the Nazi's. The same Nazi's who were quite chummy with the Italian gov't at the time.]
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When Indy steps on the letter "O" in the second challenge, the block behind it crumbles. When the block is shown again, it is undamaged. [The block is never shown again. Indiana Jones is trying to spell out the word 'Jehovah', and after he steps on the 'O', the camera cuts to him stepping off the 'V' and onto the 'A'; the block behind the 'O' is not seen again.]
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When Indy opens the coffin under the library in Venice, the grail tablet is covered in dust, even though it has been covered by the lid for centuries. [The majority of dust is created by dead human skin. The decaying body would provide ample enough amounts of dust to cover a shield.]
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In the library, Indiana is looking for the "X" or 10 to match the one on the stained-glass window. When he goes up the stairs, he points out the large yellow/gold "X" on the library floor. When you see him blowing the dried out caulk and opening the floor open with the gold stool thing, the "X" is no longer yellow. It is barely visible and is almost the exact same color of the floor [The 'X' looks yellow/gold because of the angle from which he was viewing it. Standing anywhere else, like from floor-level changes the angle and it 'disappears'. This is why it isn't obvious all along. Notice that he kind of makes it out but has to move up higher in order to see it properly.]
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