Invisible Bridge in Last Crusade

[rhino]

Okay, I have a question about the invisible bridge in Last Crusade. It appears that it is actually there, it just appears to be invisible because of the coloring blends into the other wall. When the camera turns, you can visibly see it.

There is a bridge, Indy walks across it. So, why does he throw the pebbles across the air and they land on what appears to truly be an invisble bridge.

I hope I have explained my question. It just bothers me.

 

[muttjones]

because from the view of the person first stepping out it looks like there isnt a bridge. Indy throws the pebbles over so that Walter Donovan and Elsa can see that there is a bridge and so not have to take the leap of faith.

hope that clears it up

 

[HovitosKing]

I've always wondered the same. Why would he encourage Elsa and Donovan to follow him? I mean, it all ended well...but still. He didn't even have a reason to suspect they would be following him, really. Maybe he was worried he'd get back to that spot and forget there really was a bridge there, then he'd have to take a heart-stopping leap of faith all over again?

In all seriousness, we (viewers) knew there really was a bridge there because of the camera pan. Indy didn't. He was probably testing to see whether he had actually crossed by faith, or whether it was an ingeniously disguised bridge after all.

 

[muttjones]

I've always wondered the same. Why would he encourage Elsa and Donovan to follow him? I mean, it all ended well...but still.

because his father is dieing and if he doesnt let them come over then they wont let indy pour the holy water on henry.

 

[MaxPhactor23]

What? This is being made way more confusing then it actually is. The bridge is actually there, it’s been painted to appear like the chasm wall on the opposing side. It’s force perspective. You can’t see it from the linear position of Indiana Jones, but from an askew position it’s very much so visible. It’s not actually invisible by some sort of magic or something, it very much so exists. This is why he throws the rocks. The rocks counteract the optical illusion. You can now tell there is actually a bridge there, allowing Donovan and Elsa to come across. Why wouldn’t he let them come? He has to get the grail to save his father. If they didn’t come, they’d have just waited for him outside. Seems there’s only one way to leave the place and that’s right across the same bridge.

 

[Ska]

Seems there?s only one way to leave the place and that?s right across the same bridge.

That wouldn't pass the fire code now-a-days!

But I agree with the King and Max...from Indy's perspective, he couldn't see the bridge until he threw the rocks/pebbles after he passed.

 

[Stoo]

That wouldn't pass the fire code now-a-days!

That bridge is one of the coolest ideas in the movie! "The Lost World" TV series blatantly ripped it off in an episode.
The effects weren't as convincing as "Crusade" but was still a fun scene.

I've always figured that Indy threw the sand in order to determine the width/shape of the bridge.
(Just in case a hasty exit was required!)

 

[The Golden Idol]

I don't understand how Indy didn't see the bridge in front of him. I mean, I understand how we as an audience couldn't see it; it blended in with the wall, but how did Indy not see it if he was looking at it from above?

 

[InexorableTash]

Suspension of disbelief combined with artistic license.

The apparent in-story explanation is that the bridge is painted such that, from a "magic point" - the view of someone standing at the lion's head door - it blends in perfectly with the wall on the far side of the chasm.

To show us this intended effect, and make visually it interesting, a different "magic point" was used. Instead of bolting a camera to the fedora we are shown a view from above so we can see Indy standing there. That's the artistic license part.

We are given three shots of the bridge:

* An approximate POV shot - Indy look across the chasm. There is no physical bridge there.

* The overhead/camera move shot, and Indy crossing the bridge. The physical bridge is there.

* Indy tossing rocks/dust back over the bridge. This appears to have been done with a blue- or green- screen effect, i.e. the physical bridge was covered with blue or green fabric, the rocks were tossed onto it, and then the bridge is edited out c/o compositing, thus appearing "transparent". (IMHO, the effect looks jarring.)

Now the suspension of disbelief comes in because obviously, in-story, the effect would only work from the "magic point" - if you're too short, too tall, or move your head to one side... or if the lighting isn't perfect, the effect would be lost and the bridge would be perfectly visible.

That said, they did an amazing job with the set. In the overhead shot just before the camera moves, you really can't see it, and the wall texture is rough/striated enough that there's wiggle room in the "magic point".

 

[Agent Spalko]

When the camera shifts the bridge becomes visible to the audience because the camouflaged rock patterns separate revealing the bridge. All Indy had to do was start shifting his perspective looking around to see that the alignment was off. Really, I don't see how anybody who is really standing there couldn't have seen it in 3 dimensions from the perception of depth. It would have been confusing at first like an optical illusion but an angled glance would have easily broken the illusion.

 

[nitzsche]

Plus, I never thought he was throwing the pebbles to give Donovan or Elsa an easy pass - I thought he did that for his return. But then you have to consider the bridge could only be camouflaged going one way since both sides of the chasm couldn't have identical features to blend the bridge to.

 

[Raiders90]

When the camera shifts the bridge becomes visible to the audience because the camouflaged rock patterns separate revealing the bridge. All Indy had to do was start shifting his perspective looking around to see that the alignment was off. Really, I don't see how anybody who is really standing there couldn't have seen it in 3 dimensions from the perception of depth. It would have been confusing at first like an optical illusion but an angled glance would have easily broken the illusion.

But all the original films are perfekt and have no "Huh" moments. You've now lost your 'true fan' license, please turn in your card at the front desk.

 

[Ska]

...couldn't Indy just inch his toes out over the edge to feel the "bridge"? Why'd he have to "leap"?

I know, I know...it's more dramatic!

It's ashame, though, that Indy fell for the "if someone tells you to jump from a cliff, would you?"...even if it was his dad that told him to "leap from the lion's head."

 

[Agent Spalko]

But all the original films are perfekt and have no "Huh" moments. You've now lost your 'true fan' license, please turn in your card at the front desk.

Bugger off imbecile.

 

[The Drifter]

I always thought he done that because he might have to come back across that bridge in a huge hurry.
I bet he remembered the temple at the begining of Raiders and how it crumbled and feel apart after retrieving the idol. And, he would be ready for that here.

 

[MaxPhactor23]

But all the original films are perfekt and have no "Huh" moments. You've now lost your 'true fan' license, please turn in your card at the front desk.

Have I mentioned how much I really hate people that throw out the playground "true fan" card?

 

[Tsar]

There is more than just clever camouflage going on with the bridge, because before Indy steps onto it, he looks down and clearly can see down into the depths of the chasm. If the bridge was simply painted to look like the opposite wall, he could not have seen down into the chasm.

I like not knowing exactly how the effect was achieved; the entire sequence has a greater sense of mystique about it than if it was just a stone bridge cleverly painted.

 

[HovitosKing]

I always thought he done that because he might have to come back across that bridge in a huge hurry.
I bet he remembered the temple at the begining of Raiders and how it crumbled and feel apart after retrieving the idol. And, he would be ready for that here.

It was in case he ran into the final (never before mentioned) booby trap in which the grail knight ushers Indy back out through the wrong exit, a second passage made to look exactly like the first one he entered through. Only this passage really doesn't have an invisible bridge, and Indy casually steps out into the abyss without knowing what hit him. With the rocks tossed onto the original bridge, Indy knows he's coming back out the way he came in.

 

[Coronado]

The question as to why he threw the pebbbles onto the bridge never bothered me - I always assumed it was so Donovan and Elsa could follow (they had his father hostage, so he was playing along).

The thing that did bug me is, how did he mark the second task? Indy makes his way across the spelling-bee-chasm without marking his path, and (let's face it) Donovan's stupid enough to trust Elsa to give him the right cup, so how is he going to be smart enough to know the Latin spelling of Jehovah?

-Coronado

 

[Indy~Annie]

what if he started walking at an angle? lol bye bye Indy.