<P> Filming resumed two days later at Elstree, where Spielberg swiftly filmed the library, Portuguese freighter, and catacombs sequences . The steamship fight in the prologue's 1938 portion was filmed in three days on a sixty - by - forty - feet deck built on gimbals at Elstree . A dozen dump tanks--each holding three hundred imperial gallons (360 U.S. gallons; 3000 lb .) of water--were used in the scene . Henry's house was filmed at Mill Hill, London . Indiana and Kazim's fight in Venice in front of a ship's propeller was filmed in a water tank at Elstree . Spielberg used a long focus lens to make it appear the actors were closer to the propeller than they really were . Two days later, on August 4, another portion of the boat chase using Hacker Craft sport boats, was filmed at Tilbury Docks in Essex . The shot of the boats passing between two ships was achieved by first cabling the ships off so they would be safe . The ships were moved together while the boats passed between, close enough that one of the boats scraped the sides of the ships . An empty speedboat containing dummies was launched from a floating platform between the ships amid fire and smoke that helped obscure the platform . The stunt was performed twice because the boat landed too short of the camera in the first attempt . The following day, filming in England wrapped at the Royal Masonic School in Rickmansworth, which doubled for Indiana's college (as it had in Raiders of the Lost Ark). </P> <P> Shooting in Venice took place on August 8 . For scenes such as Indiana and Brody greeting Elsa, shots of the boat chase, and Kazim telling Indiana where his father is, Robert Watts gained control of the Grand Canal from 7 am to 1 pm, sealing off tourists for as long as possible . Cinematographer Douglas Slocombe positioned the camera to ensure no satellite dishes would be visible . San Barnaba di Venezia served as the library's exterior . The next day, filming moved to the ancient city of Petra, Jordan, where Al Khazneh (The Treasury) stood in for the temple housing the Grail . The cast and crew became guests of King Hussein and Queen Noor . The Treasury had previously appeared in Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger . The main cast completed their scenes that week, after 63 days of filming . </P> <P> The second unit filmed part of the prologue's 1912 segment from August 29 to September 3 . The main unit began two days later with the circus train sequence at Alamosa, Colorado, on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad . They filmed at Pagosa Springs on September 7, and then at Cortez on September 10 . From September 14 to 16, filming of Indiana falling into the train carriages took place in Los Angeles . The production then moved to Utah's Arches National Park to shoot more of the opening . A house in Antonito, Colorado was used for the Jones family home . The production had intended to film at Mesa Verde National Park, but Native American representatives had religious objections to its use . When Spielberg and editor Michael Kahn viewed a rough cut of the film in late 1988, they felt it suffered from a lack of action . The motorcycle chase was shot during post-production at Mount Tamalpais and Fairfax near Skywalker Ranch . The closing shot of Indiana, Henry, Sallah and Brody riding into the sunset was filmed in Amarillo, Texas in early 1989 . </P> <P> Mechanical effects supervisor George Gibbs said the film was the most difficult one of his career . He visited a museum to negotiate renting a small French World War I tank, but decided he wanted to make one . The tank was based on the Tank Mark VIII, which was 36 feet (11 m) long and weighed 28 short tons (25 t). Gibbs built the tank over the framework of a 28 - short - ton (25 t) excavator and added 7 - short - ton (6.4 t) tracks that were driven by two automatic hydraulic pumps, each connected to a Range Rover V8 engine . Gibbs built the tank from steel rather than aluminum or fiberglass because it would allow the realistically suspensionless vehicle to endure the rocky surfaces . Unlike its historical counterpart, which had only the two side guns, the tank had a turret gun added as well . It took four months to build and was transported to Almería on a Short Belfast plane and then a low loader truck . </P>

Where is indiana jones the last crusade filmed