Harrison Ford and James Mangold talk their favorite Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny moment

The Indiana Jones series has seen Harrison Ford's intrepid explorer do everything from find the actual Holy Grail to survive a nuclear bombing (in a fridge, no less). 

As it turns out, though, Ford's favorite moment from the latest installment in the franchise, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, is far away from ancient artefacts and alien adventures – but, as Ford and director James Mangold explain, it encapsulates the magic of the movie anyway. 

"Waking up in 1969," Ford says when GamesRadar+ asks him his favorite Dial of Destiny memory. "I don't want to explain what that means, but look for it in the movie, you'll see what I mean. It's a moment that has been purposefully crafted to really – it's just great movie making, and I don't want to describe it." 

Mangold agrees that the moment is something special. "We knew when we shot that scene – it was pretty early. We shot all the scenes in Indy's apartment pretty early in the schedule. And I think both Harrison and I looked at each other and knew after we did a couple takes of that scene that Harrison is describing, and there's just this moment where you go, 'Oh, that's the movie.' It's just some moment that you feel like everyone in the orchestra is harmonised, and this thing sounds and feels like what the whole thing has to feel like. And it gives you a kind of feather to hold on to as you march forward on the next 150 days of shooting this." 

While the original three Indiana Jones movies are all set in the '30s – and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull takes place in the '50s – Dial of Destiny moves the franchise forward once more to '69, placing Indy at the end of the space race and at the dawn of a new era. Naturally, that leaves the archaeologist adventurer seeming somewhat out of place, though the arrival of his goddaughter Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) and the re-emergence of the sinister Dr. Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) means that Indy has one last quest ahead of him. 

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is in UK cinemas now, and hits US theaters on June 30. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming major movie release dates for everything else 2023 has in store.

For much more on Indiana Jones 5, check out our pieces on:

• Our Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny interview with the cast and director
• Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall look back on over 40 years of Indiana Jones
• Our Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Cannes interview 
• Why Harrison Ford doesn't want to reflect on his old movies
• Mads Mikkelsen is desperate to play a zombie
• Mads Mikkelsen recalls meeting Harrison Ford  
• Does Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny have a post-credits scene?
• The Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ending explained
• Kathleen Kennedy reveals the Rey and James Mangold Star Wars movies are linked