Indiana Jones 5 receives five-minute standing ovation at premiere as Harrison Ford holds back tears

Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones has been given a send off nearly 50 years in the making.

The actor received a five-minute standing ovation at the 76th annual Cannes International Film Festival.

Audiences rose from their seats in the sunny south of France to applaud the 80-year-actor in his final bout as the iconic Indiana Jones; a character that Ford has been synonymous with since 1981.

In the decades that followed, Ford starred in a grand total of five films, with the last one premiering at Cannes on Thursday night (May 18).

Ford fought back tears several times at the premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, but before the projector was set to roll there was one more surprise in store for the Hollywood great.

He was given a surprise Palme d’Or, the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival.

A reel of his greatest roles played on the screen, from Star Wars to The Fugitive, as the actor accepted the coveted accolade.

"I’m very moved by this," Ford said, as per Variety.

"They say when you’re about to die, you see your life flash before your eyes, and I just saw my life flash before my eyes.

"A great part of my life, but not all of my life."

He added: "My life has been enabled by my lovely wife, who has supported my passion and my dreams, and I’m grateful.”

He then addressed the audience, to bring the event back around to the whole point they were gathered in the first place: the premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

MARKA / Alamy Stock Photo

"I love you, too. But I’ve got a movie you ought to see. It’s right behind me," he said, referring to the great silver screen that dwarfed Ford where he stood.

"So let me get out of the way, and thank you again for this great honor."

The fifth Indiana Jones was then screened to audiences, months after first glimpses were released in September at Disney's D23 Expo alongside co-star Phoebe Waller-Bridge and director James Mangold.

At the time, a misty-eyed Ford grew emotional as he prepared for the impending moment in which he would have to say farewell to Indi.

A moment that wound up happening on Thursday May 18, in Cannes.

Back in September he said: "Indiana Jones movies are about fantasy and mystery, but they're also about heart.

Disney

"We have a really great story to tell, as well as a movie that will kick your a**."

With a lump in his throat, Ford praised the work of his co-star Waller-Bridge.

He told fans: "Thank you for making these films such an incredible experience for all of us.

"I'm very proud to say that this one is fantastic."

So let's hope Ford is right and Indiana's final film captures the magic of Raiders of the Lost Ark - rather than the horror of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

We'll be able to see for ourselves Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny real soon as the movie will arrive in cinemas on June 30.