#140RVW
Maybe the greatest adventure film of all time (not counting ones with lightsabers). Lucas & Spielberg assemble a dream team of filmmakers…
What’s more:
Has there ever been another case of two of the most successful filmmakers in the world getting together to make something equal to their talents? It is so improbable that we’d get the chance to have Raiders of the Lost Ark in our cinematic landscape, which makes it all the more special.
You know all the stories; the two directors were vacationing after Lucas completed his most recent film (Star Wars), a tradition for the friends, when Spielberg mentioned his desire to do a James Bond movie. This gave Lucas the opportunity to pitch his friend a “better” character, Indiana Smith. Lucas had developed the adventurer and the rough story for Raiders with Philip Kaufman before the latter went off to make The Outlaw Josey Wales and Lucas made a little space movie.
What an amazing time! You’d have to go back to The Beatles to find an example of a few artists making such an impact over a short period of time. Think about it; in 1977 Lucas and Spielberg release Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, respectively. They get together with brilliant screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan and bash out story ideas for Raiders over a four-day brainstorming session. They go off to make 1941 and The Empire Strikes Back. Then they make Raiders (some overlap here). While they are shooting, Spielberg works with Melissa Mathison (Harrison Ford’s then-wife) on the story for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Unreal.
The list of people who worked on this film reads like a Who’s Who of Hollywood talent. Many of the crew worked on all of these movies, and so there is a consistency to a lot of the films made by these filmmakers.
Raiders of the Lost Ark perfectly captures the adventure spirit of the 30’s & 40’s serials which inspired it, but carves its own identity for those who have never seen those films. It’s hard to imagine how this movie could possibly be any better than it is, and it remains one of the greatest of all time.
Play by play (thoughts written down as I watched the movie):
- Right from the first moments, you know you’re in for a treat.
- One of the very best film opening sequences in history. Maybe the single best.
- The pizzicato strings when the tarantulas are climbing on Indy.
- Stunningly gorgeous sets by Watts. How come newer films are less convincing with their “ruins”.
- There’s so little dialogue here, nor is any needed. So much conveyed non-verbally.
- “Throw me the idol, I’ll throw you the whip!”
- Harrison Ford should be made to watch this film before starting a new picture to remind him not to be so grumpy.
- Never has paper mache looked so threatening as with the giant stone.
- One of the things that makes this movie work so well is the feeling that you are walking into an established world and timeline. You don’t need to know the backstory with Belloq & Jones – you instantly get everything you need to know within 30 seconds. The later films failed to do this convincingly, especially the opening scene in 4 which was clearly trying to recapture this magic.
- Plane reads “OB-CPO”
- I swear that I remember seeing Reggie the snake thrown from the plane when I was a kid. One of those messed up memory things that we’re all guilty of at some point, I guess.
- The easy rapport with Denholm Elliot. He’s so good…
- Deadly exposition scenes are bread & butter for Kasdan. He actually makes what should be a dull but necessary scene enthralling.
- How many of us wanted to become archeologists after this movie?
- The mattes are very believable.
- Dennis Muren cameo as German on plane.
- I never could tell the gender of the Nepalese drinker that Marion is dueling with.
- Oh, Karen Allen. My first movie crush…
- The sound effects are a bit crazy from this scene on; the shot glasses break like windows, the punches sound like slabs of meat, Indy’s pistol a cannon…
- Sallah. Such a great character. John Rhys-Davies is essentially reprising his role from Shogun, but that’s ok – he’s brilliant.
- The chase through Cairo. Everyone knows the story about the famous swordfight that was cut because Ford was sick, but it’s still great.
- Schnell!
- Love Marion’s theme.
- Paul Freeman as Belloq has such great presence.
- Tunisia stands in for Egypt as successfully as it previously doubled for Tatooine…
- Map room sequence is captivating visually and storywise, even if the staff height doesn’t make any sense based on the translation earlier…
- “Asps. Very dangerous. You go first.”
- Well of Souls is another great set, although the obligatory Spielberg gross-out scene with dead bodies is just dumb.
- The flying wing fight is so good. Spielberg at his best with this sort of thing.
- Practical effects > CG – take notes, kids…
- “I’m making this up as I go.”
- Best car/truck chase ever? May be…
- The mirror gag never stops being funny…
- “It’s not the years, honey, it’s the mileage.”
- Yes, he should have drowned when hitching a ride on the U-Boat. So what? NOW you’re starting to nitpick? Got the wrong movie. It likely never submerged, anyway. (The U-Boat by the way is from “Das Boot”, shooting at the same time.)
- At the risk of stating the obvious, the music is just so good…
- “Your persistence surprises even me. You’re going to give mercenaries a bad name.”
- Belloq calling Indy’s bluff is one of the film’s better non-action scenes.
- When I was a kid I never understood that the guy in the ceremonial robes was Belloq. Don’t ask me why. I was only 8…
- This must have been a very tough ending to sell to the studio. It’s pretty odd. The whole Wrath of God thing, not the warehouse. The warehouse is one of the best and most unexpected twists since “Rosebud”…
Poster:
Trailer:
Bechdel Test:
Fail
The Representation Test Score: C (4 pts)
(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)
| Main Cast | Harrison Ford Indy, Karen Allen Marion Ravenwood, Paul Freeman Dr. René Belloq, John Rhys-Davies Sallah |
| Rating | PG |
| Release Date | Fri 12 Jun 1981 UTC |
| Director | Steven Spielberg |
| Genres | Action, Adventure |
| Plot | Archeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the US government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis. |
| Poster |  |
| Runtime | 115 |
| Tagline | Indiana Jones – the new hero from the creators of JAWS and STAR WARS. |
| Writers | Lawrence Kasdan (screenplay), George Lucas (story) … |
| Year | 1981 |