Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, and Paul Freeman

Plot: Dr. Indiana Jones is an archaeologist/adventurer who travels the world looking for rare historical items for a museum.  He is fairly successful, but is usually foiled by his French competitor, Dr. René Belloq.  But the Nazis have been secretly digging in the Egyptian desert looking for the Ark of the Covenant, which Hitler plans to use to gain more power.  Jones is assigned to find the Ark and bring it back to America before it gets into the hands of the Third Reich.  Can he make it in time, or will it be taken by Belloq and the Nazis?

Good: Raiders of the Lost Ark does a great job recreating the look and feel of the old movie serials from the 30's and 40's.  It manages to create a world that has a good balance between the over the top and sometimes campy nature of the serials and a more realistic and gritty action and sets.  This creates a unique charm that not many moves achieve.  Harrison Ford is an inspired choice for Indiana Jones, and he adds a great balance between humor and serious.  All the other actors do a great job, including Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood and John Rhys-Davies as Sallah.  John Williams' now iconic score lives up to the legend, with its main march and its slower interlude.  The action is very entertaining and varied, with fight scenes ranging from inside flaming bars to out of control planes.  The special effects are great, with the melting face being the very best of the bunch.  This film is surprisingly funny, which adds to its sense of fun and adventure.

Bad: There isn't really a lot to dislike about this movie.  There is a bit of racial stereotyping with the Egyptians, but it's not as prevalent or distracting as it was in 1941.  The biggest thing against this movie would probably be the fact that Indiana Jones wasn't very necessary in for the plot.  The only thing he really accomplishes is saving Marion.  If he didn't go after the Ark, the Nazis would've found it, tested it on the island, and died. 

Trivia:

• Originally, Indy was supposed to have a sword fight with the swordsman in one scene, but due to food poisoning, Harrison Ford was unable to do the scene, and they eventually decided to have Jones shoot the swordsman.
• The line, "It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage" was add-libbed by Ford.
• The Raider's March is a combination of two themes John Williams created for the movie and decided to combine.
• This was Alfred Molina's screen debut as the Latino who betrays Indy in the temple.

Final Verdict: Raiders of the Lost Ark is a classic for a reason.  It has great action, fantastic acting, and wonderful music.  But most of all, it created one of the most recognizable and well loved pop-culture icons.  I recommend this movie to anyone who has a love for action, adventure, and period pieces.  It's a must see Spielberg film.

Next time, we'll look at a film that Spielberg did not direct, but it's debatable whether he let the real director call the shots or if he had most of the control over the production.  That film is Poltergeist.

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