From the director of "Jaws" and the creator of "Star Wars" comes the adventure film that all others in its genre are held up to, "Raiders of the Lost Ark". After twenty-three years and counting, I can honestly say that the film has yet to be outmatched (sure there have been good action/adventure films since "Raiders", including its own sequels, but I haven't seen a film that has had an indeliable, definitive impact that "Raiders" has left in a long time, possibly since the original "Star Wars")
Hired by the U.S. Government, archeologist/adventurer, Indiana Jones is on a race against evil to retrieve the lost Ark of The Covenent, the chest that contains the original stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. The ones that Moses brought down from Mount Harab and smashed. When was the last time YOU went to Sunday School!? Along the way Indiana meets up with an ex-girlfriend of his, Marion Ravenwood, outraces and dukes it out with legions of Nazis, and has plenty of close calls including a truck chase, The Well of Souls and its snakes (& Indiana's deathly phobia of them), a slugfest with a mechanic and his flying wing, and the opening of the Ark itself (lets just say GOD isn't to happy when mortals decide to open the Ark & sift through its contents).
An absolute modern-day classic. Why? "Raiders"' opening, from the Paramount logo to the natives chasing Dr. Jones, the bar fight, the basket chase, The Well of Souls, the truck chase (that alone gets 5 stars), the opening of The Ark in all its glory, John Williams' Oscar nominated score, I could go on all day long, but, you get the drift. What gives the film its drive (and where the sequels fail) is the urgency & danger of retrieving the Ark and the competitiveness between Indiana Jones and the Frenchman, Renee Belloq (the film imposes, early on, that these two have been competitors since there college days).
I got this on cassette for Xmas 1984 and I burnt the tape out. Thank God for DVD.
Nominated for 8 Oscars including Best Picture, Director (Steven Spielberg), Original Score and winning 4 of those awards including Best Sound & Visual Effects. The American Film Institute ranks "Raiders" as one of the top 100 films of all-time and Indiana Jones as one of the top cinematic heroes second only to Atticus Finch from "To Kill A Mockingbird".
The truck chase wasn't directed by Spielberg (he did the close-ups afterwards), but was helned by second unit director, Norman Reynolds. Tom Selleck was originally cast to play Jones but had to back out due to contractual agreements with Universal and CBS for "Magnum P.I." (I think it would have been a different film. I saw a "Raiders" screen test with him and Sean Young and he came off very obnoxious). Danny DeVito was offered the role for Sallah but declined due to scheduling conflicts with "Taxi". The scene where the Nazi officer was supposed to shoot Sallah was filmed but couldn't be used, becuase of black smoke from burning tires in one take, and in another actor John-Rhyes Davies getting sick and filling his jallaba (and he didn't care one bit).
"Raiders of the Lost Ark" is one truly great adventure worth taking over & over again. No matter what George Lucas calls it.
It is a good action film, as long as you don't question some of the scenes. Could Nazi Germany have military forces in 1936 Egypt? Could German Schmeisser sub-machine guns be found in 1936 Nepal? I don't believe so. I suspect these scenes were copied from the 1940 serials that entertained moviegoers. "Indiana Jones" will entertain you as an action adventure story with a multitude of cliches from long-forgotten films. Sliding under the truck recalls Yakima Canute's famous stunt. Some scenes seem far-fetched to me (when you think about it). Could Indiana Jones on a horse overtake a convoy of trucks? The theme music came from the 1948 film "Don Juan" starring Errol Flynn (rarely seen on TV). The chase through the maze of streets reminds me of 1940 cartoons. Other scenes may be derived from other old movies (the truck knocking down scaffolding from "Abbot & Costello Meet the Keystone Kops"). A few sequels were made, but it failed to be translated into a television series. Just like "Jaws".
The story centers on the adventures of a head-strong paleontologist as he searches for one of the most spiritual artifacts in the history of the world. There is no paleontologist in the world like Indiana Jones. He's seen it all from booby traps to a gigantic rolling boulder to spear-throwing natives. All in the name of archeology and maybe a little love here and there throughout his exhilarating exploits. But this new venture may be the most challenging of them all. The United States government, in their efforts to battle the Axis-powers during World War II, enlists Mr. Jones to search for the Ark of the Covenant, the sacred holding structure many believed contained the original Ten Commandments that were brought down from the mountain by Moses thousands of years ago, before the Nazis get to it first. Along his journey, he meets up with his ex-girlfriend Marion, who holds an essential piece to the puzzle in finding the Ark, but things become more complicated as the Nazis are in full pursuit. Indiana must get to the Ark before the Nazis do or else Hitler will control an unstoppable army that will eventually conquer the world. The story for Raiders of the Lost Ark doesn't seem all that complicated, or some can make the case not all that original, but looks can be deceiving. From the thrilling opening sequence to the mysterious conclusion, Raiders is one of the most entertaining and enthralling comedy/action adventures ever developed for the silver screen. It is all the little things in this film that make the big picture all the more enduring for viewers.
Whoever said Harrison Ford may have been wrong for the role of Indiana Jones may have had some merit in their comment back in 1981, but now adays that comment would be shot down so fast it wouldn't be funny. Though at the time the young actor had relatively light acting experience, Ford proves that he can measure up to any other in the role of high risk-taking adventurer. It is Ford's hilarious reactions to situations, most notably a particular moment during the chase through the marketplace, combined with his amazing ability to transition himself into key fight sequences that make him an essential casting decision in this feature. This may be a difference in time periods but for some audience members, Karen Allen's performance as Marion may be a little too Tom-boyish to be considered sexy. It might possibly have been more risqué back then but it isn't so much now. Not entirely her fault but the change of the times.
Overall, Raiders successfully brings to the screen one of the most charismatic and enduring action adventure heroes in cinematic history and does so in triumphant style. The wonderful thing about the film is that the filmmakers are able to blend humor into well-needed areas of the overall action oriented flick, though at times it seems they try too hard to get laughs across. The special effects were magnificent during the film's initial release and are still quite interesting today, though to a lesser degree. Unlike the special effects of later films like Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the special effects of Raiders of the Lost Ark don't have the enduring effect they once had but that doesn't make the film cheesy or seem aged. The bottom-line analysis of this film has to be based on the Indiana Jones series as a whole in that this feature is a wonderful first entry and deserves to be ranked highly but stands behind the last entry in the series on overall entertainment value. This doesn't, however, make the film less of an enduring classic or less of good time.
