Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

7/10

Starring
Harrison Ford
Karen Allen
Paul Freeman


Directed by Steven Spielberg

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark is the first of the Indiana Jones franchise, which spawned three sequels, a TV series, and numerous video games. It’s a classic that stood above many at the box office, raking in over $380 million. It also won four Academy Awards: Best Visual Effects, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, and Best Art Direction.

The movie pulls surprise after surprise, like what happened when the Ark was opened. That scene alone is not something you will expect. From the moment it’s opened until it’s shut, you’ll be stunned.

In its 115-minute runtime, the movie packs a bold chase, arrows flying here and there, a submarine, a car chase, gunfights, drama, comedy, adventure, Nazis, Gestapo, Arabian men, and spiritual power in high places. All this for your enjoyment, set across numerous locations.

There’s a scene where Indy is trapped in the Well of Souls with over 7,000 snakes—now that is a sight you really want to see. The car chase reminded me of the Mad Max movie The Road Warrior. It was intense, fun, and dangerous.

The plot centers around our favorite hero trying to get a solid-gold idol from the Peruvian jungle in 1936. He gets it, then loses the artifact to his rival, the movie’s antagonist, a French archaeologist named Belloq (Paul Freeman).

Indy is recruited by Army Intelligence to stop the Nazis, who seem to be after the Ark of the Covenant to gain power to topple the world.

So, Indy saddles up and heads to Nepal to meet with his mentor, Ravenwood, only to discover that Ravenwood has died. He’s left to team up with Marion (Karen Allen), his daughter, to go to Cairo, where they meet Indy’s sidekick, Sallah (John Rhys-Davies), as they team up to stop the Nazis.

The movie is one joyride from place to place. It has quite an interesting bunch of characters that will keep you both thrilled and entertained. One character that caught my attention was the Gestapo.

Raiders of the Lost Ark is set to be a prequel to the movie that came after it, as Temple of Doom was set in 1935. The movie has received numerous accolades, ranking 66th in the AFI’s Top 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) and 10th in AFI’s Top 10 Thrills.

Ironically, no studio wanted to fund the movie until Paramount decided to take the risk. So I wonder, which studio did the duo (Steven Spielberg and George Lucas) go to first? They missed out on a goldmine.

Here is Indiana Jones at the very beginning—an intro to the character that we all love and admire. I believe there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have seen this classic.

While Raiders of the Lost Ark is an exciting ride, I felt the pacing was uneven at times, especially during the dialogue-heavy scenes. Plus, Marion or Belloq could have had more depth.