Review of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) by Scotty C — 27 Aug 2013

"Snakes! Why does it have to be snakes?".

It all started when Steven Spielberg came up to George Lucas one day, deciding he wanted to make a James Bond movie. Lucas replied that he had an idea better than 007, thus the Indiana Jones character was created and the film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, is regarded to this day as one of Hollywood's greatest action-adventure films.

Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is an archeologist who goes on lots of adventures finding lost artifacts and teaching archaeology at a university. The adventure begins when Indiana (or Indy, as most call him), is asked by military intelligence to search for the legendary Ark of the Covenant, the ark known for carrying the Ten Commandments, which is what the Nazis are looking for to make their armies more invincible. Indy, along with his ex-lover Marion (Karen Allen) and digger Sallah (John Rhys-Davies), Indy goes on an epic journey to find the Ark before the Nazis do.

The film also features Denholm Elliott as Marcus Brody, head of Indy's university, Paul Freeman as Belloq, a rival French archaeologist who is helping the Nazis find the Ark, Ronald Lacy as Nazi Major Toht, and in his film debut, Alfred Molina as Indy's helper in the film's legendary opening sequence (which has nothing to do with the main plot).

Raiders of the Lost Ark is an incredible action film. The collaboration between George Lucas and Steven Spielberg is a perfect match, and the film is loaded with strong action sequences after another. Including the famous opening sequence involving a gold idol and a boulder, a crazy and violent barfight, Indy's famous scene with a swordsman, Indy's plane brawl with former wrestler turned stuntman Pat Roach, and the famous truck chase scene. The stunts in these action sequences are incredibly done and serve as action at its finest.

Originally, Harrison Ford was not supposed to play Indiana Jones, mostly cause of his time as Han Solo in Lucas's Star Wars film. Some of the original choices for the role include Chevy Chase (huge miscast), Tom Sellick (maybe, but might seem weird for someone who's famous work is Magnum PI), and Bill Murray (definitely a huge miscast). Ford was perfect for the role. His attitude on camera, his domination of the screen, and his epic stunts are highly memorable and serve as some of Ford's best material (along with Star Wars). When you see his opening scene in the South American jungles, you know this is Ford's film. Paul Freeman is excellent as Indy's competitor. When the two are on screen together, you know the intensity is heated, especially in a conversation closeup scene that lasts for about two minutes. Like 007, Indy needs a love interest, and for Karen Allen, she's an excellent choice as Marion. I love the scenes with Allen and Ford in the snake room. It's funny and highly memorable. The fact that Indy has a fear of snakes is so memorable that you'll want to throw up (but in an excellent way.).

John Williams provides the score, as usual for a Spielberg film, and it's one of his best. The theme, called "The Raiders March" is epic, awesome, and highly heroic. Williams also impresses in drama (especially in a certain love scene), intensity (the plane fight and the truck chase), and is perfect for an essential action film. Why didn't this win an Oscar?

Last thing I have to mention in this are the visuals by Industrial Light and Magic, and for a film released in 1981, they still hold up remarkably well. The scene I'm talking about here visually is the films climax involving, well, not going to spoil it for the one person who's never seen it before, but even with no CG or motion capture, this scene still wows and creeps.

Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of my all-time favorite action movies. Harrison Ford's performance and stunts are unbelievable, the action sequences are spectacular, John Williams score is epic, and the visuals are fantastic. The fact that Spielberg almost made a James Bond movie is kind of silly once you've seen this film. It might have worked well, but in my opinion, Indiana Jones is loads better than James Bond, even without all the gadgets.