Raiders of the Lost Ark

I debated whether or not to include the Indiana Jones films in my Spielberg retrospective or review them all together on their own. I ultimately decided to include them because unlike other series, such as Jaws or Jurassic Park, he directed all four installments himself. Besides, if not now, when? The Indiana Jones series has always been one of my favorite film series, even if I did initially see them out of order (I saw Last Crusade first, then Raiders, then Temple of Doom, and finally Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). It's not entirely my fault though, since Raiders of the Lost Ark first came out only three days after I was born, so there is that. 

Indiana Jones (played by Harrison Ford) is a globe-trotting Archaeologist that travels the world looking for lost treasures (and also occasionally is a College Professor). He sells the items to the Museum his friend Marcus Brody runs (played by Denholm Elliott). One day he is visited by a two men from Army Intelligence who are inquiring about communications from Nazi Germany about the Nazi search for the Ark of Covenant and mention an old associate of Indy's, Abner Ravenwood. They ask him to assist them in searching for and acquiring the Ark before the Nazi's can. Indy sets off first to Nepal to obtain a special item that can assist him with where to start looking for the Ark from Abner. Upon his arrival, he discovers Abner has passed away and crosses paths with former flame Marion (played by Karen Allen), Abner's daughter, instead. Their reunion is short lived when they're interrupted by several Nazi goons looking for the same trinket. After escaping the ensuing fight, Indy finds himself with a new partner in his quest to retrieve the Ark before the Nazis who are also working with Indy's rival Belloq (played by Paul Freeman).

After the disappointing release of 1941, Steven Spielberg was trying to figure out what his next project should be. He was at one point trying to get Albert Broccoli to let him direct the next Bond film (this tidbit will be important when we get to Last Crusade) when his friend George Lucas presented him with something he called, "better than Bond." He presented him with the story for the film and excited, Spielberg agreed to collaborate on the film. Deciding this would be his next feature, Spielberg and Lucas collaborated with screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan to craft the screenplay. The goal was to craft a film that was an homage to the old B-Movie Saturday Morning Serials but do it better and with more polish. What they created stands as one of the all time great adventure films that starts off with a bang and keeps moving at a rollicking pace from beginning to end, moving from one iconic action sequence to another, whether it's Indy outrunning a Giant Boulder that was part of an ancient booby trap, finding himself stuck in a gunfight in a burning bar, fighting a bunch of Nazis while in a car chase or dealing with a Swordsman attacker in a crowded marketplace in Cairo (a sequence I wouldn't dream of spoiling any further on the off chance someone reading this hasn't seen this movie yet). I also like how this movie plays with the tropes of the genre. For instance, there's usually a scene where the hero has to infiltrate the villains lair and knocks out some goon to steal their uniform and magically it fits the hero perfectly? Indy isn't so lucky as he tries the same trick and is stuck trying to squeeze into a uniform at least a couple sizes too small. It's the little touches that make this film so great.  

This film has a wonderful cast starting with Harrison Ford at his iconic, charming best as Indiana Jones, which quickly became a favorite role of his to play. He really slips well into the dashing hero role, with bit more of a roguish charm to him that perfectly suits the role. Karen Allen gives a spunky fierceness to Marion Ravenwood that I always really liked. She'd no damsel in distress and more than capable of holding her own in a fight, which she demonstrates on more than one occasion, and can drink a man twice her size under the table. Besides, I can't help but love a character whose reaction to having to help fight off a group of Nazis and her bar getting burned down is, "Well, Jones, at least you haven't forgotten how to show a lady a good time!" Paul Freeman makes a fun villain as the amoral Belloq who is determined to find the Ark of the Covenant and doesn't mind aligning with the Nazis to achieve that goal. John Rhys-Davies plays Sallah, a friend of Indiana's in Cairo who helps Indy and Marion decipher the markings on the ancient medallion that will assist them in finding the correct location of the Ark. He gives a wonderfully warm performance as Sallah and quickly became a fan favorite character.

Raiders of the Lost Ark ranks up there as one of the most popular and iconic films in the Steven Spielberg filmography with an equally iconic main character, rousing action and some perfectly executed humor. It went on to spawn three sequels, with another one rumored to be coming soon (I'll believe it when I'm in the theatre watching it), as well as a T.V series. It's a fantastic start to a series of films that may very well be my favorite film series. How big of a fan of the Indiana Jones series am I, you ask? I liked Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. But more on that one later.