Let me tell you a story about this movie...

Rating: Null/10 (17 June 2000)

In the past, I was never able to watch this movie in one sitting. For some reason this movie seemed boring. I remember when this movie was playing in theaters, though I didn't get to see it back then. Whenever it aired on tv, I usually just watched the first few minutes of the movie and then I'd stop watching it. Or I'd watch fragments of the movie. But never the entire movie. A few days ago I decided to check out the video and watch this movie--the whole movie, just for the sake of watching it. I wanted to see why this movie is considered so great. It's quite notable that this movie was such a hit at the box office. The fact that this movie made nearly 250 million dollars in the 1981-1982 period says a lot. Back in the early 1980s only about four movies had grossed over 200 million dollars; that was before the time of the box office blockbusters of the late 1980s and the entire 1990s. Well you know what? After watching the entire movie, I enjoyed it, thoroughly. It was not as boring as I originally thought. I guess the reason why this movie thrilled audiences so much back when it was playing in theaters is that there really had not been an action/adventure movie like this one before. This movie's success turned Harrison Ford into a full-fledged movie star. Although this movie was made twenty years ago, it has aged pretty well. The special effects look good, even in this age of computer animation. The action sequences are great. I love it when Marion tells Indiana, "Till I get back my $5,000 you're going to going to get more than you bargained for. I'm your goddamn partner!" And needless to say, the score is outstanding. Also, the movie's ending is shocking--and it has been copied in "The X-Files" series. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is an all-around entertaining movie. It is the perfect movie to watch on a Saturday evening. It is one of Steven Spielberg's greatest movies. It is also definitely one of the greatest movies ever made....though I wish there had not been any sequels/prequels. ****out of ****.