"I don't know...I'm making this up as I go."

Rating: 10/10 (5 January 2013)

It's a testament to the entertainment value of this adventure classic that its approximate one hour and 56 minute run time just flies by. Whether one is revisiting it or experiencing it for the first time, it flows along extremely well, maintaining a high level of excitement and populating its diverting story with a rich array of memorable characters. Today it remains a career highpoint for its filmmakers and much of its cast.
Concocted by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas (with official story credit going to Lucas and Philip Kaufman), and scripted by Lawrence Kasdan, it takes its inspiration from the movie serials of decades past, and goes them one better in terms of its thrills and chills. Harrison Ford stars as 1930s archaeologist / professor / adventurer "Indiana" Jones, to whom we're introduced in a marvellous opening set piece set deep in the Peruvian jungle. He ends up hired by the American government to locate and obtain the mystical Ark of the Covenant before Adolf Hitler and his minions can get their slimy hands on it.
He's accompanied by a wonderfully feisty leading lady, Marion Ravenwood, played to perfection by the appealing Karen Allen. Among Indy's friends are museum curator Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) and Egyptian digger Sallah (John Rhys-Davies), and among the enjoyably devilish bad guys are charming rogue Belloq (Paul Freeman), a ruthless rival archaeologist, a cold blooded Nazi officer, Dietrich (Wolf Kahler), and an incredibly creepy interrogator, Toht (Ronald Lacey). It's also fun to see a young Alfred Molina, in his film debut, as the Peruvian guide in that opening sequence.
Even if the viewer is thoroughly familiar with the film by now, there's still lots of enjoyment to be had in viewing the assorted iconic scenes: Indy pursued by a runaway boulder, the confrontation in the Nepal bar, the chases through the streets of Cairo, the fight near the Nazi plane, one of the best vehicle chases to be seen in cinema, and that final scene where the power of the Ark is unleashed. There are certainly macabre moments to be found throughout, but this merely adds to the sense of danger and the sense of fun constantly being created by Spielberg and associates. The efforts of a first rate crew - production designer Norman Reynolds, art director Leslie Dilley, cinematographer Douglas Slocombe, editor Michael Kahn, etc. - are supplemented by eye popping special effects supervised by Richard Edlund, nifty makeup effects by Chris Walas, and of course that hummable rousing theme music by John Williams that can stay in your head long after the film is over.
Overall there's plenty of pizazz and humour in the presentation that continues to make this top notch escapism. This was a favourite of this viewer as a child and it's lost little of its appeal 30 plus years later.
Followed by a prequel, two sequels, and the 'Young Indiana Jones' TV series.
10 out of 10.