A Great Rousing Adventure from the Dream Team of Spielberg and Lucas

Rating: 10/10 (4 November 2013)

Everybody at least knows of or has seen Raiders of the Lost Ark. It is one of those great movies that was supposed to be a throwback to an old adventure for kids, but has become a vital part of our culture. I think the reason why it is better than the old Republic Pictures serials that it is inspired by is that it takes a "modern" approach, but is still timeless in how it was executed. And with the geniuses of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas behind the camera, this film reached an incredible level of excellence.
The story is about an archaeologist named Indiana Jones, who has a flair for finding rather rare treasures with supernatural ties. On this particular adventure, he sets out to find the lost Ark of the Covenant. Along the way he joins with an old flame, Marion Ravenwood, who is angry with Indy for doing something to her in the past, but the two rekindle their old flame as the film goes. Indy also has to deal with the Nazis, who are trying to bring the Ark to Hitler for his own truly evil purposes. This thread seems as basic as the serials that they were based on, but the way the characters are set up and they way they play off of one another is brilliant.
The writer for this movie is Lawrence Kasdan, who incorporated many of Steven and George's ideas, and forged them together into a very witty, exciting, and intriguing script. Each character is memorable and is never wasted, unless they are the secondary characters. Just like the old Republic films, there is breathless action and fast paced pacing, but here there is time for the characters to breathe and develop.
Fresh off of Han Solo in Star Wars is Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. Instead of being a brash smuggler like Solo was, here is a gruff rugged man who is sensitive and humane, but has just a glimmer of the character of Dobbs from The Treasure of Sierra Madre. Ford is just the natural fit for the character and makes him a fully realized action hero who is not brainless. And like any hero, he has a crippling flaw, a fear of snakes, which presents a great irony when he finally locates the Ark. And on the same level is Karen Allen as Marion. She is really tough and sassy, the perfect tomboy, but somehow presents an elegance that few women characters possess in this kind of genre. She can definitely hold her own in a fight, and gives Indy a perfect lady to fall for, and vice versa in Indy's case.
The villains are pretty good in this film. They don't really act like Nazis very much as guys trying to make names for themselves and do their jobs for their fuhrer. Paul Freeman as Belloq is rather interesting. He is Indy's rival and somewhat equal, who will often times steal Indy's stuff and pass it off as his own discovery. He's the kind of guy who doesn't really like to get his clothes dirty. We have a man named Dietrich who is the senior Nazi officer, who serves only for Hitler and no one else. But then there is Toht, played by forgotten character actor Ronald Lacey. He is really creepy and menacing, but with a great side of humor, like Peter Lorre (which was Spielberg's intention) He is in all black wherever he goes and always wears a coat, which leads to one of the best gags in cinema.
But the movie is very well known for the exciting action sequences. Lucas has a great notion of what should happen, but Spielberg is the true genius of these scenes. Spielberg is the kind of director who knows what he wants to see, which coincides with exactly what the audience wants as they view it. So when something exciting happens like when Indy jumps from a horse onto a moving truck, its done in such a way that it seems much more jaw dropping and stunning even though its perfectly logical in the grammar of an adventure movie.
When Lucas and Spielberg decided to do this film, they would do it the old-fashioned way, quick, dirty, and relatively inexpensive. That's why the movie comes off as very fast-paced and imaginative. But one thing that reels the viewer's mind is that Lucas, the man who transformed special effects in Star Wars, would use "cheap" and old special effects. But again, they're done so convincingly that one hardly notices their imperfections, because they seem so logical and necessary. When the Ark is finally opened, it is mysterious and ultimately dooming for those who look upon the power of God, a fantastic display.
The best known aspect of the film is John William's score, which is perfect. It is a rousing score which gets the blood going, and accents key moments of both progression and shock in the scenes its featured in. The "Raider's March" is one of the most famous themes in music, mainly because it builds and builds to an exciting payoff, just like the movie's story itself.
This movie, nominated for Best Picture in 1981, was a huge surprise for the producers. It was surprising for an "audience picture" to get such recognition, when only few had done so (like Star Wars and Jaws) Even though it didn't win, it's reputation is still extremely strong among movie buffs like me, and even people who just want an escape for two hours out of their lives. There was a lot of passion and collaboration in front of and behind the camera to gives us something special. The dream team succeeded.