An ancient artifact, a lost love and the greatest villains of all time.

Rating: 9/10 (18 June 2008)

A man, who we do not see, and two of his colleagues, who seem dodgy at best, are going through a unspoiled jungle landscape, following a map that has seen better days, as it is in three pieces. What they are searching for we do not know, but from the feel of the early scenes, we know it is something of value. After one of the men tries his luck at betrayal and pulls a pistol, he has it whipped out of his hand by the faceless man, who walks into the light to reveal Harrison Ford's second great screen persona, Indiana Jones.
Indy is searching for a lost archaeological treasure, an ancient idol, a statue of a little yellow god and when watching the beginning, one cannot help think of mad Carew, as Indy braves the traps to get to the treasure. The rest of the sequence is one that has been seen time and again in movie folklore, and it kicks off the following proceedings in an apt and exciting way.
What follows is one of the greatest action movies of all time, but why? The treasure Indy goes after, the Lost Ark, is one that almost everyone can relate to, the box that contains the ten commandments that Moses brought down from whatever mountain it was. What is in the box is sought by the most evil villains in film or real history, the Nazis, who are searching for every manner of religious artifact they can get their hands on for Hitler, who was a nut on the subject, even though the very artifact they are after is a Jewish artifact (A clever twist by the writers)the action sequences are amazing and still gripping every time I watch them, even now, with an ending to die for, for those that haven't seen it, you're in for a treat! The action in the film takes place in the desert of Egypt as Indy tries to find and keep hold of the ark before the Nazis do, there is drama and romance, comedy and tragedy, and the performances and direction are almost perfect, but special mention has to go to Joun Williams amazing score. If a man reaches a peak of achievement where he can do no wrong, then this was John Williams as he did the music to "Empire" and "Raiders" and the work on both is exceptional as the score perfectly compliments and enhances every scene, movie students everywhere should make a mental note to watch the Map room sequence.
It is brilliant.
Raiders may have been dulled by sequels, but the magic of this one should not be ignored and can't be, it;s just too good, so ignore what Spielberg said recently about the Matte work and just enjoy a great film, that needs no special edition and no replacing guns with walky-talkies.
Nuff said.