Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. It stars Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, and Denholm Elliott. Ford portrays Indiana Jones, a globe-trotting archaeologist vying with Nazi German forces in 1936 to recover the long-lost Ark of the Covenant, a relic said to make an army invincible. Teaming up with his tough former lover Marion Ravenwood (Allen), Jones races to stop rival archaeologist Dr. René Belloq (Freeman) from guiding the Nazis to the Ark and its power.
Lucas conceived Raiders of the Lost Ark in the early 1970s. Seeking to modernize the serial films of the early 20th century, he developed the idea further with Kaufman, who suggested the Ark as the film's goal. Lucas eventually focused on developing his 1977 space opera Star Wars. Development on Raiders of the Lost Ark resumed that year when he shared the idea with Spielberg, who joined the project several months later. While the pair had ideas for set pieces and stunts for the film, they hired Kasdan to fill in the narrative gaps between them. Principal photography began in June 1980 on a $20 million budget and concluded the following September. Filming took place on sets at Elstree Studios, England, and on location mainly in La Rochelle, France, Tunisia, and Hawaii.
Though prerelease polling showed little audience interest in the film, especially compared to the superhero film Superman II, Raiders of the Lost Ark became the highest-grossing film of 1981, earning approximately $330.5 million worldwide, and played in some theaters for over a year. It was a critical success, receiving praise for its modern take on the serial film, its non-stop action and adventure, and the cast, particularly Ford, Allen, and Freeman. The film was nominated for several awards and, among others, won five Academy Awards, seven Saturn Awards, and one BAFTA.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is now considered one of the greatest films ever made and has had a lasting impact on popular culture, spawning a host of imitators across several media, and inspiring other filmmakers. The United States Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1999. Raiders of the Lost Ark is the first entry in what would become the Indiana Jones franchise, which includes four more films—Temple of Doom (1984), Last Crusade (1989), Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), and The Dial of Destiny (2023)—a television series, video games, comic books, novels, theme park attractions, toys, and an amateur remake.
==Storyline==
In 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before Adolf Hitler's Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.
==Also See==
*Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
*Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
*Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
*Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
==Sound Effects Used==
*Ben Burtt Punching Sounds (debut)
*Hollywoodedge, Bird Call Jungle Clas PE926403 (debut)
*Hollywoodedge, Bullet Impact GlassD PE112601 (debut)
*Hollywoodedge, Machine Gun Silence PE1010701 (including 13th ricochet in a high-pitched)
*Hollywoodedge, Machine Gun Silence PE1103601
*Hollywoodedge, Thunder Crack Viole PE1008302 (Possible debut)
*Hollywoodedge, Thunder Rip Rumble PE1008603/SoundDogs, Rain Thunder - Thunder Bolt
*Pro Sound Effects, Crash Master, Compilation of Large Crashes, Smashes, Glass Breaking, Wood, Metal, Impacts, Destruction 01/SKYWALKER, METAL - LIGHT CRACKLE AND SQUEAK (Possible debut)
*Pro Sound Effects, Explosions, Many Versions, Rumbling, Punchy, Light Debris, Long and Drawn Out at Head (debut)
*SKYWALKER, AMBIENCE - JUNGLE CALLING NOISE (debut)
*SKYWALKER, ANIMAL - HORSE GALLOPING, STEADY (debut)
*SKYWALKER BULLET RICOCHET 06 (debut)
*SKYWALKER BULLET RICOCHET 07 (debut)
*SKYWALKER BULLET RICOCHET 08 (debut)
*SKYWALKER BULLET RICOCHET 09 (debut)
*SKYWALKER BULLET RICOCHET 10 (debut)
*SKYWALKER, BULLET - LONG TRACER WHIZ BY AND AWAY (debut)
*SKYWALKER, BULLET - RAPID, LASER-LIKE RICOCHETS
*SKYWALKER, BULLET - RICOCHET WHIZZING BY 01 (debut)
*SKYWALKER, BULLET - SMALL DOUBLE RICOCHET
*SKYWALKER, CRUNCH - CRUNCHING CHOKE (Heard when Dietrich’s head deflates.)
*SKYWALKER, ELECTRICITY - THE FORCE WHINE
*SKYWALKER, ELECTRICITY - PULSE SHRIEK 01 (low-pitched)
*SKYWALKER EXPLOSION 01 (debut)
*SKYWALKER EXPLOSION 07
*SKYWALKER, FIRE - FLAMES QUICK ROAR BY 01 (debut, reverse)
*SKYWALKER, FIRE - FLAMES QUICK ROAR BY 02 (debut)
*SKYWALKER GLASS, SMASH - LARGE WINDOW CRASH (debut)
*SKYWALKER GLASS, SMASH - LARGE WINDOW CRASH 02
*SKYWALKER HYPERDRIVE FAILURE SOUND
*SKYWALKER LIGHTSABER SOUND
*SKYWALKER, METAL - LIGHT CRACKLE AND SQUEAK (debut)
*SKYWALKER, METAL - RESOUNDING CLANG 02 (debut)
*SKYWALKER, METAL - SLIGHT BANGING (debut)
*SKYWALKER, METAL - WEIRD CLANK
*SKYWALKER, MUSIC - DOLBY SYNTH SAMPLE
*SKYWALKER ROLLING BOULDER SOUND (debut)
*SKYWALKER, SCI-FI GUN - ION CANNON GUN (Condensed.)
*SKYWALKER SHOTGUN FIRE 02 (debut)
*SKYWALKER, SIZZLE - QUICK SIZZLE
*SKYWALKER, SNAKE - RATTLESNAKE'S TAIL RATTLING (debut)
*SKYWALKER, SQUISH - TAUNTAUN GUTS (Heard when Dietrich's head deflates.)
*SKYWALKER, THUNDER - LOUD CRACKLING IN A DARK NIGHT (debut)
*SKYWALKER WHISTLING RICOCHET, EXPLOSION ACCENT (Possible debut; Heard twice as a truck and the Nazi bomber explode, first in -12 pitch and then in a normal pitch; post-1999 versions double the sound of the ricochet.)
*SKYWALKER, WHOOSH - INDY'S WHIP CRACKS (debut)
*SKYWALKER, WHOOSH - SCREAM-LIKE PASS BY
*SKYWALKER, WHOOSH - SINGLE SWISH (debut)
*SKYWALKER, WIND - HEAVY WIND WHISTLING
*SoundDogs, Birds - Bird Willow Ptarmigan Comical Bird Calls Very Good** - Background (Possible debut)
*SoundDogs, Crash - Glass - C U - Two Glass Crashes W Large Shard Clunks (debut)
*SoundDogs, Electric - Sparks & Hum - C U - Series Of Amazingly Creaky Sparks And Reverberant Decay
*SoundDogs, Train: Trains - Freight Cars Coupling Impact - MCU - Bg Engine Noise, Also Rattles, Clunks, Squeaks, & Creaks, All Coupling Related, Several Ambiance Changes
*Sound Ideas, AMBIENCE, COUNTRY - INSECT, THICK, TONAL, INSECTS, ANIMAL
*Sound Ideas, AMBIENCE, INDUSTRIAL - WHIRRING WAREHOUSE INTERIOR, INDUSTRY, FACTORY
*Sound Ideas, BADGER - GROWL & HISS, ANIMAL (debut)
*Sound Ideas, BIRDS, JUNGLE - AFTERNOON JUNGLE BIRDS CALLING, ANIMAL (Heard in a high pitch.)
*Sound Ideas, FIRE, BURST - BIG BURST (debut)
*Sound Ideas, GUN, HAND GUN - TURNING OF CHAMBER (debut)
*Sound Ideas, REPTILE, SNAKE - HISSES, 8 VARIOUS LENGTHS-& INTENSITIES, ANIMAL (debut)
*Sound Ideas, ROCKS, EARTHQUAKE - RUMBLE, CREAKS, CRASHES, TUMBLING, AVALANCHE (debut)
*Sound Ideas, THUNDER - DISTANT THUNDER ROLL, WEATHER 02 (debut)
*Sound Ideas, WEATHER, LIGHTNING - BOLT OF LIGHTNING STRIKES CLOSE BY, THUNDER 05 (debut)
*Sound Ideas, WIND - BLAST, MODULATION & HOWL, WEATHER (Heard once in normal as the Ark begins to suck everything up and in reverse as the Ark's lid falls.)
*TECHNICOLOR EXPLOSION 01
*WB CARTOON, ARROW - FAST ARROWS FLY BY AND HIT (used for the Hovitos tribe’s arrows)
*WB PISTOL SHOT 03 (debut)
*Wilhelm Scream
==Image Gallery==
* [Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)/Image Gallery]]
==Audio Samples==
SKYWALKER, BULLET - RAPID, LASER-LIKE RICOCHETS as heard in the film.
SKYWALKER, FIRE - FLAMES QUICK ROAR BY 02 as heard in the film.
The higher-pitched variant of SKYWALKER, ELECTRICITY - THE FORCE WHINE as heard in the film.
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