Raiders
of the Lost Ark (1981)
Rating:
PG
Runtime:
115 minutes
Box
Office (in today’s dollars): 543 million (approximately)
Characters:
Indiana Jones, Marion Ravenwood, Sallah, Dr. Rene Belloq, Major Arnold Toht
Cool
Stuff: Indiana Jones’s hat and whip, Marion’s medallion, The Ark of the
Covenant
Cool
Music: Indiana Jones Theme
Cool
Quote: “Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?”
I
know, I know, another Harrison Ford movie. I made a rule to limit an
actor/actress to one movie, but Harrison Ford is more of a supporting actor in The
Empire Strikes Back (’80s movie #1 reviewed) and Return of the Jedi (soon to be ’80s movie #8 reviewed). Raiders of the Lost Ark has the lead
actor role that he is (and should be) best known for. I make the rules, and
this movie definitely does, well, rule! There are several classic scenes (the
rolling boulder, the sword/gun fight scene, the giant guy/plane fight scene, the
opening of the Ark/all the bad guys die scene), and of course, our hero Indiana
Jones.
Indy
is the tough, handsome professor that all his female students adore. Looking
sharp in that hat and wielding his weapon of choice (a whip) is probably why
Marion fell for him in the first place. Marion is a great companion for Dr.
Jones, and can outdrink her share of men. I would say her toughest challenger would
be my friend Shaunna. If I could only get those two ladies in the same room at
the same time, the battle would be legendary! Sallah is a great digging partner
and good friend. Dr. Rene Belloq is a jerk, and Major Arnold Thot is a creepy,
creepy man.
Indy’s
hat and whip are the coolest things in the movie, but Marion’s medallion and
the Ark (of course) are pretty neat too. I imagine the medallion wasn’t the
easiest thing to wear around your neck, but it looked really cool. The Ark was
just one bad mutha that definitely needed to be put in a box and locked away.
Indiana Jones’s theme music is as recognizable as any and really gets me fired
up to go adventuring ... unless there be snakes around!
A
fantastic movie adventure that is considered to be one of the greatest of all
time. It was followed by a violent Temple
of Doom, an endearing Last Crusade,
and a movie who must not be named.
Next
movie to review: E.T. The
Extra-Terrestrial
Hooray Indy! The Indiana Jones movies are by far the best trilogy Harrison Ford was ever in. (I count neither the fourth Indy movie nor the new Star Wars movies.) You should omit Jedi in favor of Last Crusade. Or pretty much any other 80s movie.
ReplyDeleteTBS had an Indy marathon doing most of last weekend, and I caught little bits and pieces of them. You know what's weird that I hadn't noticed before? In Raiders, Marcus Brody is a brave, shrewd, wise, and wily character. By Crusade, he's a buffoonish cartoon who once got lost in his own museum. So I assume that between the first and third movies, Marcus had a small stroke or had dementia issues hit him. Which is sad.