Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark [1981]

Set in 1936, Raiders of the Lost Ark pits professor-fortune hunter Jones (Ford) against a team of Nazis in a desperate race to find the legendary Ark of the Covenant, the sacred chest where the Hebrews had placed the fragments of the original Ten Commandments. Lost for nearly 2,000 years, the Ark is coveted not only as an object of great historical import, but as Indy's boss and friend Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) points out, "an army that carries the Ark before it is invincible." Now, Adolf Hitler wants the Ark, and Germany has sent a huge team of archaeologists led by the renegade Frenchman Belloq (Paul Freeman) and soldiers to Egypt in hopes of finding it.

When a secret German cable from Cairo to Berlin is intercepted by U.S. Army intelligence mentioning the lost city of Tanis, a relic called the headpiece of the staff of Ra and Abner Ravenwood, Indy's former instructor and estranged friend, the government hires Indy to find Ravenwood and get to the Ark before the Nazis do. Soon, Indiana Jones will face Gestapo agents, Nepalese thugs, Arab swordsmen, and 7,000 snakes as he dodges bullets, swords and flying fists as he crosses half the world in search of the Lost Ark. Along the way he is joined by Ravenwood's feisty daughter (and former flame) Marion (Karen Allen) and Sallah (John Rhys-Davies), "the best digger in Egypt" and a loyal friend.

Lawrence Kasdan's screenplay, based on a story by Phil Kaufman and George Lucas, keeps the whole endeavor moving like gangbusters and replete with 1930s-style humor in the vein of Michael Curtiz films (such as Casablanca). Featuring great stunts (some performed by Ford himself, including the famous rolling boulder in the prologue), fantastic special effects that still hold up over 20 years later, adept directing by Spielberg and a terrific score by composer John Williams, Raiders of the Lost Ark is an adventure film which has endured the test of time.


Classic Adventure Film That Launched A Trilogy   March 9, 2004
C. MCCALLISTER (The waters of the Great Lakes)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I will not bother you with with another summary of an already-well-summarized movie. This is one of the greatest adventure movies of all time, and it has all the necessary ingredients to be the classic it has become. Harrison Ford, who was already well on his way to being box office magic, shines in this film as the quintessential scoundrel-good-guy-with-a-heart-of-gold, and Karen Allen is the perfect blend of sultry, assertive, needs-to-be-rescued, and I-can-rescue-you-too-if-needed. The action is nonstop, the effects are good, the scenery is great, the plot is elaborate enough, the music is rowsing and memorable, the dialogue is witty and sharp, and there isn't a dull moment from start to finish. This film didn't have quite the impact that Star Wars: A New Hope or The Lord of the Rings had, but it will outlast Star Wars, and it was more fun than the magnificent-but-very-serious LOTR.


THE Greatest adventure ever!   April 22, 2002
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Indiana Jones is the epitimy of adventure films. Raiders of the Lost Ark is without a doubt the best adventure film ever made. It has action, suspense and romance. The only other adventure to rival Raiders is Bond who does not come close to being the adventure of Raiders. The only films to near Raiders level of adventure are Temple of Doom, and Last Crusade. I recommend Raiders of the lost ark to any adventure fan.


Latter day (almost) swashbuckler   February 16, 2000
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

What a splendid intro to the trilogy. When this came out I was just a wee nipper but soon discovered that it wasn't just myself and other kids caught up in the fantasy. It's actually a sequel to Temple of doom set during the 2nd world war. Scary military police are on his trail even to Nepal, across to Eygypt culminating in a freaky scene where they open the ark of the covenant (I wont say whats in it).