Raiders Of The Lost Ark

UK Release Date. 30 July 1981
Certification. A
Running Time. 1 hour 55 mins
Director. Steven Spielberg
Cast. Karen Allen, Denholm Elliott, Harrison Ford, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies.
Rating. 85%

Review.

From the adrenaline-charged opening sequence, Raiders Of The Lost Ark bursts onto the screen with an assured confidence and unashamed bravado. With Raiders Of The Lost Ark Steven Spielberg, inspired by the forgotten B-serials and comics of his youth, created a deliriously entertaining throwback that remains pure, unadulterated pleasure.

On its release Spielberg’s film quickly became the new standard for adventure films, surpassing the matinee serials that inspired it and building on previous swashbuckling films like The Adventures Of Robin Hood, Only Angels Have Wings, The Treasure Of Sierra Madre and The African Queen. The film remains an exemplary illustration of how to craft a story and its influence on culture was immediate and widespread, most directly through imitations, such as Romancing The Stone, King Solomon’s Mines and Allan Quartermain And The Lost City Of Gold. The film’s influence continues with a phylogeny that includes The Mummy, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, National Treasure, Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle and Uncharted.

Fresh from the success of Jaws and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, Spielberg delivers an assemblage of action set pieces arranged in a manner to top the previous one, held together by the thin sliver of old-fashioned romance and adventure. The pace never falters from that opening sequence in the Peruvian jungle. Yet, the audience isn't inundated with adrenaline shot after adrenaline shot. They come at opportune moments, they’re impeccably crafted, and wholly character-driven.

Harrison Ford is perfectly cast as the roguish, yet utterly likeable Dr Jones. He’s charming in a way that isn’t obvious, because he is apparently oblivious to the fact that the audience (not to mention his students) are falling head over heels in love with him. His mind is solely focused on the pursuit of priceless, ancient artefacts. Harrison Ford was already the epitome of cool following appearances in American Graffiti, Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, but was it just me, or did Indiana Jones manage to trump even Han Solo in terms of coolness? A unique action hero, there’s an off the cuff quality to Jones, a character seemingly out of his depth, but repeatedly surviving by the skin of his teeth. Indiana Jones, more than any single role allowed Ford to display his physicality, his sense of humour, and his natural hangdog charisma.

Every great action hero needs a foil, and that was the Spielberg’s second great casting coup. Karen Allen’s Marion Ravenwood is every bit as compelling as Jones himself, but she isn’t an attempt to create a female copy of the eponymous hero. Plucky, fiery and smart as hell, she’s more than a match for Jones, and the chemistry between the two of them drives the film.

When I recall childhood trips to the cinema with my Papa, Raiders Of The Lost Ark had a more lasting effect on me than other films of the time - Superman, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Clash Of The Titans. To this day, I vividly recall the overwhelming sense of excitement - a genuine boy’s own adventure - after seeing Raiders Of The Lost Ark for the first time. A feeling only replicated when I took my own children to see Spielberg’s The Adventures Of TinTin: The Secret Of The Unicorn in the cinema. Spielberg may well be the greatest filmmaker of his generation, and with Raiders Of The Lost Ark if you allow yourself to be swept up the narrative then, as with many films, it’s all about the journey rather than the destination.

But Raiders Of The Lost Ark is beyond nostalgia, it is a timeless adventure. Howards Hawks once said, that a good film consisted of “Three great scenes and no bad ones.” Well, Raiders Of The Lost Ark has 20 great scenes (at least) and no bad ones. Raiders Of The Lost Ark is a work of art - it belongs in a museum!