Raiders of the Lost Ark Poster
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Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

PG  115 min  -  Action | Adventure   -  12 June 1981 (USA)
8.7
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Ratings: 8.7/10 from 309,904 users   Metascore: 90/100 
Reviews: 628 user | 146 critic | 11 from Metacritic.com

Archeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the US government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Lawrence Kasdan (screenplay), George Lucas (story), and 1 more credit »
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Top 250 #23 | Won 4 Oscars. Another 25 wins & 21 nominations See more awards »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harrison Ford ...
Karen Allen ...
Paul Freeman ...
Ronald Lacey Ronald Lacey ...
John Rhys-Davies ...
Denholm Elliott Denholm Elliott ...
Alfred Molina ...
Wolf Kahler ...
Anthony Higgins ...
Vic Tablian ...
Barranca / Monkey Man
Don Fellows Don Fellows ...
William Hootkins ...
Bill Reimbold Bill Reimbold ...
Fred Sorenson Fred Sorenson ...
Patrick Durkin Patrick Durkin ...
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Storyline

The year is 1936. A professor who studies archeology named Indiana Jones is venturing in the jungles in South America searching for a golden statue. Unfortunately, he sets off a deadly trap doing so, miraculously, he escapes. Then, Jones hears from a museum curator named Marcus Brody about a biblical artifact called The Ark of the Covenant, which can hold the key to humanly existence. Jones has to venture to vast places such as Nepal and Egypt to find this artifact. However, he will have to fight his enemy Renee Belloq and a band of Nazis in order to reach it. Written by John Wiggins  

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Ark Of The Covenant | Escape | Indiana Jones | Archeologist  | See more »

Taglines:

Indiana Jones - the new hero from the creators of JAWS and STAR WARS.

Genres:

Action | Adventure

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | Hebrew | Spanish | Arabic | Nepali

Release Date:

(USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark See more »

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$8,305,823 (USA) (14 June 1981) (1078 Screens)

Gross:

$384,140,454 (Worldwide)
See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Lucasfilm See more »
Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Begins with a shot of a peak in the jungle which is reminiscent of the Paramount Pictures logo. See also Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. See more »

Goofs

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The map sequence to the Island that the U-boat is traveling to shows that it is part of Greece, however the Germans did not invade Greece until 1941. The movie takes place five years before that. However, the movie references the classic "secret underground base" used in many stories in the 1930s, where the ownership of the territory occupied by the base was irrelevant. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Satipo: [picking up poison dart] The Hovitos are near. The poison is still fresh, three days. They're following us.
Barranca: If they knew we were here, they would've killed us already.
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Crazy Credits

The mountain in the Paramount logo dissolves into the mountain in the Peruvian jungle.
See more »

Connections

Spoofed in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) See more »

Soundtracks

"I am the Monarch of the Sea"
(1878) (uncredited)
From "H.M.S. Pinafore"
Music by Arthur Sullivan
Lyrics by William S. Gilbert
Sung a cappella by John Rhys-Davies See more »