Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

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),

Stars:

Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman

Top 250 #27 | Won 4 Oscars. Another 25 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harrison Ford	...	Indiana Jones
Karen Allen	...	Marion Ravenwood
Paul Freeman	...	Dr. René Belloq
Ronald Lacey	...	Major Arnold Toht
John Rhys-Davies	...	Sallah
Denholm Elliott	...	Dr. Marcus Brody
Alfred Molina	...	Satipo
Wolf Kahler	...	Colonel Dietrich
Anthony Higgins	...	Gobler
Vic Tablian	...	Barranca / Monkey Man
Don Fellows	...	Col. Musgrove
William Hootkins	...	Major Eaton
Bill Reimbold	...	Bureaucrat
Fred Sorenson	...	Jock
Patrick Durkin	...	Australian Climber

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.

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Plot Keywords:

nazis | ark of the covenant | escape | indiana jones | professor | 

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Taglines:

The Return of the Great Adventure.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Lucasfilm / Paramount Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Hebrew Spanish Arabic Nepali

Release Date:

12 June 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Indiana Jones

Filming Locations:

Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,673,731 (USA) (7 September 2012)

Gross:

$3,115,115 (USA) (28 September 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Lucasfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Frank Welker:  prolific voice actor provides the monkey's sounds, uncredited.

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Goofs

When Indy is at home packing his suitcase, he is wearing a robe with a dark red collar and cuffs with some sort of stitched pattern. In the shot from above his shoulder where he pulls the gun out of the cloth, the collar and cuffs of the robe are quite different. They are a brighter red and they seem to be smooth with no stitched pattern. In the following shot where he throws the gun, he is back in the original robe.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in The Nostalgia Critic: The Phantom (2010)

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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

User Reviews

Ba-De-Da, Ba-De-Da-De-Daaaa, Ba-De-Da, Ba-De-Da-De-Da

If you've seen this movie and heard the score, then my one line summary won't read like a mating call for sheep, but rather the absolutely exhilarating "Raider's March" which stirs my blood and makes me think of an unforgettable hero, Indiana Jones. If not, see it now.

I love going to movies. I always have. I remember when this film came out. My friends had seen it before I had. They boasted it was great, the best film ever. Some even said it was better than Star Wars (utter blasphemy to a devout 10 year old Jedi-wannabe). I thought no way is this film better than Star Wars, but I was still curious and began the begging of my father to take me.

When I was young, almost all of the films that I had seen, I saw with my Dad. He would take me and my mother would stay at home with my siblings. We saw a number of films that failed to generate a reaction with him as they did with me, but this one was different. This one, my Dad might've enjoyed just as much.

Who can forget the scene where Indy faces bandits in the marketplace, fighting swords with his wits and fists, only to be finally challenged by a dark robed adversary brandishing a heavy, dismembering type of sabre as he swings the impressive blade about his head menacingly?

Indiana looks his opponent up and down briefly and draws his pistol casually and shoots the villain dead as if his patience had been tested a moment longer than he could tolerate.

My father, and the entire audience for that matter, laughed and cheered at this incredible scene. And it was the first time I'd actually been aware of his enjoyment of the film. Usually I'm so transfixed that I wouldn't notice if my legs were on fire. He enjoyed it so much, that he still tends to bring up that scene, even today.

My father and I shared a great moment in movie history, and I will never forget it for as long as I live. I will always be grateful for the time we spent together and the films that I otherwise would have been unable to see without him taking me.

Just a side note about the scene I've described above. It wasn't meant to go that way at all. As Steven Spielberg explained in a television interview, the scene was meant to have an elaborate fight sequence, but Harrison Ford was suffering from diarrhea and couldn't go through with the elaborate set-up required. Someone said, "the only way we can finish this scene today is if he shoots him". Steven said, "Wait a minute, we might have something there."

As for where it ranks with Star Wars, it's hard for me to say, so I won't. Star Wars was the first film I ever saw, and there's a story in that as well. Thanks again, Dad.