Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

George Lucas (story) and
Philip Kaufman (story) ...

Release Date:

12 June 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Ark Of The Covenant | Escape | Indiana Jones | Professor

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 24 wins & 21 nominations

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Harrison Ford	...	Indiana Jones
Karen Allen	...	Marion Ravenwood
Paul Freeman	...	Dr. Rene Belloq
Ronald Lacey	...	Major Arnold Toht
John Rhys-Davies	...	Sallah
Denholm Elliott	...	Dr. Marcus Brody
Alfred Molina	...	Satipo
Wolf Kahler	...	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

Also Known As:

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (South Africa: English title) (DVD box title) (USA) (video title)

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | Hebrew | Spanish | Arabic | Nepali

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

USA:PG (edited for re-rating) | USA:R (original rating) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Italy:T | Iceland:12 | Finland:K-11 (DVD rating) | South Korea:12 | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Australia:PG | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Israel:PG | Netherlands:12 (DVD rating) | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (2004) | UK:PG (video rating) (1987) | West Germany:16 | Canada:G (Quebec) (re-rating) (2003) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Bushey, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Lucasfilm

Trivia:

The German aircraft in the desert is a complete fantasy product, although with various design elements borrowed from other German aircraft projects.

Goofs:

Continuity: Before the airplane fight, Gobler addresses Dietrich in German as "Herr Major", indicating Dietrich's rank equivalent to Major. After the airplane fight, his voice has changed (see above unsynchronized goof), and he changes Dietrich's rank to "Oberst" (equivalent to Colonel).

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

Soundtrack:

A British Tar

"I don't know...I'm making this up as I go."

A leading candidate for the best adventure movie of all time. Harrison Ford plays Indiana Jones, a professor of archaeology and treasure hunter who is hired by the United States government in the 1930's to find and retrieve the mythical "Ark of the Covenant" before the Nazis do.

"Raiders of the Lost Ark" offers an almost non-stop variety of thrills and is able to sustain itself for its entire 116-minute running time. There's so much to make note of here - the flawless cast, the flashy special effects, the incredible sets, the efficient pacing of the film, the memorable scenes like the chamber full of snakes and the truck chase, etc. I won't go into great detail in describing it but suffice it to say that if you enjoy adventure movies you're advised to catch this 1980's blockbuster *at least* once. It's a great dose of escapist fun that still entertains almost thirty years later. This was one of my favorite movies growing up and is still a favorite today. It certainly made the combination of a fedora and a whip quite iconic.

Followed by "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", the TV series "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles", and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull".

Conceived by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg (official story credit goes to Lucas and Philip Kaufman) and scripted by Lawrence Kasdan.

10/10