Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

In 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before Adolf Hitler's Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Lawrence Kasdan (screenplay by), George Lucas (story by)

Stars:

Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman

Top Rated Movies #46 | Won 4 Oscars. Another 31 wins & 24 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harrison Ford	...	Indy
Karen Allen	...	Marion
Paul Freeman	...	Belloq
Ronald Lacey	...	Toht
John Rhys-Davies	...	Sallah
Denholm Elliott	...	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

Storyline

The year is 1936. An archeology professor named Indiana Jones is venturing in the jungles of South America searching for a golden statue. Unfortunately, he sets off a deadly trap but miraculously 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 Rene Belloq and a band of Nazis in order to reach it.

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | ark of the covenant | archeologist | indiana jones | egypt | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Hebrew Spanish Arabic Nepali

Release Date:

12 June 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

Filming Locations:

Yuma, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,305,823, 14 June 1981, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$248,159,971

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$389,925,971

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Lucasfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints) Dolby Digital (IMAX version) IMAX 6-Track (IMAX version) Dolby Atmos (IMAX version) Datasat (IMAX version) SDDS (IMAX version)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steven Spielberg had originally offered the role of Major Arnold Toht to Roman Polanski, who was intrigued at the opportunity to work with Spielberg, but decided to turn down the role because he wouldn't be able to make the trip to Tunisia.

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Goofs

The German military would not have been allowed to put either troops or aircraft in Egypt in the 1930s. Given the tense nature of relations at the time, doing so would have been as an act of war and the Nazis would have been attacked by British military forces in the region.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Satipo: [picking up poison dart] The Hovitos are near.
[tastes the end of the dart, spits it out quickly]
Satipo: The poison is still fresh, three days. They're following us.
Barranca: If they knew we were here, they would have 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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Alternate Versions

On the Laserdisc (widescreen) version, the sound effect when the staff lands in the map room after Indy drops it is different from all other versions....

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Connections

Referenced in Django Unchained (2012)

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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 W.S. Gilbert
Sung a cappella by John Rhys-Davies

User Reviews

Excellent movie and brilliantly crafted entertainment with a superb casting

I remember seeing this movie when I was young, and it may well have been in the cinema with my Father, I can't quite remember (if he does, then please post the answer), anyway I do remember seeing it and being thoroughly entertained and that feeling of excitement and total fun staying with me to this very day as that is the feeling that the movie conjures up whenever I think of it.

I think a part of that is down to the fact it's a complete retake on the old serial movies combined with obvious comic book style, and that is just perfect for kids and appeals to them no end, or rather it did then! So it was with excitement that I opened my presents on my birthday and found the boxset for the Indiana Jones Trilogy, and with even more excitement when I finally watched the first in the trilogy, Raiders of the lost Ark.

It was just as I remembered, fun, excitement, wise cracks, a tiny splattering of romance but with a manliness that kids would allow, and lots of stunts and action. It's a superb movie and captures that style of serials, adventure stories and comic books perfectly, how I know that for sure is only through repeats since I wasn't alive during those times.

The set pieces are fantastic, and although some of the wilder end sequences are slightly dated now, it hasn't lost the excitement factor. It's a perfectly crafted movie as well, moving from location to location without any distraction or superfluous scenes, it just feels like it's all there for a reason and that it belongs there.

Harrison Ford is excellent in the role, and I'm inclined to think he was more Indy than he was Solo, but that's a personal opinion. He has many more facial movements and voice inclinations in this early movie than he does nowadays, now he belongs to the moody, quiet school of acting, then he was dynamic, adventurous, strong and as wisecracking as the best of them.

There are some excellent movie making moments in this with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg showing talent galore just oozing out of every pore (where did all that go for Star Wars I to III Mr Lucas?), and they end up making an excellently entertaining movie.

Some could argue that there could be a bit more depth or seriousness to the story, but come on, it's a ripping adventure yarn, you don't need depth. Saving the Ark from the Nazi's, surely that's enough! An excellent movie and great fun too, without a doubt one of my favourite of all time.