Great Movies- Raiders of the Lost Ark

Forty years ago this month, the #1 hero not named James Bond beat "Superman II" and "On Golden Pond" and every other movie released in 1981(a big year btw). I hope you know that I'm talking about Indiana Jones. The greatest film character of the 1980s has been with me for my entire life, and I'm hoping his adventures(the first three, at least) are a part of yours. You're reading this, so that's a start. Legend has it that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were vacationing together in Hawaii in 1977, when the "Star Wars" creator told the "Jaws" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" director about an intrepid archaeologist he'd been developing for a throwback thrill-ride set sometime in the 1930s. Spielberg was instantly intrigued, and began viewing the project as a "comeback" after the relative failure of his unruly WWII vehicle "1941". Talk about turning a negative into a positive. "Raiders" was a phenomenon, and it's momentum was arguably the catalyst for the most impressive filmmaking career of all time. Join me as I discuss in great detail why you should become one of the Ark's aging worshipers.

Harrison Ford was 37 years old when he landed the role that ensured his professional life after Han Solo. People forget that the films he made between "Star Wars" and "The Empire Strikes Back"- "Force 10 from Navarone", "Hanover Street", and "The Frisco Kid"- left no lasting impression on critics or audiences. But Lucas was wary of forging a De Niro/Scorsese-type relationship with his former carpenter and insisted on someone outside his repertory company. Tom Selleck and his mustache were cast in early 1980. The movie gods intervened, when CBS ordered a full season of "Magnum P.I." a few weeks later. Selleck had already shot the pilot and was contractually bound to the series that would make him a Reagan-era TV star. After failing to work out a deal with the network, Spielberg and Lucas turned to a rugged-and-ready Ford, and it's difficult to imagine anyone else wearing Indy's instantly-iconic brown leather jacket and fedora(John Landis' wife Deborah Nadoolman helped pick it out).

Is this the greatest opening scene in the 100-year annals of film? This 11-minute masterclass is a mini-movie, with Dr. Jones in the jungles of Kauai, Hawaii with two questionable cohorts. Yes, that's future Doc Ock Alfred Molina in his big-screen debut. Douglas Slocombe's delectable cinematography is apparent in every frame of the Peruvian temple set at England's storied Elstree Studios. Indy's bravery is quietly and coolly established by his lack of fear and experience in brushing off tarantulas and booby-traps. British production designer Norman Reynolds continued his association with Lucas(he won an Oscar for "Star Wars") with the 22-foot, 300-pound fiberglass boulder that rolls toward our hero and right into movie history.

Ford isn't really afraid of them.

In 1978 script meetings, Lucas suggested that "Indiana Smith" should be a playboy and a martial artist, ideas Spielberg rejected. Steven then wondered aloud if the character should have some interesting complication like alcoholism and/or a gambling problem, ideas that Lucas rejected. They ultimately agreed that Indiana JONES needed to be a good role model. Writer-director Philip Kaufman("The Right Stuff") was informally involved in the early planning stages, and helped the dynamic duo settle on the Ark of the Covenant as the film's central goal. Spielberg and Lucas collectively discovered Lawrence Kasdan, a promising screenwriter tasked with turning a rough outline, teeming with story beats and set pieces, into a shootable script. Kasdan did just that, and became a major player in his own right("Body Heat", "The Big Chill", "Silverado", "The Accidental Tourist").

Kasdan was well aware of the length and the pace that Spielberg had in mind and doesn't allow the film to get bogged down in exposition. That's why an impressed Lucas quickly secured his services for "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi". "Raiders" is 115 minutes, and this university meeting with two Army Intelligence officers is the most dialogue we ever get about the Ark. An occult-obsessed Hitler is a nut on the subject.

There's only one cut from editor Michael Kahn in the nearly two-minute scene where Marcus Brody(Denholm Elliott) makes a nighttime visit to Indy's house- the gun being tossed into a suitcase. "It's like nothing you've gone after before".

Meet Marion Ravenwood- a feisty Nepal bar owner, the daughter of Indy's mentor Abner, and the love of his life. She was 15-16 when they began a relationship in 1925- an important clarification given some of the dialogue("I was a child!") from a much less sensitive time. Karen Allen beat out Stephanie Zimbalist, Barbara Hershey, and Sean Young because she was in "National Lampoon's Animal House". Jones needs the headpiece from the Staff of Ra. Marion will think about it.

British actor Ronald Lacey oozes menace as a shadowy Gestapo agent sent on an artifact-finding mission by Hitler. Indy redeems himself from that aforementioned heartbreak with a timely save- the slimy Arnold Toht was seconds away from scarring Marion's face with a hot iron. A dangerous fight breaks out in the burning bar that ends with some dead henchmen and a partnership between Indy and Marion. Slocombe's rich lighting helps separate "Raiders" from all those visually dull movies that never came close.

In Cairo we meet Sallah, a hefty Egyptian excavator and one of cinema's better sidekicks. He's married with nine children. Spielberg originally offered Danny DeVito the role but his sitcom "Taxi" wouldn't allow it. Character actor John Rhys-Davies got the career-making part instead, which later led to his heavily-bearded dwarf Gimli in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Davies joins Allen with three appearances in the franchise- the good-natured Sallah assists Indy in 1989's "Last Crusade" and 2023's "The Dial of Destiny".

Spielberg has said that if he had more time and money, he would have made a "pretentious movie". Desperate not to repeat the excesses and overruns of "1941", Indy's introduction benefitted greatly from the perceived limitations of it's production. "Raiders" rarely stops moving, with a set-piece and/or a memorable moment occurring every 10-15 minutes. Ford had dysentery in 130-degree Tunisian heat when it was decided that shooting that swordsman was a smart, sensible way out of a delay caused by drawn-out fight choreography. It got a huge laugh in theaters, and it's simplicity is even more refreshing now than it was in '81. Marion is captured and seemingly killed by Nazis and other hired goons at the conclusion of a street chase. No CGI in that explosion.

Bad dates. An elderly imam deciphers Marion's medallion for a despondent Jones, before Sallah saves him from the same poisonous fate as his monkey friend. This movie does a dozen little things that the 21st Century's unimaginitive F/X-heavy blockbusters just don't.

The Nazis are digging in the wrong spot. Indiana and Sallah, disguised as native workers, infiltrate the dig site in Tanis and use the medallion and a right-sized staff to locate the Well of Souls- the Ark's true resting place. John Williams' multifaceted score is doing so much more than today's mailed-in film music. This beautiful, stylish cinematography with it's sun-drenched vistas(and Indy's Egyptian cloth) is an affectionate nod to 1962's "Lawrence of Arabia". "Raiders" sits neatly on the border between two eras- there's a clear love and respect for the past(Humphery Bogart, Charlton Heston, David Lean) while simultaneously speeding toward a limitless future where ILM, fueled by the gigantic success of this film and the "Star Wars" trilogy, and a new generation of directors(Robert Zemeckis, Ron Howard, James Cameron, John McTiernan) would make anything possible.

Indy lowers himself into a snake pit at the one-hour mark. Spielberg decided that 2,000 snakes were insufficient for wide shots and put in a call for 5,000 more. You just don't get that kind of verisimilitude anymore. I'll take real(non-venomous) snakes over computer clicks any day. I'm not sure if anyone under the age of 70 knows what movie serials are, because they went away in 1956, but "Raiders" truly captures the spirit of those episodic adventures. The next thirty minutes is just incredible.

Marion is alive but Indy can't rescue her just yet. Frenchman Rene Belloq(Paul Freeman) is a rival archaeologist selling his soul to the Nazis. Marion teases him in a tent with her acceptance of drinks and a cinematic white dress. Toht's sinister-looking coat-hanger is one of the many other nice touches that I alluded to earlier.

The good news is Indy and Marion are reunited and the Ark has been found. The bad news is they have the snake well and the Nazi dig site to escape from. After some bickering about Belloq, they climb back to sunlight where an old-fashioned fistfight with a burly, shirtless henchman(former pro wrestler Pat Roach) awaits our hero. Jones is tired and dirty but still lands some nice crowd-pleasing punches. I always preferred a protagonist that just barely beats his opponent. It's the Rocky Balboa effect, and the struggle further endears us to the character.

Creative villain deaths are a prerequisite for the genre. These giant spinning aircraft blades may have set the standard.

The Ark is loaded into a truck to be transported to Germany. Indy intends to intercept but he's making it up as he goes. Fun fact- Ford's then-wife Melissa Mathison visited the set and was hired by Spielberg to flesh out an idea he had in his head since childhood, about a suburban boy and a cute alien. A year later, he had the screenplay for "E.T. the Extra Terrestrial", the movie that officially made him the most powerful man in the industry.

The eight-minute truck chase is probably the best action scene ever filmed up to this point(George Miller was simultaneously staging similar mayhem in Mad Max sequel "The Road Warrior"). It's a fast-paced, dazzling, creative sequence that you could watch once a week for the rest of your life. Indy gets shot in the left arm, dragged through the dirt, and throws hands with the driver and a passenger. Shout out to veteran stuntmen Vic Armstrong and Terry Leonard- Ford did a few shots himself and bruised some ribs in the process. A victorious Jones has the Ark as we're hurled toward the third act.

Should Harrison have been in the Best Actor conversation for creating one of Hollywood's all-time heroes? It doesn't seem right that he only has one nomination, for 1985's "Witness". This playful exchange on a merchant steamer is probably the best Indy-Marion moment. Allen went on to appear in John Carpenter's "Starman" opposite Indiana Jones runner-up Jeff Bridges(an interesting what-if) and the 1993 cult classic "The Sandlot".

The Nazis board the freighter and find Marion and the Ark. Indy sneaks on a German U-boat and acquires a uniform and a rocket launcher. Belloq is unbothered by the bazooka, because he knows that Jones would never destroy something as historically significant as the Ark. Freeman deserves credit for not allowing that fly on his face to ruin a good take- a tiny but much-discussed tidbit among franchise fanatics.

On a small, solitary island north of Crete, Belloq, Toht, and Colonel Dietrich(Wolf Kahler) experience God's wrath when they open the Ark before it's planned delivery to Hitler. A tied-up Indy tells Marion to close her eyes to the emerging spirits, flames, and bolts of energy. This was Richard Edlund, Joe Johnston, Chris Walas, and the rest of the ILM team's time to shine. Head molds, propane heaters, melted gelatin, and a slower-than-normal camera speed were combined to create this wonderfully warped sequence. Eat your heart out, "Scanners". I'd be remiss if I didn't mention sound effects poineer Ben Burtt's contributions in postproduction.

I'd like to thank Marcia Lucas(George's then-wife) for reminding Spielberg and her husband that the audience needed to see Indy and Marion walking happily arm-and-arm in the film's last few seconds- a moment they were ready to leave on the cutting room floor. Artist Michael Pangrazio gave us the final shot- a matte painting of the Ark getting lost again, in a vast government warehouse filled with nearly identical crates. It's considered one of the most impressive integrations of live-action lighting and painted effects.

"Raiders" was in theaters for nine months and spent nine weeks at #1 for a domestic total of $242 million on a $20 million budget. It was Paramount's biggest hit for over a decade(until "Forrest Gump"). It was the reason you got a VCR in 1982. It's the reason you considered becoming an archaeologist. Ford was a top ten movie star for at least twenty years. That doesn't happen without Henry Jones Jr. "Temple of Doom" and "Last Crusade" made Indy a great trilogy until 2008. I wish it had stayed that way. This is a classy, expertly-engineered model of escapism, and every action/FX-driven film released since contains a trace of it's DNA. I like it a little more every time I think about it. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is one of the world's greatest films.