Raiders of the Lost Ark - Movie Review

Raiders of the Lost Ark was directed by Steven Spielberg produced by George Lucas with a story from George Lucas in 1981 the idea of the guy who made jaws and Close Encounters and Star Wars teaming up seemed too good to be true and yet somehow they both made something better than anyone could have imagined at the time I must have checked out this VHS from the Akron Library 50 times when I was younger I mean it was just on constant replay in my house I don't know why we didn't just buy the VHS I certainly wanted it it would have saved us a lot of gas money going back and forth from the library so often just to rent it if you've watched my channel for a long time you know how much this character has meant to me you guys know that I made - Indiana Jones shorts when I was a teenager really amateur stuff of course but I was a teenager we didn't have any money I was just super passionate about this and I still am I've seen Raiders of the Lost Ark in every way that I possibly can I've seen it in theaters when it's been re-released I've seen it at outdoor theaters I even saw it at Blossom Music Center here in Ohio with a live Symphony Orchestra playing the score right in front of us while we watched the movie on a giant screen Raiders has one of the best openings in film history it sets up a character that obviously has become so iconic but it does it in such a cool way we're walking through South America in 1936 we're seeing shadows of a man in a leather jacket and a fedora hat he's searching for something but Alfred Molina and his buddy are getting nervous one of them betrays this faceless man and he whirls around with his whip and knocks that gun right out of his hands and we meet Indiana Jones and one of the best [ __ ] character reveals ever and what I've always loved about this moment I can't play the soundtrack because Paramount will slap a copyright claim right on this video but we don't introduce Indiana Jones with the famous theme we don't hear that famous theme yet in fact Indy walks into frame and the music gets really low and ominous almost like we're being introduced to the bad guy Spielberg and Williams both made it clear from the get-go that this is not your typical hero this entire opening scene is so tense and you instantly know exactly the film you're watching this film obviously being inspired by those old-fashioned serials it's impossible not to get excited every time this scene plays out I've seen the movie 300 times I don't even know how many times and I still get pumped every single time I start watching it as they enter this chamber they encounter some traps some activated by light and some activated by stepping in the wrong place on the ground we see the golden idol ahead of him and we know that's what he's after but it doesn't really matter it's the suspense of the moment it's how tense this scene is it's how excited you get while watching it it's introducing a hero who is willing to face a grotesque death in the middle of nowhere to obtain some rare antiquity while trying to balance the idol perfectly with a bag of sand it doesn't work out and the entire place starts to crumble and alfred molina betrays him as well forcing indy to do everything he can to get out of this place before he dies and right here we get our first hint at just how much spielberg did not give a [ __ ] in the 80s because this is bloody as [ __ ] and i love it he soon chased by that iconic boulder that still works all these years later and once he gets out of the chamber you think okay he's out of it but no he's faced with an army of hovitos and Belloc his nemesis who also wants to get rare antiquities but he will go too far worse lengths to get them so Andy's got to run to the plane while he's being chased by the hovitos and what I love about this scene is that we're introduced to Indy in such an epic and badass way I already talked about the music how cool he is how you just think he's this untouchable awesome guy I could never be that cool but then Spielberg is like no no no look at him being chased by these guys and he's screaming he's just a guy he's just a person you instantly understand his vulnerability he's not a superhero he's just a guy who's out there doing this and he's willing to do it and he's good with his whip and he knows how to fire his gun and he's good in a fight but he's just a guy and this is confirmed even more once he gets in the plane finds a snake in his lap and tells Jacque behind him that he's terrified of snakes so instantly within a scene we think he's the coolest [ __ ] guy on earth and then Spielberg humanizes him and the following scene were introduced to him as a teacher and this is a great way to make the character feel lived in he's not just a guy who walks around with a whip and fires his gun sometimes we understand why he cares about finding these items it's something he's very passionate about but they also get a lot of humor out of this scene with the love you eyes girl Lawrence Kasdan's script for Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the best I've ever read it wastes no time and were reminded of that because we're instantly thrown into the backstory of the Ark these two guys visit the school and tell Indy and Marcus Brody that Hitler has become obsessed with the occult and a bunch of Nazis are trying to track down the Ark of the Covenant within this one scene you learn almost everything you need to know about the entire movie there's someone Indy used to know named Abner Ravenwood the Nazis the Ark of the Covenant the map room the staff the sun shining through the staff to show the location of the Ark of the Covenant the holy power the ark supposedly has and how people fear it and he also learned something very imperative about Indiana Jones they asked him what's this light coming out of the Ark and he's like lightning fire power of God or something he doesn't give a [ __ ] and he reiterates this feeling in the next scene when he's like you know I don't believe in any of this superstitious hocus-pocus [ __ ] he just wants to find the Ark he believes in archaeology he believes in Antiquities in making them safe making sure people can come and see them in a museum but there's something else about that scene I always kind of liked that no one ever really talks about these two guys who come there with this information they even feel lived in like one of them interrupts the guy and he sort of looks at him like all you mother [ __ ] you interrupted me again it seems like every chance they got to humanize a character in this movie even someone insignificant like these two guys they took it now the one thing about the film they didn't go into in the previous scene was Marion she's mentioned here in this scene and that's good if they were to throw a mention of Marion into the previous scene where we were learning about the arc and its backstory that would make her seem insignificant it'd be easy to get her lost in the shuffle of the story and that exposition dump when Indy stops for a second and reminisce is about Marion you realize she's important that sticks out in our minds now Indiana Jones has a great introduction no doubt but Marion might actually have a better one a drinking contest at the bar she owns first she acts like she's done she can't take another drink she's baiting the crowd and loving every minute of it she takes one more drink and the other guy can't hold his liquor so she wins this movie is the king of character introduction and it's all done in one shot - which I love Marion's introduced basically as like a hustler a pool shark except with alcohol the following scene between Indy and Marion is one of the best written scenes in blockbuster filmmaking there is so much history and depth to their conversation and just quick sentences you understand their backstory they were once in love he left he broke her heart she was old enough to understand what she was doing but she felt like she was being taken advantage of and all of this is said in just a few sentences and you get it all this scene is one of the best in the film and I love how she just [ __ ] hits him in the face later she tries again he stuffs those bills into her hand and asks what the medallion is she tells him to come back tomorrow so he leaves and the Nazis come right after asking for the same object they threatened to torture her for this information but Indy shows back up and saves her which starts a [ __ ] awesome shootout and the gun sound effects in an Indiana Jones movie there's nothing like him nobody shoots a gun like Indy yes bloody good violent Indiana Jones is good after Indy and Marion both kill some people and the place burns down Marion teams up with Indy and they're on their way with that medallion here we meet Salah another great character and in this scene Salah reiterates the Ark's power it reminds us that this isn't just about finding some cool thing it's about whether or not they should find it at all now we get to the basket game sequence and Jesus I mean like every scene is top tier filmmaking it's hard to pick a favorite scene in this movie because they're all [ __ ] incredible the action and staging and framing of this entire sequence is genius there's so many visual sight gags to like the one guy stabbing through the apples Indy pushing Marion's head down to punch a guy right behind her and of course maybe the most known scene in Indiana Jones movie the swordsman an Indies choice to just [ __ ] kill him now I'm sure most of you know this but if you don't this sequence was not originally planned in this way there was going to be a fight sequence between India and this swordsman but everyone was starting to get food poisoning a lot of people were eating the food there and Harrison Ford in particular was really sick and he was like hey man what if I just [ __ ] shoot him and Spielberg was like that's great let's do it Bob Ross would call it a happy accident and something I never really thought about until I rewatched it tonight was that now the hero thinks that he is in some way responsible for the death of the woman he loves that's kind of interesting you can do a lot with your character at that point and Kasdan does because in the very next scene he's depressed he's sad and he's immediately forced to deal with the one person he doesn't want to deal with right now Belloc and because of Indy's mental state due to what he thinks happened to Marion he's just [ __ ] pissed in this scene you want to talk to God let's go see him together I've got nothing better to do next Spielberg again demonstrates his ability to deliver exposition while making the scene interesting they're examining the medallion trying to figure out the exact measurements they need for the map and you learn all of these things but there's also poisoned dates and you think that India's going to eat one of them for the whole scene this creates tension throughout the scene while you're learning about the exposition so it's never boring no one ever just sits there and tells you things something else is always happening on the side the following Map Room sequence is enhanced by some of the best work John Williams has ever done the Sun shines down on the model India is all sweaty and he looks [ __ ] excited you can tell how pumped he is again they're going back to his passion just how much this means to him that is going to be very important for the character for later on in the movie when he's forced to make a choice about destroying the ark or not destroying it he finds Marian again tied up he's happy that she's not dead but then he realizes that he has to leave her there which is [ __ ] great I feel like another writer would have had him untie her and they would have started their adventure together again but him realizing that if Marian disappears the Nazis are going to realize and they're going to start combing the place for him again it shows that Indies willing to make the tough choices in favor of the mission Douglas Slocum's cinematography for the entire film is great but especially the digging sequence in Dee's silhouette with the men singing digging for the ark and the sunset the orange hue of it it's gorgeous later that night once they finally get to it opening Spielberg does a great job setting up the tension and suspense around the Ark there's a thunderstorm brewing you really feel like they're discovering something biblical you understand like this ominous importance to it snakes why'd it have to be snakes ASPs very dangerous you go first the one scene in the movie that's a bit slow for me is Marian and Belloc having a drink together it's not bad there isn't a bad scene in this movie every scene is good too great but it's the one scene that feels a bit slow to me but I feel like even Spielberg and caz Dan understood that because they break it up in between them having a drink and Marion trying to get some silverware she could potentially stab Belloc with and Indy going into the Well of Souls so it's not like the entire scene is just suddenly halted and the 10 drops he cuts it up pretty nicely it's intercut with the well of souls and so we never really lose any tension it's just the one sequence so I'm always kind of go back go back to the arc although I do love the gag with the hanger you think it's some horrible torture weapon but he just folds it into a hanger for his coat Belloc eventually realizes that Indy and Salah have found the Ark and all of the Nazis trap Indy and Marion inside the Well of Souls there's tons of great creepy imagery in this scene like the snake coming out of the skeletons mouth once Indy gets on top of one of the statues they're able to crash through the wall leading them outside where Indy faces off with some Nazi thugs one of them being a gigantic [ __ ] man who appears in all three of the original films and this actor former British wrestler Pat Roach actually dies twice in this movie he also played one of the big guys left in Mary Ann's burning bar this whole fight is a [ __ ] blast a lot of the action and it apparently was improvised on set what makes it fun as Marion is trying to break into the plane she's using her gun turret to fire on some of the Nazis but when she gets trapped in there there's a long line of fuel and fire slowly spreading while India's fighting this monstrous man who dies when his face gets sliced up with an airplane propeller good bloody [ __ ] the timing of the shots with the fire going through the fuel while Indies trying to break Marion out of the plane exploding the truck as they run away I get cold sweats just thinking about setting up that [ __ ] now we get to what still to this day is my favorite chase sequence of all time the desert truck chase this thing is a work of art and part of the reason it's so great is because of Indies journey throughout the scene he starts on a horse because as he says he doesn't know he's making this [ __ ] up as he goes he rides down a cliff side next to the truck gets into the truck punches some Nazis is on top of things for a while he's knocking Nazis around left and right and a lot of the falls from the stuntman I just have to give them a round of applause they look really [ __ ] painful one of them even bends a tree back as he falls out of the truck I miss stunt work like that in movies that's some painful looking [ __ ] but the entire sequence changes when Indy gets shot in the and we realize his life is in jeopardy one determines not see who really wants a promotion gets the best of indie punches him in the bullet wound throws him onto the grill of this truck and India's hanging for his dear life John Williams score throughout this entire scene is my favorite thing he's ever done it starts really fun and exciting but as soon as Indy gets shot it changes to this propulsive beat that just gets faster and faster the tempo builds and builds until you are at this insane height of tension while Indy is being thrown all around this truck and underneath it and what is still a breathtaking stunts Indy forces himself underneath the truck as his back is dragged across the ground he crawls all the way to the end of the truck then gets dragged behind it on his whip has to crawl his way back up and in a scene that still makes my adrenaline shoot through the roof kicks the [ __ ] out of that [ __ ] Nazi throws him out of the truck and runs him over revs the truck into high gear and blasts towards bellick the Indiana Jones theme is blaring this is the height of action filmmaking right here I have watched that scene a thousand times I can only dream of making an action sequence that thrilling one day most filmmakers will never achieve it and Spielberg did it in 1981 and I believe every [ __ ] shot in this scene there's not a single moment that doesn't look [ __ ] perfect like the entire scene is just I said it it's a work of art for me it's the height of the whole movie once Indy and Marion escape onto a boat the scene that follows is actually really romantic it's not cheesy at all it's beautifully written another iconic line it's not the years honey it's the mileage and the idea that they kiss because she's trying to help him and he's in so much pain that he's just like go away I don't want to see I don't need a nurse go the [ __ ] away and she's like where doesn't it hurt and he goes here so she kisses a hunky elbow and he starts to point at places that don't hurt and gets more kisses until he finally points at his lips and it's just a [ __ ] adorable scene now once the Nazis take this ship forcing Indy to swim to the other boat to follow them to the place where they're going to open the ark there's a bit of a plot hole here originally there was a scene where Indy lashes himself to the top of this boat with his whip and nearly freezes to death as the boat travels we don't see that we just get this one shot in the middle of the montage where you can see that Indy has lashed himself to the top of the boat and most people would never know to look for it so you're kind of left wondering how did he survive this trip especially if the boat submerges in anyway if you know the deleted scene it helps if you know to look for that little tiny moment it helps but it is kind of a plot hole and can we talk about how dedicated of an actor Paul Freeman is I'm pretty sure a fly crawls into his mouth during this scene and he just keeps going people talk about actors gaining 50 pounds or losing 50 pounds for a role I'm sorry y'all didn't swallow a fly in the movie okay that's real dedication jokes aside Paul Freeman has since stated that the fly flew away right around the time he said the word bad you're gonna give mush and there is a bad name he also said Spielberg found the take so funny he wanted to leave it in the movie and may have even removed a few frames to make it look like he ate the fly now as I've already said Indies excitement about the pursuit of this item how passionate he is about archeology comes back into play here when he has a chance to blow up the Ark and save Marian and Belloc is like go ahead blow it up just do it go for it but you're not going to because you want to see it open as well as I his ambition and his passion for archeology is in complete control of him it's kind of his downfall in some ways and it's a really clever way of getting to that art being open because we as the audience want to see the damn thing open too and when there's nothing in it we're not disappointed because we get one of the coolest light shows ever we've heard about the Ark's power throughout the entire movie even when they're looking at the medallion trying to figure out the measurements the dude is like there's a warning on here not to open the Ark and he's like yeah whatever how long it's supposed to be but this power comes out of the ark and turns evil and [ __ ] fries everyone in details Mary and don't look at it we're not supposed to see this we should not put your eyes on this the Nazis and Belloc they all [ __ ] melt and blow up good bloody [ __ ] that's what I need more of this in my Indiana Jones movies please the two men who sent Indy on this mission tell him that top men have kept the Ark safe they won't tell Indy where it is and even though he's disappointed at least he can walk away with Marion and we find out that the Ark is being put in what we now know is area 51 thanks to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and so ends one of the greatest movies ever made Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of those perfect movies I love everything about this film it's just it it's hard to imagine this movie being made it's hard to explain this but like sometimes you can watch a classic movie and and you're like yeah I see how they thought about that everything in this movie feels like lightning in a bottle it feels like magic it feels like they somehow just harnessed this incredible magic and that's Raiders in the Lost Ark I'm gonna give it an A+ guys it was so much fun to talk about Raiders with you finally in an in-depth video look forward to Temple of Doom Last Crusade and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull coming very soon you guys are the best and as always if you like this you can click right here and get stuck mine eyes [Music]

Channel: Chris Stuckmann

Views: 440,263

Rating: 4.9569774 out of 5

Keywords: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones, Movie Review, 1981, Chris Stuckmann, Reviews, Film, Scene, Clip, Trailer, Teaser, Idol, Opening, Boulder, Desert Chase, Truck, Face Melting, Ending, John Williams, OST, Soundtrack, Music, Score, Basket, Swordsman, Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliott, Alfred Molina, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas

Id: M_BASfzE3n0

Length: 20min 18sec (1218 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 05 2020