I’ve been thinking a lot about Raiders of the Lost Ark lately, so I decided to watch it for what must be at least the thirtieth time. I will assume (dangerous, I realize) that most of you have seen it. If not, I think you should immediately find a way to see it and then come on back here.
For the rest of you, you know how truly awesome the movie is. From the acting to the story to the set pieces to the cool stuff going on just under the surface (the subtext, as we writer-types like to call it), Raiders has so many amazing things about it, and going for it, that it’s considered by many (myself included) to be one of the best movies of all time. In fact, it’s on my top ten all-time best list. If it isn’t on yours, it should be.
I was alive and there on opening day when Raiders first arrived in theaters On June 12, 1981 and as a young boy I was captivated by Indiana Jones and his adventures from the moment the Paramount mountain first dissolved to a real mountain until the last frame as the Ark is being put in a safe place, presumably until those so-called “top men” have time to examine it.
Director Steven Spielberg, producer George Lucas and writer Lawrence Kasdan knew just what to include in Raiders so kids of all ages would be entertained, enthralled and still be watching, and talking about, this moving textbook of filmmaking excellence over thirty years later. You certainly can’t say that about most films made in the last thirty years, especially a vast majority of the immediately forgettable crap that seems to pass for movies these days.
Raiders is one of a handful of films that help remind me what’s possible when a dedicated group of highly creative people get together and use their considerable talents and imaginations to create something. It helps me recapture the sense of wonder and, dare I say it, magic that’s sorely lacking in today’s films and, let’s face it, in society in general.
It truly is one of the greats and worthy of the esteem it holds with millions of fans around the world.
Here’s the original trailer for the film below. Enjoy. And really I can’t stress this enough, if you haven’t seen the movie, you owe it to yourself to watch it as soon as possible.
