Written by Dean R. Zarbaugh II
Anyone who knows me (or has at least read my About page) knows how much I love Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s tied with Casablanca for my favorite film of all time. It’s a movie I can re-visit time and time again and never get tired of watching. I’ve often been told by my friends and family that I tend to quote dialogue alongside the actors the entire time. For my 40th birthday this year my mom surprised me with a replica of the hat Spielberg wore while making Raiders and I wear it every time I watch the film. I have a full sized theatrical poster of the film hanging over my desk that keeps me inspired while I write not only these articles, but my own scripts as well.
Introduction
Both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg were looking for a new story to bring to life on the silver screen. Spielberg really wanted to direct a James Bond film, but was turned down by Albert R. Broccoli, co-founder of EON Productions, the production company in charge of making the Bond films. Spielberg and Lucas went on vacation together and Lucas brought up the idea of this swashbuckling archaeologist named Indiana Smith. Since he was a fan of the classic serial films that Lucas was basing the character from, Spielberg agreed to direct the film, as long as they changed his name from “Smith.” Lucas suggested Jones, and the rest is ironically history.
Direction/Cinematography
Director Steven Spielberg knows how to capture pure magic in every shot in every scene. Let’s take the first five minutes of Raiders for instance. The fade from the mountain in the Paramount logo to the mountain in the jungle is pure genius right off the bat. It sets the tone for the adventure that we’re about to watch.
The entire time that we follow the trek through the South American jungle, we never see the man wearing a fedora’s face. His identity remains a mystery to us until he anticipates a double-cross from one of his guides and disarms him with his trusty whip. It’s only then that Spielberg has him step out of the shadows, revealing our hero Indiana Jones. Spielberg and cinematographer Douglas Slocombe keep half of Indy’s face shrouded in shadows, representing Indy’s dual nature as a good natured college professor and his slightly edgier archaeologist persona that carries a gun and isn’t afraid to push, but not break, the boundaries if it means getting the prize. During the idol retrieval sequence we see Indy take note of the idol’s size and weight and estimate the amount of sand required to keep the trap from activating. Spielberg shows us that Indy is flawed. He gets it wrong from time to time and isn’t the perfect protagonist that you find in some movies.
The entire South America sequence foreshadows events that will occur later in the film, and introduces us to the constant thorn in Indy’s side, Belloq, who will play an important role in the second and third acts.
The scene where Jones and Marcus Brody are met by Army Intelligence is a masterclass in making exposition dumping highly intriguing. It’s a scene with four people talking. On paper it’s more boring than watching paint dry. However, the way Spielberg directs this scene takes it from boring exposition to a highly exciting setup for the adventure that’s about to follow. Spielberg keeps the camera moving with Indy, and in a few simple, basic shots, is able to take a boring four person conversation and turn it into one of the most memorable scenes in movie history.
The two Army Intelligence officers mannerisms directly mirror that of Indy and Marcus. One is the more brash, outspoken of the two, and the other is more reserved, but equally knowledgable and keeps the other on point. Marcus and Indy’s reaction to hearing the word Tanis hooks you. This is clearly a significant find. We’re further drawn in as their interest lends some legitimacy to the possible validity of the power of The Ark. It sets up the film’s MacGuffin, tells you its entire backstory and how it wound up where it, why the Nazis want it, and the consequences if they do, but between the elite acting and Spielberg’s genius behind the camera makes it interesting.
Then there’s Marion’s introduction. She’s at a table in the midst of a drinking game against one of the biggest townsmen. She lulls them into a false confidence and then drops the hammer. It’s a great introduction and shows the cunning and wile that she has at her disposal. Later in the scene when Indiana visits Marion Ravenwood at her bar, Spielberg and Slocombe have Indy’s enormous shadow looming over her on the wall. A dark reminder of her past, and someone instrumental in her winding up stuck where she currently finds herself. Without hesitating, she clocks him in the jaw and rips into him for the way he treated her. The way Spielberg blocks this scene, with Indy mainly being behind Marion, with her trying to keep him there and he continues to try and re-insert himself in front of her serves to visually represent her need to keep him in the past and his forcing his way back in. After nearly being killed by some Nazis and having her bar burned down, Marion ups the ante, making herself Indy’s partner and reclaiming her identity and power.
The chase through the market is one of the most memorable sequences of the film, and there’s a lot of legend behind that sequence. In the film, while Indy is chasing down Marion who has been kidnapped, he finds himself face-to-face with a sword wielding villain. Tired, and rather than give this guy the time of day, Indy simply pulls out his revolver and shoots the guy. A legendary moment in cinematic history, but that wasn’t how it was supposed to play out. In the original script, there’s a much longer fight sequence, but as the story goes, Harrison Ford was dealing with an awful bout of food poisoning and didn’t have the strength for such a sequence, so he suggested that they “just shoot the sumbitch.” The sequence is a lot of fun to watch, and is filled with hilarious moments like Marion clonking her pursuer on the head with a cast iron skillet and hiding in a basket like a Scooby-Doo cartoon.
Then there’s the action forward scenes like Indy’s fist fight with the giant Nazi at the airfield. Spielberg does a fantastic job of depicting size, showing the massive bad guy looming over a now diminutive Indy, and how ineffective Indy’s punches are against him. The entire fight is exhilarating because while that’s going on, Marion is locked in the cockpit of the wayward plane, inching closer to getting blown to smithereens. Spielberg keeps us on the edge of our seats by showing that for every inch of ground Indy gains in the fight, he loses two. Indy is overwhelmed, but luck is on his side and he gets out of it. This leads into the truck chase scene where Indy attempts to take control of the Ark from Belloq. During the chase, Indy is shot, punched, and run under a moving truck. Spielberg keeps the suspense high with incredible stunt work and magnificent framing and camera movements. He’s effective at putting us in the passenger’s seat alongside Indy and makes us feel like we’re along for the ride.
Screenplay
Lawrence Kasdan who previously worked with George Lucas on a little film called The Empire Strikes Back was given the honor of penning the script for Raiders as well. Kasdan taps into that 1930s serials vibe, sending Indy off on an adventure that finds him criss-crossing the planet in search of one of the most famous artifacts of all time: The Lost Ark of The Covenant. The story was from an idea Lucas had come up with but was so bogged down with the overnight success of Star Wars that he gave his outline to Kasdan to run with.
Kasdan does a marvelous job with pacing the story, giving it time to breathe when necessary, and moving right along when not. He enriches the script with fully developed backstories for each of the characters. They genuinely seem like a part of this world that Kasdan has created for a while. Indy’s been around the world on fun adventures, fallen in love, had his share of mishaps, heartbreak and tragedy all before the film has even started. He’s tangled with Belloq, commiserated with Marcus, and discovered an unknown number of findings. All of this feels genuine thanks to the marvelous work of Kasdan, Spielberg, Lucas and the entire cast. Kasdan relies on a MacGuffin (the Ark) to fuel the story. Everyone wants it, and they all want it for different reasons… some good, others not so much. The script has everything you could want in an adventure film like this: a prized MacGuffin coupled with exotic locations, action, romance, suspense, and even moments of horror. He explores themes of science vs religion, abusing a divine power, greed vs selflessness, and the power of knowledge and education in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. It isn’t always strength that wins the battle, sometimes you need to use your wits, too.
Performances
Harrison Ford shines as Indiana Jones, and he almost didn’t even get the role. Tom Selleck was famously originally cast in the role before producers on his hit TV show Magnum, P.I. nixed it for interfering with their filming schedule. Ford has that perfect balance between romantic leading man and hard-edged bad boy. After thinking Marion has been killed, Indy finds himself face-to-face with Belloq who taunts his nemesis over his loss. Ford’s line reading of “you wanna talk to God? Let’s go see him together” is absolutely cold-blooded. You can tell in the tone of his voice that he was ready to lay it down right then and there. Then, a moment later, as he’s being whisked away by all of Sallah’s children, he flashes that trademark Harrison Ford smile. Only a legend like Harrison Ford could pull off such a mood swap from one instant to the next. He fully embodies the character of Indiana Jones and I can’t imagine anyone else in the role. I love Tom Selleck, but he simply doesn’t have the same “it” factor as Indy that Ford has.
Karen Allen is the best counterpart to Indy in all of the films. Their chemistry is off the charts. Allen has the unique ability to be that girl next door one moment and then “one of the boys” the next, which made her the absolute perfect choice for Marion Ravenwood. Allen’s talent at hold her own alongside Ford translates into Marion’s character standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Indy, to take on Belloq and a bunch of dorky Nazis. Marion’s introduction scene is one I highlighted earlier, and Allen’s performance is what drives the entire scene. She’s swindling her patrons out of their money in a drinking game. She makes them think that she’s up against the ropes, and then at the last minute, a smile spreads across her face and she places the empty shot glass on the table. She’s capable of holding Indy accountable and is the only one who can get his goad like she does. I always laugh when she’s climbing all over Harrison Ford in the Well of the Souls after being locked inside by Belloq after stealing the Ark from Indy.
John Rhys-Davies is such a wonderful actor who fully inhabits whatever character he plays, in this case, Sallah, Indy’s trusty confidant and collaborator. Sallah is one of the best characters in the entire Indiana Jones franchise, and always brings a smile to my face when I watch the film. His reaction to the statues in The Well of Souls slays me. Not so much his shocked scream itself, but the way he turns to Indy and says, “sorry, Indy.” Rhys-Davies is a true legend and Sallah one of his greatest performances. Fun fact: he reprises his Indiana Jones days as a museum curator in my favorite TV show Psych.
Paul Freeman is delightfully wicked as Belloq. He’s an antagonist that you love to hate. He has the same thirst for history and artifacts as Jones, but not the same methods for retrieval, often crossing into illegal and dubious territory to get his prize, however, he’s not as morally corrupt as Nazis, only using them as a means to an end. Ronald Lacey is fantastic as Toht, the man the Nazis call in to do their dirty work. We think he’s about to assemble some torture device to use on Marion to get her to talk, but it’s merely his coat hanger. Brilliant acting on his part and even better subversion of expectations from Spielberg.
Score
I haven’t highlighted movie scores much, and that’s an oversight on my part, but you can’t talk about Raiders without talking about the iconic score from the legend John Williams. “The Raiders March” is equally as iconic as the character whose presence it announces. Williams is synonymous with film composition with his singular ability to transport you away to another reality. He puts you on the edge of your seat to build up the suspense, and has you pumping your fist in the air when Indy rallies against the bad guys. It wouldn’t be anywhere near the same film without his score behind it.
Physical Release
Raiders of the Lost Ark is available on 4K UHD from wherever you buy movies. I personally have the limited edition steelbook that has artwork that matches the original posters. It’s a gorgeous upgrade and worthy of adding to your collection.
Final Analysis
I was thinking the other day about why I love this film so much alongside Casablanca and it dawned on me. I love seeing Nazis getting their asses kicked. Raiders is a perfect film from start to finish. Everything is firing on all cylinders. The acting, directing, cinematography, script and score come together in perfect harmony. Spielberg, Lucas, Lawrence Kasdan, and John Williams all delight in bringing this story and these characters to life.
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