Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
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Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies Plot: In 1936, an adventurous archeologist, helped by an old flame, is hired by the US Government to find the biblical Ark of the Covenant in Egypt before the Nazis can take possession of it to drive their war effort. |
Review:
If cinema adventure has one name, it's Indiana Jones. More so than any other action film, perhaps, Raiders of the Lost Ark deserves it's high ranking in audience's hearts: it's a rarity, a thrill-a-minute crowd pleaser that gained high critical praise, and one that still works as well now as it did over 20 years ago.
George Lucas (Star Wars) and director Spielberg (in the steps of
Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third
Kind) had by the early 1980's amassed enough box-office clout to re-create their childhood fantasies on screen, and do they ever.
Conceived as a loving homage to the Black & White cliff-hanger shorts of long ago, the film plays out like a mix of the best Saturday matinee serials and the most modern action flicks. From the get-go, the movie is structured like a series of short 10-15 minute films, with every chapter ending with one of these cliff-hanging moments: Indy escaping an Aztec death-trap, facing off armed Nazis in a bar brawl, falling into a pit full of snakes, being chased in the Cairo streets, and many more creative and thrilling instances.
This is a Spielberg picture through-and-through, however, and the director's patent humor, energy and fine story-telling talent developed over his previous projects is obvious in every scene. The pulp-like feel of the narrative, the larger-than-life characters and adventure, and the exotic locales (helped by some terrific production values), all add to the successful mix.
Relying less on special effects and more on impressive stunts and story, screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, fresh off
The Empire Strikes
Back, manages another sure-fire hit here. The script imbues the classic adventure yarn with enough
daring-do, witty repartee, and smarts to make it a long-standing classic - and one that can be viewed over and over again.
Making the worn hat and whip into Hollywood legend, Harrison Ford's performance makes Indiana Jones the ultimate action hero with his confident stride, steel gaze, and no-nonsense attitude... and his many quirks including his fear of snakes, his schoolboy giddiness in front of an archeological find, and his charmingly limited social skills. This mix of macho hero and self-effacing mannerisms pushed Ford into stardom. The spunky Allen does a good job of keeping up her end and coming up as more than just a damsel in distress by playing on the genre role and being just as smart and aggressive as her companion. Even the supporting characters, villains and allies alike, have personality to spare, a rarity in this sort of affair.
The ending is the only low point of the film, providing what is probably the ultimate
deus ex machina (literally God coming down to fix things) ever put to screen, leaving our hero's fate to a greater power. After such a long run of relying on his wits and courage, this last bit feels like a cop-out. Nevertheless, it's an over-the-top, special-effects ending that does deliver a punch.
Much-copied but never equaled, Raiders of the Lost Ark brought together the best talents and elements possible for a terrific, joyful bit of entertainment that has become a tried-and-true classic. For pure fun, it's hard to beat this Hollywood blockbuster.
Entertainment: 10/10
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