Raiders of the Lost Ark

"Oh, my friends!  I'm so please you're not dead!"

Indiana Jones (Ford) is a respected archaeologist at Marshall College.  He also acquires artifacts for museums.  After his latest find is taken by rival archaeologist Dr. Rene Belloq (Freeman), he is approached by two military intelligence agents.  They are looking for his former mentor, Abner Ravenwood.  They intercepted communication that the Nazis were looking for Ravenwood and his expertise about the Ark of the Covenant.  Indy and old friend/museum curator Dr. Marcus Brody (Elliott) are excited by the prospect of finding the Ark, so Indy heads to Nepal.

In Nepal he learns that Ravenwood has died, and the artifact he had is now in the possession of his daughter, Marion Ravenwood (Allen) who runs a tavern.  Marion and Indy have a history and she refuses to help him.  The Nazis, led by Colonel Dietrich (Kahler) and interrogator Major Arnold Toht (Lacey), find Marion and force her cooperation.  They burn down the tavern and take the artifact, while Indy rescues Marion and they start their own search for the Ark.  The Nazi dig is led by Belloq, so Indy turns to his friend Sallah (Rhys-Davies) to start their dig in Cairo.


In 1973, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg came up with the idea for this film.  Lucas wrote the story with Philip Kaufman and Lawrence Kasdan wrote the screenplay.  They planned to make a trilogy, with Lucas writing and Spielberg directing.  They made 3 more Indiana Jones films: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  This is the film that launched the franchise and many people consider it to be the best of the bunch.

Harrison Ford is the perfect actor to portray Indiana Jones.  It is hard to picture anyone else in the role.  They tried to revamp the series in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to make Shia LaBeouf the new lead, but fans were unwilling to see the role / franchise go to anyone else.  Ford is gritty and athletic, with just the right amount of humor/sarcasm.  Denhold Elliott is great as Brody (even better in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) as is John Rhys-Davies as Sallah.

It is a great adventure film and franchise.  The villains are just evil enough.  The action is good, the mystery is good.  It's hard to fault this film, it's become iconic and a part of popular culture.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 115 minutes
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones
Paul Freeman as Dr. Rene Belloq
Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood
John Rhys-Davies as Sallah
Ronald Lacey as Major Arnold Toht
Denholm Elliott as Dr. Marcus Brody
Wolf Kahler as Colonel Dietrich