Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
Disclaimer:
The film I’m reviewing this week is rated PG, but spiritually rated: PG-13
There is adult content and gruesome images included in this review.
Today marks the beginning of something different, I’ve decided to do a series of reviews! With this first review, I’ve decided to take a look at all of the Indiana Jones films in order (not chronological order, but release order). Hopefully this is something y’all will enjoy, because I have a feeling I’ll enjoy it myself. What a way to start as well with one of Harrison Ford’s most iconic characters! Although, if y’all don’t like this idea, by all means let me know in the comments. If y’all (sorry for my Nebraska-ness) are as excited as I am though, prepare yourselves as I spend the next month with this series as I’ll break it down bit-by-bit exploring the highs, the lows, and the mehs of each film.
Out of many classic film sagas, that’s one thing I personally enjoy about this one. It really does run the gamut of quality from great to awful and everything in between. To some that can be something worth studying while to others that just makes it more inconsistent and odd, but one thing you can’t say it isn’t is forgettable. So many people nowadays, and ever since the first film was released, know the name of the leather-clad, fedora hat toting, whiplashing archeologist Indiana Jones and that’s because, for better or for worse, he leaves an impact on all who view his adventures. Without further ado, let’s give this film legend the respect he deserves and pop the lid off that ark to see what’s inside, this is Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark!
To start off, I’m not even going to bother going into detail on what happens in this opening because I’m sure everyone reading this right now already knows it by heart. It’s been parodied and referenced to death, and for very good reason, since this is easily one of the most epic movie introductions ever put to film. Every beat, every line, every shot, and every character is where it needs to be to create what’s honestly a pretty solid short film on its own. What surprised me the most about this opening is that it’s only 13 minutes long, and yet it manages to get us to understand these characters and their situations, why they do what they do, and be invested in its outcome. Outside of that, there is one thing I would like to mention about this opening: nitpicks.
Sure, since we’ve all seen this opening so many times, whether it be from the movie itself or parodied in films like UHF, we’ve all noticed some things about it that just don’t add up logically. Like how this ancient civilization seems to have a surprisingly solid grasp on mechanics and engineering to be able to create highly complex traps for its trespassers including light sensors, pressure plates, and advanced hydraulics. Why didn’t that one guy shoot Indy (get used to me saying played by Harrison Ford) before he had the chance to whip the gun out of his hand? The spiders seem oddly okay with being brushed away by a whip. How come Satipo (played by Alfred Molina) didn’t avoid the light on his way back through the tunnel when he knew passing through it would get him impaled by spikes? Sidenote: Alfred Molina has some real star power to be featured in the opening credits despite having less than 10 minutes of screentime.
Also something that made me laugh: Watching this movie on Disney+ showed that the film was rated PG because it “contains tobacco depictions.”
All those things are ultimately arbitrary because, I will use the same justification I used in my Wreck-It Ralph review, the situations in this movie are meant to enhance the ideas of the story, not the details. Small nitpicks like those ones aren’t movie-breaking since the movie isn’t trying to be flawlessly logical or intricately realistic, it’s meant to be a fun adventure that pushes the envelope of what’s possible in adventure films which is exactly what it does. This does also lead me to another point about this intro which is very much worth mentioning: the point of it in the grand scheme of the film. I’m sorry, I know this review is very top-heavy, but if you have seen this movie I’m sure you know that this intro is worth discussing.
When it comes to the point of this intro in relation to the rest of the movie, it’s technically pointless. It doesn’t really tie into anything else in the movie and if you cut it out and started at the scene of Indy in Barnett College teaching archeology you wouldn’t really miss anything, but it would make the movie worse. Why is this? While yes film scenes should ideally tie into the rest of the narrative, the opening of a movie is also supposed to prepare you for the film you’re about to see. If the movie did start from the scene of Indiana teaching, you may think this movie was instead about a forbidden love between student and teacher on account of that one creepy moment in the classroom with that one student who wrote ‘Love you’ on her eyelids. So when you did get to the point where he gears up to start the hunt for the Ark, you might be surprised at the direction the movie was taking.
By having Indiana Jones be Indiana Jones and hunt for ancient relics in the jungles of South America in the beginning, you know exactly what this movie is going to be about. A mild mannered college professor who teaches archeology by day and by night hunts priceless antiquities with his whip, fedora, and rugged good looks in tow. That’s also what makes the opening of Tim Burton’s Batman so memorable as well for a three act, nearly two hour film. While it’s not nearly as iconic as this film’s opening, it does still work similarly in the sense that you know exactly what you’re in for by showing the Caped Crusader fighting off goons/supposedly killing Johnny Gobbs first and then showing him with his suit off as Bruce Wayne 20 minutes later. It’s all for the sake of making the audience aware of what kind of movie they’re watching.
Okay, with all that out of the way, let’s continue with the story. It’s also here that I realize just how exposition-y this film can be at times. Once we see Indiana Jones back at College, he’s taken aside by his friend Marcus Brody (played by Denholm Elliott) who leads him in the direction of two bureaucrats, one named Major Eaton (played by William Hootkins), and explain to Indy how they intercepted Nazi communications saying they’re in search of the headpiece to the Staff of Ra. Indy being the well-read archeologist he is instantly identifies this as the first step in a series of actions to locate the lost Ark of the Covenant, which means he needs to intercept this find before the Ark falls into filthy Hitler hands. However, there’s one caveat: the last known location of the headpiece was with a long lost mentor of Indiana’s named Abner Ravenwood and his daughter Marion (played by Karen Allen) once had a thing for Indy. Womp-womp.
With that being said, Indiana sets off to find Abner, who was last seen in Nepal, and see if he’d be willing to offer up the headpiece. Unbeknownst to our dear Dr. Jones though is that the character whose name is the most difficult to pronounce, Major Toht (played by Ronald Lacey), is hot on his trail and following him to Nepal so he can find the headpiece and take it before Jones gets it. After being treated to these films’ iconic travelling montages, we see Marion being a strong independent woman in Nepal running her own bar and outdrinking every man who gets in her way. Since we’re on the topic of Marion though, I’d just like to talk about some things with her character that rub me the wrong way.
Don’t get me wrong, unlike some of the other love interests Indiana has throughout the rest of the series, she’s probably the most take-charge and can-do out of all of them. Although, I personally wish they could’ve written the scenes that have her in them better. Karen Allen does a good job in this role and I’m in no way putting this on her performance, it’s just that the movie does its best to build her up as this strong, level-headed person who may even be able to give Indy a run for his money in terms of street smarts, but she ends up having to be saved more times than Willie. WILLIE! That’s just so inherently frustrating to me especially considering that Willie’s character can best be described as what would happen if the screaming goat made a wish on a Zoltar machine to be Meg Ryan.
With that out of the way, the negotiation with Indiana and Marion goes about as swimmingly as you would expect, including how before Indy even finishes his question about where the headpiece is Marion is already winding up to punch him, and ends with Indy leaving and Major Toht following close behind and attempting to torture Marion to give him the headpiece. Of course Jones saves her (Chock that up to a save count of 1) but while in the heat of battle, things literally heat up as the bar catches on fire. Toht sees the headpiece lying on the ground, but when he goes to pick it up it’s gotten too hot from the flames surrounding it and it melts his hand leaving an imprint on it in the process. Since Jones gave Marion $3,000 to give him the headpiece and the money has now burnt up in the fire, after both of them escape the burning wreck Marion decides to tagalong to get her money back.
‘Contains tobacco depictions’
Finally we arrive at Cairo where we meet Indiana’s long-time friend Sallah (played by John Rhys-Davies) and we go through more unnecessary Marion-in-peril moments. Yeah, we have this long scene of the Nazis trying to slow down Jones’ progress in finding the Ark’s location which really only amounts to Marion getting kidnapped and presumed dead for 15 minutes of screentime, if that. Was it really worth it? One thing I can say is that in this sequence we get the iconic gun scene of Indiana getting challenged by a swordsman only to shoot him instead so I suppose it was kinda worth it. After this we see Indy alone in a bar with his monkey and he gets summoned to his competitor Belloq’s (played by Paul Freeman) location. While it is a pretty neat scene in its own right talking about how both Indy and Belloq are just stark opposites of each other, I would’ve preferred if this could’ve been represented by visual means as opposed to just verbally explaining it. What they’re talking about is interesting, especially how Belloq mentions that everything can become priceless if you bury it in the ground for long enough, but I still think it would’ve been cooler to explore the duality of these two characters differently then just saying it.
After this scene and consulting an old man who’s an expert on the Ark, Sallah and Indy discover how Belloq, along with his Nazi backup lead by Col. Dietrich (played by Wolf Kahler), have been digging in the wrong area to find the Ark’s resting place which they then use as a means to discover the true location for themselves. They end up doing just that which is also when they find out that Marion isn’t dead (big shock), but Jones doesn’t rescue her after discovering her tied up. He realizes in that moment that if he did, all the Nazis in the area would just start looking for her anyway which could make uncovering the Ark more difficult for them. So he opts not to save her and instead goes to dig up the Ark first and come back for her later. True love, am I right?
They dig through the night with their private group of diggers until Sallah and Indiana uncover the Well of the Souls which is also full of snakes.
As you may remember from the opening, Indy “Hates snakes, Jock! I hate ‘em!” But Sallah being the ultra supportive friend that he is decides Indy should face his fears head on by tossing him into the Well first. All the while Belloq and Marion are getting to know each other very well by drinking and laughing with each other until Marion decides to pull a knife on him. He laughs it off at first until she’s caught by Toht and this scene ultimately goes nowhere. They show earlier in the film that the Nazis think Marion might know something since she’s had the headpiece in her possession for so long, but she doesn’t know anything, so what’s the point of these scenes? Toht ends this scene by talking in his usual creepy fashion asking Marion “What shall we talk about?” and that’s where it stops. Nothing ever comes of this.
Meanwhile, back in the part of the story you actually care about, the Ark is finally retrieved after Sallah joins Indy down in the Well and they both lift it into a crate. Before I continue, I want to mention that at this point we’re an hour and 10 minutes into the movie and this is the first glimpse we catch of the Ark which is really beautiful on its own. It’s clearly made out of solid gold (at least in movie terms) and the details on it really make it mesmerizing.
However, before they can leave with the Ark, Belloq and his Nazi crew discover their secret dig since the sun has come out and they steal it from them while also dropping in Marion for good measure. They seal up the Well so they can die, but of course they don’t since Indiana Jones breaks out because he’s Indiana Jones and Marion gets needlessly scared by skeletons because reasons. The Ark is set to be loaded onto a plane and flown to Berlin, but not if Indiana Jones has anything to say about it! They blow up the plane with some fierce resistance from an overly buff shirtless German guy who gets chopped to bits by the plane’s propellers and Belloq and co instead decide to load the Ark onto a truck and take it to Cairo until further notice.
Once again Indiana swings into action with probably some of the best stunt work of the movie as he chases after the procession of German vehicles on a horse and hops onto the Ark truck and overtakes it. It’s a pretty long drawn-out scene, but it’s a lot of fun to watch as Indy runs cars and other various vehicles off the road and even gets shot and thrown out of the truck himself. While not very realistic, Indy gets back into the truck’s cabin by crawling under it while it’s moving, whipping himself back into the trunk and crawling back the same way the Nazis came. Eventually this results in Indiana running Belloq and co off the road and taking the Ark for himself again.
To get themselves to safety, Sallah requests the help of Captain Katanga (played by George Harris) and his crew to help them deliver the Ark. Of course the Nazis end up intercepting their ship on a U-Boat and capturing Marion again while also taking the Ark again, so Indy decides to follow them to wherever they’re taking the Ark while also somehow never being caught on the U-Boat. I mean they’d probably submerge the submarine at some point on their journey to Climax Island, how would Indy have kept up with them on the U-Boat if they batten down their hatches and make it so he can’t get in? Anyway, they make it to the island where Jones disguises himself as a Nazi to get close to the Ark until he reveals himself to the Nazis and threatens to blow up the Ark. Since Indiana Jones is an archeologist at heart, he can’t bring himself to do it, and Belloq called him on his bluff in another pretty good scene showing how these characters are great foils of each other.
This gets Indy captured alongside Marion (Woo, together in bondage!) while the Nazis open the Ark to speak to God as Belloq put it in that earlier scene. At first it seems disappointing as all they find is dust, but soon some supernatural stuff starts poppin’ off so Indy tells Marion to shut her eyes. Some beautiful spirits emerge from the Ark until they turn ugly and start laying waste to these evil Nazi bastards! There’s lots of fire and lightning as each of the Nazis are taken out one by one, but the best deaths are saved for Belloq, Dietrich, and Toht of course. Dietrich gets what I can only assume are his organs sucked out of his body like in the Brendan Fraser Mummy movies, Toht’s face melts off in another of the films most iconic images, and Belloq just straight up blows up.
‘Contains tobacco depictions’
All’s well that ends well, since the Ark is brought to the states far away from Nazi influence, Indiana Jones goes back home with Marion who’s never mentioned or appears again in the movies until “That Film That Shall not be Named” and we close on how little the US gives a crap about significant cultural relics since the Ark is put in a giant warehouse where it gets swallowed up by the sheer number of other crates in that frickin’ huge warehouse.
All things considered, there are a few things that I have issues with in this movie, but I still think it’s a great watch.
While I did mention previously some of the things I find objectionable about the film such as how they make Marion out to be this badass when she’s really just another damsel in distress and how it can drag in some places, I still think this movie is an adventure classic all these years later. I don’t just mean for me either when it comes to how long it’s been since I’ve seen it last, I also mean in terms of film history. This movie turns 43 years old this year, and it’s just as awesome today as it was when it first came out. If you haven’t seen it yet, I’d imagine you’re probably really confused as to what I meant when I was discussing one of the most epic movie intros ever put to film earlier, but I also recommend you give it a watch for your weekend movie night this week.
As far as how well I’d rate this movie, I’d put it at a 4.5/5 roasting Hitlers. That’s just a good image for anyone of any age.
If you’ve never heard of Indiana Jones before, this is a great start to an uneven yet iconic film saga. Strap on your whips, put on your fedoras, and sit your buns on that couch this weekend to enjoy one of cinema’s greatest heroes.
Other Indy Reviews
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
(I make no claim of ownership for any of the images used in this post)
(Each of them are owned by their respective copyright holders, which are not me)
(I am just a humble blogger who talks about movies, I do not make them)
(Yet)
