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Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (Special Edition) Reviews
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (Special Edition)
Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is no ordinary archeologist. When we first see him, he is somewhere in the Peruvian jungle in 1936, running a booby-trapped gauntlet (complete with an over-sized rolling boulder) to fetch a solid-gold idol. He loses this artifact to his chief rival, a French archeologist named Belloq (Paul Freeman), who then prepares to kill our hero. In the first of many serial-like escapes, Indy eludes Belloq by hopping into a convenient plane. So, then: is Indiana Jones afraid of anything? Yes, snakes. The next time we see Jones, he’s a soft-spoken, bespectacled professor. He is then summoned from his ivy-covered environs by Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) to find the long-lost Ark of the Covenant. The Nazis, it seems, are already searching for the Ark, which the mystical-minded Hitler hopes to use to make his stormtroopers invincible. But to find the Ark, Indy must first secure a medallion kept under the protection of Indy’s old friend Abner Ravenwood, whose daughter, M
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Barry
October 17, 2010 at 10:19 am
Review by Barry for Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (Special Edition)
Rating:
George Lucas was hot off of his first two installments of his “Star Wars” series, when he hooked up with mega director Steven Spielberg to create a whole new series of films. Little did they know that this creation they’ve made would be so incredibly successful and beloved. Lucas’ “Star Wars” hero, Harrison Ford, was on board as our star. This 1981 classic takes place in 1936, and Indiana Jones is a school professor who is also an archaeologist, which takes him on many dangerous and scary adventures all over the world. In this one, Indiana gets involved with the nazi’s who are planning to use the mysterious powers of the ark in order to help them win the war. Along the way, Indy meets up with a feisty young lady(played by Karen Allen). This adventures gets Indy in a series of thrilling and death defying moments. The movie obviously draws inspiration from those old time Saturday morning serials of yore. Harrison Ford was the right choice. Is there anybody better?. Tom Selleck was the lead for this role, but dropped out because “Magnum PI” came up. Thank goodness for us, huh?. This series has become one of the most memorable and hailed film series in movie history. And rightfully so. There’s no better evening entertainment than letting Indiana Jones take you all over the world on one exciting adventure after another. Get this movie and the rest of the trilogy as well. As perfect as perfect can get. Let’s hope that Indiana Jones will someday ride again. Now, play that theme music and let’s get going!!….
A. Ross
October 17, 2010 at 8:48 am
Review by A. Ross for Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (Special Edition)
Rating:
After the box-office disappointment of 1941, Steven Spielberg teamed up with longtime friend George Lucas to create one of the greatest action adventure films of all time! The premise for the film, a throwback to the old Saturday morning serials, was thought up by Lucas, who told the idea to Steven and the two of them came up with the idea of Indiana Jones, a character famously named after Lucas’s dog. To think they originally wanted Tom Selleck to play the role of the rugged, charming “collector of rare antiquities”. Instead, Harrison Ford took the role, fresh from the latest Star Wars film THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK as the dashing Han Solo. Ford is the perfect guy for the job, running around in tombs, chasing after Nazis and searching for lost treasures, all with fedora, whip and sardonic grin all in place. The action is masterfully handled by Spielberg, especially in the classic opening scene where Indy avoids a series of lethal booby traps to obtain a rare idol, only to have a giant boulder start rolling after him. Indy’s reply when asked how he’s going to catch up with a truck is “I don’t know, i’m making this up as I go!” That classic line sums up the off-the-cuff action sequences which are all reminiscent of the building tension and excitement of the spirit of the old serials of the 50’s. John Williams’ score for the film has become one of the most instantly recognizable movie theme tunes ever composed, except for JAWS and STAR WARS (Anyone who asks what’s so great about John Williams, just ask them to hum notes from any movie, and it’ll be Williams) and is one of the most popular soundtracks of all time. And the supporting cast of Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies and Denholm Elliott elevates the film to true classic status. Considering the scope and scale of the film, the job Spielberg and Lucas did creating the picture is nothing short of amazing. The film spans 5 major locale changes and would shoot in 4 different countries in just 73 days for $20 million (production wrapped 12 days ahead of schedule to boot!). For what was fast becoming a relatively average production cost by 1980, Spielberg and Lucas packed the running time of RAIDERS with non-stop action that creates an exciting adventure, that’s my (and many other’s) favorite film of all time. RAIDERS was released in the summer of 1981 and became the biggest hit and highest grossing film of that year. Between THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and RAIDERS for George Lucas and RAIDERS and E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL for Spielberg, the two filmmakers were now at the peak of their profession, having individually (and together) proven themselves as hitmakers on 9 films by the time they would return for the next Indiana Jones adventure in 1984 with INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, which is exciting, but not as fun, and INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, which is another one of my all-time favorite films. The huge influence that the eventual trilogy had on action movies is still seen today, with inferior rip-offs THE MUMMY, THE MUMMY RETURNS and TOMB RAIDER, to name a few. But those films don’t come anywhere near the brilliance of RAIDERS. This is cinema par excellence.
Anonymous
October 17, 2010 at 8:10 am
Review by for Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (Special Edition)
Rating:
This tape is a must have if you are an Indiana Jones fan. Loads of great behind the scenes footage, along with clips of cut footage like Indy’s fight with the swordsman (Harrison Ford wasn’t feeling well, so they just had Indy shoot him). The tape is actually two specials, the first being about old movie stunts and how they relate to Raiders and stuntmen. Its got great footage and interviews with the stuntmen, and it’s hosted by Ford. The second special is just about the making of Raiders with interviews of alot of crew members and the actors and directors. This tape is highly recommended!