For today's review, I have chosen the movie that started it all for me. I was 14 years old, and at that point I had no idea what I wanted to with my life. But then one fateful trip to Alice in Videoland with my Uncle Sean changed all that. I spotted the DVD on the shelf and had recognized the logo from a trip to Walt Disney World. We rented it, returned home, popped it in the player, and I was dazzled. The stunts, the thrills, the adventure, the music, the dashing hero coming to the rescue. It was the most engaging film I had ever seen, and from then on, I knew I wanted to be.....an archaeologist. Of course that didn't pan out. I bought a couple books and thought at one point that I would actually find the Ark of the Covenant, or even the Holy Grail (which at the time I thought was real). But then I realized my heart wasn't in that. What I really admired about the film was the spectacle. The story, the characters, the production. I knew then that my future was in film.
Raiders of the Lost Ark, is about noted archaeologist Indiana Jones who is hired by the United States government to find the lost Ark of the Covenant in the year 1936. However, he also has to compete against the Nazis who seek the Ark for their own nefarious purposes. He brings along with him his friend Sallah who is loyal through and through, and old fame Marion Ravenwood, with whom he has a history.
As much as this review is a love letter to this film, this film is a love letter to the adventure serials of the 1930s. Of course Steven Spielberg and George Lucas aren't asking you to come back to the theater every week, that would be silly. Yet, if that was to happen, I would do it. Together, this tag team of emerging talent creating such a beautiful tale, that is well executed, well acted, all together a work of art. A masterpiece.
Some may consider the ending a bit "Deus ex machina", yet I choose to look at it under the microscope of a man in the 1930s. Like my other favorite movie Die Hard, the film isn't the most intellectually engaging of stories, yet it doesn't try to pretend that it is something that it isn't. The adventure is a roller coaster of nostalgic amusement. It's not meant to make you think about the politics of the 1930s, it's not even meant to push christianity upon you, the purpose of the film is to root for our hero, watch him beat some bad guys, dust himself off, and save the day. It takes you back to a simpler time, during the depression, and prior to the outbreak of World War II. Back then, it was about escapism. The thrills of the film take you away from it all.
Harrison Ford is our hero in the hat, Indiana Jones. Having just come off a particularly memorable turn as Han Solo in The Empire Strikes Back, Ford is given the keys to a franchise he can call his own. Given that he only received the role after Tom Selleck dropped out, he gives his all to the role, and I'll be darned if this isn't his most memorable performance to date. Compared to the hulking action heroes of the 1980s, Ford is a scrappy underdog that most men could relate to. He has a spirit of adventure that is equally thrilling and relatable. He is perfectly, and masterfully cast in the role of a lifetime.
The music runs alongside the action in away that it only does from John Williams. The tense beating of the orchestra sets the mood for some of the film's most memorable scenes. The main theme of the film is both uplifting and catchy to the point that you will recognize it even if you've never seen the film.
The stunt choreography is also brilliant. The amount of things that they can think of to do with a bullwhip outside of its intended purposes are astounding. Again, the staging and the physicality of it all makes for particularly memorable cinema.
See this movie. See it again. Then see it a third time. I am often asked what my favorite movie of all time is, this is the closest answer you will ever get. It is masterful, beautiful, and iconic. It's the move that changed my life. If it doesn't do the same for you, it will at least take you for a thrill ride.
A+
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