Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark (Spanish)

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.


The Money Maker strikes again   March 6, 2008
Dieter Hellweger
32 out of 58 found this review helpful

Like my predecessor in his review,i just have to say that George Lucas always mess around with DVDs,Special Edition,Exclusive Special Edition,Original Cut,and Limited Editions.One thing is clear his Cash Cow Indy Jones will always work on Dvd but this Editions are for nothing.The original release is awesome the Specials ok,so why put them away and buy another disc.It's a shame that real fans will consider to buy the new editions,but they shall be warned,it's a waste of money.


New Raiders Special Collector's Edition due out May 13th, 2008! Great movie, good DVD   March 8, 2008
Sanpete (in Utah)
24 out of 27 found this review helpful

The details of new DVD editions of the three classic classic Indiana Jones movies with all-new special features have been announced. They'll be available separately for the first time on DVD, or as a set. They were previously only available on DVD as a set.

The new releases will coincide with the new movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which comes out on May 22nd. They'll have new special features designed to introduce new Indy fans to the old movies, and to introduce old fans to the new movie.

The Indiana Jones movies are George Lucas's recreation/update of the serialized adventures of the 1930s and '40s. The first three were made in the '80s and set in the '30s. They feature Harrison Ford as a mild-mannered archeology professor who moonlights as an adventurous seeker of priceless antiquities. This takes him to exotic locations across the world, and gets him in some very tight spots of the kind that only a movie hero could get into, or out of. He invariably finds himself opposed by dangerous men with evil plans for the powerful objects only he has the skills to recover. There are elaborate set pieces with creepy critters, ancient traps, fights with weapons from bare hands to airplanes and tanks, and sometimes supernatural forces. Along the way Jones manages to have some romance too.

Raiders was the first in the series. In 1936, having barely survived an unsuccessful attempt to find (OK) and bring home (whoops!) an ancient idol from Peru, Indiana Jones is recruited in a race against the Nazis to recover the Ark of the Covenant (yes, the one mentioned in the Bible, but with lots of added mythology), which is reputed to have the power to make an army invincible. The ark is located in the Well of Souls somewhere in Egypt; the key to the exact location is a medallion located, naturally, in a seedy lodge/bar in Nepal, in the possession of Indy's ex-lover. All kinds of sparks fly, literal and metaphorical, as the pair, joined by another confederate in Egypt, use their knowledge of ancient myth and sheer bravado to work right under the noses of the Nazis to find the ark and remove it to safety. Almost. There are several reversals along the way, close escapes, a huge near-finale, and icky stuff--spiders and, especially, snakes, thousands of them, of which Indy unfortunately has a bit of a phobia.

Some of the more memorable moments are tinged with humor, if not outright hilarity. Indy's reactions make the snakes as amusing as they are scary. We see how to fight an expert swordsman, if you're in a hurry. The way the Nazis got a copy of (half) the medallion is painfully funny. The fate of the ark is a wry comment on Washington bureaucracy.

Raiders was an instant classic. I'm sure there are people who don't like it, but I've never met any. It's fine for most kids (PG violence and mild sexuality), and it's plenty smart enough for all but the most snooty adults.

The original title is just Raiders of the Lost Ark, which is preserved in the movie itself. The longer title makes it easier to market as part of the franchise.

If you just want Raiders and don't want to wait until May, you could get a used copy of the old Raiders DVD (people sell them out of the sets). The difference is in the extra features. The bonuses from the old set are on their own disc, so what you get when you buy just the old Raiders DVD is pretty bare. The new release, on the other hand, has the following, all new:

-- "Raiders of the Lost Ark: An Introduction" by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas

-- "Indiana Jones: An Appreciation," in which the cast and crew of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull pay tribute to the original trilogy

-- "The Melting Face," a recreation of the famous effect from the climactic scene that certainly left an impression on me (was new then), with Spielberg and Lucas on the evolution of visual effects and CGI

-- storyboards for "The Well of Souls" sequence

-- DVD galleries of illustrations, props, production stills and portraits, FX/Industrial Light and Magic stuff, and promotion/marketing materials

-- "Lego Indiana Jones," a demo and trailer for a game based on the trilogy

If you like a few extras, you'll probably like this new DVD, though maybe not enough to upgrade from the old one, or to wait until May. I like audio commentaries, myself, and since they're easy to produce and tend to bring out points not covered in other features, I subtract one star for a special edition without any, but I look forward to the rest. If you don't care about commentaries, this may be a five-star DVD for you.

There have been rumors of deleted scenes, but none are included.

Some will want to wait for a high-def release, which may make sense if you have the equipment or plan to get it. Many speculate that a Blu-ray release will come out for Christmas, but that's guesswork.

There's also some speculation that an edition with all four movies will be released for Christmas. They may bundle the four together, but I doubt that there will be a better edition of this movie soon, if ever, on standard DVD. Keep in mind that the previous set came out over four years ago, and if not for the new movie, that would probably be the only release during the decade of standard DVD. The next upgrade may be high-def only, and may not happen for a while.

If you do want the whole trilogy (highly recommended), the new set is here, the old set is here. If you want to pick up one of the others from the new set, the new edition of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is here, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade here.

I was in college when Raiders came out. There was great anticipation because of the people associated with it, after the great success of Star Wars. A bunch of us went to the old full-size theater downtown to see the premiere, waited outside for hours. We weren't disappointed. It was a wild, gripping ride from beginning to end, lots of excitement, good characters, clever moments for comic relief, and romance. More memorable than some entire semesters!


The Return Of The Great Adventure...   May 28, 2004
the-gr8shag
16 out of 16 found this review helpful

"Either of you guys ever go to Sunday School?" - Indiana Jones brings Eaton & Musgrove's church attendence records into question in "Raiders of the Lost Ark".

From the director of "Jaws" and the creator of "Star Wars" comes the adventure film that all others in its genre are held up to, "Raiders of the Lost Ark". After twenty-three years and counting, I can honestly say that the film has yet to be outmatched (sure there have been good action/adventure films since "Raiders", including its own sequels, but I haven't seen a film that has had an indeliable, definitive impact that "Raiders" has left in a long time, possibly since the original "Star Wars")

Hired by the U.S. Government, archeologist/adventurer, Indiana Jones is on a race against evil to retrieve the lost Ark of The Covenent, the chest that contains the original stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. The ones that Moses brought down from Mount Harab and smashed. When was the last time YOU went to Sunday School!? Along the way Indiana meets up with an ex-girlfriend of his, Marion Ravenwood, outraces and dukes it out with legions of Nazis, and has plenty of close calls including a truck chase, The Well of Souls and its snakes (& Indiana's deathly phobia of them), a slugfest with a mechanic and his flying wing, and the opening of the Ark itself (lets just say GOD isn't to happy when mortals decide to open the Ark & sift through its contents).

An absolute modern-day classic. Why? "Raiders"' opening, from the Paramount logo to the natives chasing Dr. Jones, the bar fight, the basket chase, The Well of Souls, the truck chase (that alone gets 5 stars), the opening of The Ark in all its glory, John Williams' Oscar nominated score, I could go on all day long, but, you get the drift. What gives the film its drive (and where the sequels fail) is the urgency & danger of retrieving the Ark and the competitiveness between Indiana Jones and the Frenchman, Renee Belloq (the film imposes, early on, that these two have been competitors since there college days).

I got this on cassette for Xmas 1984 and I burnt the tape out. Thank God for DVD.

Nominated for 8 Oscars including Best Picture, Director (Steven Spielberg), Original Score and winning 4 of those awards including Best Sound & Visual Effects. The American Film Institute ranks "Raiders" as one of the top 100 films of all-time and Indiana Jones as one of the top cinematic heroes second only to Atticus Finch from "To Kill A Mockingbird".

The truck chase wasn't directed by Spielberg (he did the close-ups afterwards), but was helned by second unit director, Norman Reynolds. Tom Selleck was originally cast to play Jones but had to back out due to contractual agreements with Universal and CBS for "Magnum P.I." (I think it would have been a different film. I saw a "Raiders" screen test with him and Sean Young and he came off very obnoxious). Danny DeVito was offered the role for Sallah but declined due to scheduling conflicts with "Taxi". The scene where the Nazi officer was supposed to shoot Sallah was filmed but couldn't be used, becuase of black smoke from burning tires in one take, and in another actor John-Rhyes Davies getting sick and filling his jallaba (and he didn't care one bit).

"Raiders of the Lost Ark" is one truly great adventure worth taking over & over again. No matter what George Lucas calls it.


Snakes. Why does it have to be snakes?   December 3, 2003
Peggy Vincent (Oakland, CA)
15 out of 17 found this review helpful

Will anyone who's seen this film EVER forget that line? Our intrepid hero has a flaw, a weakness, an Achilles heel: snakes. He really, really, really doesn't like them. And, oh boy, what a snake scene ensues!
Indiana Jones, vintage 1981, was a Spielberg/Lucas combo that catapulted Harrison Ford into the big time. He plays an archaeologist whose quests find him frequently running from one evil spawn or another. Set in 1936, Dr. Jones (H. Ford) lands in a Nazi plot to use the powers of the Ark of the Covenant to win the war. Karen Allen is cast as the obligatory dame who can land a solid punch and easily drink most men into oblivion.
Great tongue-in-cheek fun throughout. There's never a moment's doubt that Good will triumph over Evil, but it's sure fun to watch how it all plays out. Also fun to watch are Harrison Ford's facial contortions as he's "just making it up as he goes along."
Wonderful. If you've never seen it, watch it. Now.