Nostalgia November: Raiders of the Lost Ark
by Mike "Why did it have to be snakes" Lunsford, Editor-In-Chief of GGRHarrison Ford was nearly untouchable in the 80s when it came to action movies. Heck, the dude did the same thing in the 90s for that matter. When it comes to his tentpole franchises though, Indiana Jones was my favorite. I’m a huge Star Wars fan but Han Solo was just alright. Luke was MY hero: I wanted to be a Jedi. I get that Han is all snarky, handsome, witty and anti hero-esque. It’s enough to make the ladies swoon and the guys wish they were him. I’d rather be the whiney, radicalized, religious warrior with the laser sword and the Muppet teacher thank you very much! This is what happens when you see all these movies when you’re under six years old. At any rate, Indiana Jones was my favorite Harrison Ford hero. I was hooked from the beginning of the franchise, Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s still my favorite of the Indy movies. Let’s get all nostalgic about it, shall we?
This movie might be perfect. What do I mean? It has no flaws in film-making, the story is fun, interesting, exciting, and entertaining. The acting is great as you get memorable performances from everyone involved. The special effects are stellar and John Williams’ score is one of the best ever. For a movie that was made to be a summer blockbuster, it got nominated for Best Picture at the 1981 Academy Awards and it won 5 of the 9 it received nominations for!
and he punches so many Nazis, this should have been an Academy Award category!
As far as the nostalgia goes, I remember watching this movie as a kid and loving it. I was probably four or five the first time, getting away with a movie above my age range because my Dad was cool. There’s a ton of story going on that is great for the adults but it’s a simple enough concept that kids can follow along. In fact, here’s probably how I would have described it at five years old: Han Solo is also an adventurer in the jungle and he tries to get this gold statue but its booby trapped (heh heh booby) and he almost gets crushed by a giant boulder! Then he goes back to school or whatever (that part was boring) and then he’s in the desert looking for some magic box. He finds some girl he knew and they kiss (gross) but the bad guys get the magic box! Indy punches everyone, except for the guy with the sword, he shoots him. Then…the bad guys open the magic box which Indy said not to and all their faces melt and they die (that part was super scary). Oh, and he had a whip instead of a blaster or Chewie.
and he hates snakes, you forgot that part, 1986 Mike.
A lot of the media we consume when we’re younger doesn’t age well. Have you watched He-Man Masters of the Universe recently? That cartoon is garbage. Like awful, rancid garbage. They literally made the cartoon to sell toys. What kind of crap is that? Raiders of the Lost Ark doesn’t age, partially because it was filmed in the 80s and set in the late 30s, but the movie is never outdated. In fact, because so many of us grew up on the movie we all tend to have a nostalgic soft spot for the movie. When we do go back and give it another viewing, most people walk away still impressed. The story has a way of being timeless, the acting is on point, and even the effects still hold up. Not like He-Man. The whole planet of Eternia can suck it.
It wouldn’t be a GGR article if we didn’t have some form of list, so I gotta hit my requirements. Lets rattle off some of the best scenes.
The Opening - the search for the golden idol, Indy wasting all that time with weighing out the sand just to trip the giant boulder anyway, Alfred Molina getting skewered by booby traps (heh booby), and then Indy running for the plane from the natives. This introduction to the character is one of the greatest in movie history.
“If you didn’t want anyone taking the golden idol, why was it just sitting there on that pedestal?”
The Story - I didn’t appreciate it when I was a kid, but the story is incredibly interesting. Set in the the late 30s with Nazi Germany on the move for world conquest, Hitler has all his goose-stepping cronies looking for religious artifacts in hopes of making the Third Reich unstoppable. When I was a kid, it was cool to think that the Bible had some stories about a magical box that could vaporize Nazis, but when you learn as an adult that it was representative of God’s presence with his people and you best not mess with that, that makes it even more interesting. On top of the Biblical portion of the story, there’s also the love of Indy and Marion. You also learn of the rivalry between Belloq and Doctor Jones, the US Government’s interest in the Ark and stopping Fascism, and there’s a MONKEY WHO EATS DATES! This movie has it all.
The Ending - What article about Raiders of the Lost Ark is complete without mention of the ending? What’s amazing about this part of the movie is how different it is from so many other films. You rarely see the full power of God on display. For whatever reason a lot movies give evil all the cool stuff. Not Raiders of the Lost Ark! Director Steven Spielberg had no qualms showing just what happens when you disobey God’s orders in the book of Samuel. Allow me to paraphrase.
QUIT TOUCHING AND LOOKING AT THE HOLY STUFF I GAVE THE ISRAELITES! I WILL TOTALLY SMITE YOU!
- Book of Samuel (real verse here)
And we all know that Nazis are notoriously bad listeners. So, they touched and looked at and fondled and took selfies with the Ark. God finally had enough. Indy went to Sunday school, he knows better than to look at the Ark much less film it as some sort of snuff film. Here, watch for yourself.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of my favorite movies of all time. It is action-packed, exciting, has a compelling story and manages to keep you laughing. That first time you watch it, you walk away almost feeling exhausted as the movie takes you on such an emotional ride. Raiders of the Lost Ark is in the category of must-watch whenever it’s on, whether it be on TV or you happen across it on Netflix or Hulu.
