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Raiders of the Lost Ark

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Raiders of the Lost Ark
File:Raiders of the lost ark poster A.jpg
Theatrical poster
Directed bySteven Spielberg
Written byGeorge Lucas (story)
Philip Kaufman (story)
Lawrence Kasdan
Produced byFrank Marshall
George Lucas (executive)
Howard Kazanjian (executive)
StarringHarrison Ford
Karen Allen
Paul Freeman
Ronald Lacey
Wolf Kahler
CinematographyDouglas Slocombe
Edited byMichael Kahn
Music byJohn Williams
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release dates
June 12, 1981
Running time
115 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20,000,000 US (est.)

Raiders of the Lost Ark, also known as Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, is a 1981 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the first installment of the Indiana Jones series. In the film, the Nazis are searching for the lost Ark of the Covenant to make their army invincible, as it did for the Israelites of the Old Testament, and it's up to archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) to find it first.

The original film sparked a wave of interest in old 1930s style cliffhanger serials, leading to two more films (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), pre-production of a fourth film (to be released in 2008), and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles television series.

Production

In 1973, George Lucas wrote The Adventures of Indiana Smith.[1] Like Star Wars, he saw it as an opportunity to create a modern version of the serials of the 1930s and 1940s. Calling Indiana his "dream figure", he wrote four stories about the archaeologist.[2] Lucas discussed the concept with Philip Kaufman, who worked with him for several weeks and came up with the Ark of the Covenant as the plot device. The project was stalled when Clint Eastwood hired Kaufman to direct The Outlaw Josey Wales.[3] In late May 1977, Lucas was in Maui, trying to escape the enormous success of Star Wars. Friend and colleague Steven Spielberg was also there, holidaying from work on Close Encounters of the Third Kind. While building a sand castle, Spielberg expressed an interest in directing a James Bond film. Lucas convinced his friend Spielberg that he had conceived a character "better than James Bond" and explained the concept of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Spielberg loved it, calling it "a James Bond film without the hardware",[2] though he had the character's surname changed to "Jones".[1]

Second poster for Raiders of the Lost Ark, designed by Richard Amsel.

The following year Lucas focused on developing Raiders and the Star Wars sequel The Empire Strikes Back, during which Lawrence Kasdan and Frank Marshall joined the project as screenwriter and producer respectively. Between January 23-January 27 1978 for nine hours daily, Lucas, Kasdan and Spielberg discussed the story and visual ideas. Spielberg came up with Jones being chased by a boulder, and Lucas came up with a submarine, a monkey giving the Nazi salute, and a girl slugging Jones in Nepal.[1] Kasdan used a 100 page transcript of their conversations for his first script draft,[4] working for six months.[1] Ultimately some of their ideas were too grand: Kasdan cut out a mine chase, an escape in Shanghai using a rolling gong as a shield, and a jump from an airplane in a raft, all of which made it into the sequel.[1] Spielberg and Lucas disagreed on the character: although Lucas saw him as a Bondian playboy, Kasdan and Spielberg felt the professor and adventurer elements of the character made him complex enough. Spielberg had darker visions of Jones, interpreting him as an alcoholic similar to Humphrey Bogart's character Fred C. Dobbs in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. This characterization fell away during the later drafts.[2] Spielberg also initially conceived of Toht with a robotic arm, which Lucas rejected as falling into science-fiction.[5] Comic book artist Jim Steranko was also commissioned to produce original illustrations for pre-production, which heavily influenced Spielberg's decisions in both the look of the film and the character of Indiana Jones himself.

As The Empire Strikes Back began post-production in September 1979, Lucas began to find a distribution deal for Raiders of the Lost Ark.[6] Studios were reluctant following Spielberg's flop 1941, unable to believe he could bring the film for $20 million which they would have to pay for.[1] They also balked at simply distributing the film while the filmmakers took a larger share of box office receipts[6] and full ownership of the film.[2] Despite a concern that the first sequence alone would cost $20 million,[7] Paramount Pictures under Michael Eisner accepted[6] on condition of making at least four sequels with Lucasfilm.[2] By April 1980, Kasdan's fifth draft was produced, and production was getting ready to shoot at Elstree Studios, with Lucas trying to keep costs down.[6] With four illustrators, Raiders of the Lost Ark was Spielberg's most storyboarded film of his career to date, further helping the film economically, and he and Lucas agreed on a tight schedule to stylistically follow the "quick and dirty" feel of the Saturday matinée serials.[1]

What was left to do was to cast Indiana Jones. Spielberg suggested casting Harrison Ford as Jones, but Lucas objected, stating that he didn't want Ford to become his "Bobby De Niro" or "that guy I put in all my movies."[1] Desiring a lesser known actor, Lucas convinced Spielberg to help him search for a new talent, and the actor they both liked was Tom Selleck, who possessed features similar to Ford's and a much larger physical frame. However, Selleck was unavailable for the part because of his commitment to the television series Magnum, P.I..[1] In June 1980, three weeks away from filming,[8] Spielberg convinced Lucas to cast Ford after Marshall and fellow producer Kathleen Kennedy were impressed by his performance as Han Solo in The Empire Strikes Back.[6]

Template:Spoilers Filming began on June 23 1980 at La Rochelle, France, for scenes involving the Nazi submarine,[6] which was rented from the movie Das Boot.[9] The crew moved to Elstree Studios[6] for scenes involving the Well of Souls, opening interiors and Marion Ravenwood's bar.[9] All of the scenes set in Egypt were filmed in Tunisia.[1] The scene where Indiana Jones shoots the sword-wielding assassin (played by Terry Richards) in the market was improvised on the set. Harrison Ford had been suffering from dysentery and exhaustion due to the extreme heat of Tunisia during filming. As originally planned, the scene was elaborately choreographed, with Jones facing the expert swordsman and trying to defeat him with just his whip. Some footage of the planned fight was shot (and was seen in at least one of the movie's trailers) but the filming was proving to be very tedious, both for Ford and the crew, and at some point Ford had had enough. He said to Spielberg "Why don't we just shoot the sucker?" Spielberg liked the idea, scrapped the rest of the fight scene, and filmed the brief sequence of the shooting that appears in the movie.[10]

The opening exteriors were filmed in Kauai, Hawaii, and exteriors set in Washington D.C. were filmed outside of San Francisco's City Hall. The University of the Pacific, located in Stockton, California, stands in for the college where Jones works, and his home exteriors were filmed in the city of San Rafael, California.[9] Spielberg managed to shoot the film in only 73 days, wrapping under schedule in September, in contrast to his previous film, 1941.[2][6] The Washington D.C. exterior was a pick-up, as the film was originally written to end without any resolution of Indy's relationship to Marion. The brief footage showing the activity on a D.C. street (with the Washington Monument prominently in the background) was actually "borrowed" from the 1975 disaster film The Hindenburg.[11] Template:Endspoilers

Plot

Template:Spoiler

File:Indianagrabsidol.jpg
Indiana Jones attempts to take the idol in the opening of the film.

In 1936, in the Peruvian jungle, archaeologist Indiana Jones braves several booby traps to retrieve the Hovito Idol from an ancient temple. After escaping a rolling boulder, he finds rival archaeologist Rene Belloq waiting outside the cave with a small group of Hovitos, the local natives. Surrounded and outnumbered, Jones is forced to give up the artifact to Belloq, but he escapes. Back at the college where he teaches, Jones meets with two Army intelligence agents. They explain that the Nazis, in their quest to gain occult power, are searching for Abner Ravenwood, Jones’ former mentor. Ravenwood is the foremost expert on the ancient Egyptian city of Tanis, which has been rediscovered by the Nazis and is believed to be the location of the Ark of the Covenant. Jones surmises that the Nazis seek Ravenwood because he possesses the headpiece to the Staff of Ra, a key artifact which is essential in calculating the Ark’s resting place. His colleague Marcus Brody explains that, according to legend, the power of the Ark can make any army invincible.

Jones flies to Nepal, only to find that Ravenwood has died and his daughter Marion, Jones' bitter former lover, has the headpiece. After a gunfight between Jones and a sadistic Nazi agent named Toht, Marion's tavern burns down. Toht's hand is scarred with the face of the medallion, and Jones ends up with both the headpiece and Marion, who decides to travel with him. The two fly to Cairo and meet up with Sallah, a skilled Egyptian digger, who says that he knows where they are digging for the Ark, and that Belloq is working for the Nazis. Nazi operatives quickly kidnap Marion and fake her death in front of Jones. That evening, Sallah and Jones get the headpiece deciphered. Based on this translation, they realize the Nazis used the wrong length for the Staff of Ra, and are digging in the wrong place.

File:IndySallahArk.jpg
Indiana and Sallah lift up the Ark of the Covenant

Infiltrating the dig, Indy and Sallah gather a small crew and begin to dig at the correct location. After several hours, they break through the roof of the buried Well of Souls. Jones is lowered to the floor of the temple and finds it infested with deadly snakes, which he is deathly afraid of. After he and Sallah hoist the Ark out of the temple, Belloq and the Nazis take it away and seal the tomb off, leaving Jones trapped with Marion. The duo manage to escape, emerging aboveground in time to find a Luftwaffe flying wing being prepared to transport the Ark to Berlin. They accidentally blow up the plane, so Belloq and Dietrich put the Ark on a truck to Cairo, where it will be shipped to Berlin. Stealing a horse, Jones pursues the convoy escorting the truck, seizes control of the vehicle, and, after an extended pursuit, escapes with the Ark. That evening, Jones and Marion leave Sallah and escort the Ark to England onboard the tramp steamer Bantu Wind.

The next morning, a Nazi U-boat commandeered by Belloq and Dietrich stops the ship. Marion and the Ark are removed, and Jones covertly boards the U-boat. He follows Belloq and the Ark to an isolated canyon, where they plan to test the power of the Ark before presenting it to the Fuhrer. Threatening to destroy the Ark with a rocket launcher, Jones demands that the Nazis free Marion. Belloq calls his bluff, and he is forced to surrender. Marion and Jones are tied up while Belloq and the Nazis perform a ceremonial opening of the Ark. Spirits emerge from within, and Jones, now fully aware of the supernatural danger of looking at the open Ark, warns Marion to close her eyes. The group of Nazis, who do not look away, are destroyed in the Ark's awesome display, and the Ark closes itself once more with a crack of thunder. Back in Washington D.C., the two Army intelligence men tell a suspicious Jones that "top men" are carefully studying the Ark. The artifact is sealed in a wooden crate marked 'top secret' and stored in a giant government warehouse, filled with countless other similar crates.

Reaction

When released on June 12, the $20 million film was a huge success, easily the highest grossing film (earning $383 million worldwide) of 1981, and, at the time, one of the highest-grossing movies ever made. According to the 2005 edition of The World Almanac (from Variety data), the first two Star Wars films are the only pictures released prior to 1981 that have out-earned Raiders. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, in 1982 and won four (Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration). It also won a Special Achievement Award for Sound Effects Editing, bringing the total Oscars to five. It won numerous other awards, including seven Saturn Awards.[12]

Following the box office success of Raiders, two more feature films were produced: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, a prequel, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Another sequel, known only as Indiana Jones 4, is currently in pre-production. A TV series, entitled The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, was also spun off from this film, and details the early years of the character. Numerous other books, comics, and video games have also been produced.

In 1998, the American Film Institute placed the film at number 60 on its top 100 films of the first century of cinema. In 1999 the film was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

An amateur shot-for-shot remake was made by Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala and Jayson Lamb, then children in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. It took the boys seven years to finish, from 1982-1989. After production of the film, called Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation, wrapped in 1989, it was shelved and forgotten until 2003, where it was discovered by Eli Roth[13] and acclaimed by Spielberg himself[14] who congratulated the boys on their hard work and said he looked forward to seeing their names on the big screen.[15] Scott Rudin and Paramount Pictures have purchased the trio's life rights and will be producing a film based on their adventures making their remake, known as the Untitled Daniel Clowes Project (2006).[16]

Cast

File:Castphoto.JPG
The main villains (from left to right): Colonel Dietrich (Wolf Kahler), Rene Belloq (Paul Freeman), and Arnold Toht (Ronald Lacey).
  • Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. Indiana is an adventurous professor and archaeologist, who often embarks on perilous adventures to obtain rare artifacts. He has a romance with Marion Ravenwood, and his arch nemesis is fellow archaeologist Rene Belloq.
  • Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood. Marion Ravenwood is Abner Ravenwood's daughter. She is a tough-minded, independent bar owner who had a past affair with Indiana Jones.
  • Paul Freeman as Rene Belloq. Jones' arch nemesis, Belloq is also an archaeologist after the Ark, but he is working for the Nazis. He intends to harness the power of the Ark himself before Hitler, but he is killed by the supernatural powers of the Ark after opening it.
  • John Rhys-Davies as Sallah. Sallah is "the best digger in Egypt", and has been hired by the Nazis to help them excavate Tanis. Although he is suspicious of the Ark's power, he is an old friend of Indiana Jones, and agrees to help him obtain the Ark.
  • Denholm Elliott as Marcus Brody. Marcus is a museum curator, and buys whatever artifacts Indiana obtains for display in his museum. The US governmental agents approach him in regards to recovering the Ark, and he sets up a meeting between them and Indiana Jones (whose mentor's name was mentioned by the agents).
  • Ronald Lacey as Arnold Toht. Toht is an interrogator for the Nazis, who tries to torture Marion Ravenwood for the headpiece of the Staff of Ra. He only manages to obtain one side of it through a burn in his hand. He is killed by the supernatural powers of the Ark.
  • Wolf Kahler as Colonel Dietrich. Dietrich is a ruthless Nazi officer leading the operation to secure the Ark. He is killed by the supernatural powers of the Ark.
  • Alfred Molina as Satipo. Satipo is one of Jones's guides through the South American jungle. He betrays Jones and steals the golden idol, but is killed by one of the traps in the temple.

Producer Frank Marshall played a pilot in the airplane fight sequence. Pat Roach plays the large mechanic with whom Jones brawls in this sequence, and was seen as such a formidable physical opponent for Jones that he returned in both Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (though he only cameos in the final cut) in similar roles as huge, burly fistfighters. Template:Endspoiler

Soundtrack

Template:Sample box start variation 2 Template:Multi-listen start Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen end Template:Sample box end

Main article: Raiders of the Lost Ark (soundtrack)

Raiders of the Lost Ark's score is most notable for featuring the rousing and iconic composition "The Raiders March" that came to symbolize Indiana Jones. The tune was composed by John Williams. The score also featured three other prominent themes: the grand yet mysterious "Ark Theme", a theme associated with Marion, and the loud, pompous Nazi March. The score had received an Oscar nomination for best original score, but lost to Vangelis' electro-synth based score for Chariots of Fire. John Williams composed the march in the two separate segments. When he played them for Steven Spielberg he told Williams that he liked them both, which led to the combined theme people know today.[17]

Video games

The only video game based exclusively on this movie is Raiders of the Lost Ark, released in 1982 by Atari for their Atari 2600 console.

The first third of the video game Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures, released in 1994 by JVC for Nintendo's Super Nintendo Entertainment System, is based entirely on the film. Several sequences from the film are reproduced (the boulder run and the showdown with the Cairo Swordsman among them); however, several odd anachronisms make their way into the game as well, such as Nazi soldiers and bats being present in the Well of Souls sequence, for example. The game was developed by LucasArts and Factor 5.

In Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine a bonus level brings Indy back to 'Peru, South America' from this movie. He can explore the cave and he discovers another hidden idol.

DVD release

File:Raidersdvd.jpg
DVD cover of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

For its 1999 VHS re-issue, and the subsequent DVD release in 2003, the outer package has been retitled Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark to correlate with the film's prequel and sequel. However, the title in the film itself remains unchanged, even in the restored DVD print.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Indiana Jones: Making the Trilogy. Paramount Pictures. 2003. {{cite AV media}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e f McBride, Joseph (1997). "Rehab". Steven Spielberg. New York City: Faber and Faber. pp. 309–322. ISBN 0-571-19177-0.
  3. ^ Hearn, p.112-115
  4. ^ Hearn, p.122-123
  5. ^ "Raiders Of The Lost Ark". Empire. 2006-09-29. pp. 72–82. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Hearn, p.127-134
  7. ^ "Raiders Opening Salvo". Empire. 2006-09-29. p. 75. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Facts and trivia of the Lost Ark". Official website. 2003-10-14. Retrieved 2007-03-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ a b c Marco Fromter (2006-08-18). "Around the World with Indiana Jones". Official Website. Retrieved 2007-03-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "The Urban Legends of Indiana Jones". Official website. 2004-01-13. Retrieved 2007-03-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Twenty-Five Reasons to Watch Raiders Again". Official website. 2006-06-12. Retrieved 2007-03-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "Hats off to Indy: The Many Awards of Indiana Jones". Official website. 2006-02-24. Retrieved 2007-03-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Harry Knowles (2003-05-31). "RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK shot-for-shot teenage remake review!!!". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved 2007-03-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "Quotes on The Adaptation". The Indy Experience. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
  15. ^ Sarah Hepola (2003-05-30). "Lost Ark Resurrected". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-03-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ Harry Knowles (2004-02-26). "Sometimes, The Good Guys Win!!! RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK shot for shot filmmakers' life to be MOVIE!!!". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved 2007-03-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ John Williams (2003). The Music of Indiana Jones. Paramount Pictures. {{cite AV media}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
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