A Reel 40: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

“Snakes. Why’d there have to be snakes?”

 

This month marks the 40^th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. 

 

The adventure film that introduced the world to archeologist Indiana Jones, the origins of RAIDERS go all the way back to 1973, when a young filmmaker named George Lucas, who at the time still had STAR WARS in his future, was inspired to create a character based on the heroes of his youth such as Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. Modeled after the serials of those characters, Lucas conceived THE ADVENTURES OF INDIANA SMITH, featuring a two-fisted obtainer of rare antiquities who got his name from Lucas’ beloved Alaskan Malamute dog. 

 

Fast-forward to 1977. Lucas had just completed STAR WARS and had booked a vacation in Hawaii to get away from possible bad reviews. He invited his friend Steven Spielberg, who had helmed the first blockbuster of all time in JAWS (1975), and was putting the final touches on CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977). On a beach, Spielberg mentioned that he had always wanted to direct a James Bond film. Lucas replied that he had something better, and Indiana Jones was discovered. 

 

Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan was brought in to write the screenplay, with the Ark of the Covenant, the mysterious, yet powerful chest that the Hebrews used to carry the Ten Commandments, as the central plot device. By early 1980, casting had begun. Hollywood names such as Tom Selleck, Bill Murry, Nick Nolte, Steven Martin, and Chevy Chase were considered…with Selleck actually being cast before his TV commitments forced him to withdraw. The role would go to Harrison Ford, who impressed Spielberg after his second performance as Han Solo in Lucas’ own THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980). 

 

Spielberg and his crew would shoot RAIDERS in 73 days, with desert sequences in the 130-degree heat of Tunisia. Ford was joined on-set by Karen Allen; playing the love-interest Marion Ravenwood…along with Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, and Denholm Elliott. For the score, Spielberg brought in John Williams, in what would be their fifth collaboration together. 

 

Upon release, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK would become the highest grossing film of 1981. It was considered to be one of the top 10 films of the year, and would win five Oscars; Best Art Direction, Editing, Sound, Sound Editing and Visual Effects. Today it is considered to be one of the greatest films ever made. Empire magazine ranked it number two in their 2008 list of 500 Greatest Movies of All Time. In 1999, the United States Library of Congress selected RAIDERS for preservation in the National Film Registry. Indiana and his film would become cultural icons; inspiring books, video games, action figures, and amusement park rides. 

 

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In 1981, this Blogger was a STAR WARS kid all the way, and was living with the belief that all movies revolved around that far, far away galaxy. And then came Indiana Jones. He didn’t carry a lightsaber or fly a spaceship or wear cool black robes…he carried a bullwhip, revolver, and wore a simple fedora hat and weathered leather jacket. He was human and down-to-earth, and when he shed his adventure skins, he was a bookish and nerdy professor. He was appealing because he could punch out Nazi’s, solve riddles, swing across chasms and out-run rolling boulders…but at the same time he could get beaten up, bleed, get scared of snakes, and fall asleep when tired. He was a new hero for all generations by embracing classic storytelling, and after 40 years the word “adventure” in cinema has been permanently related to the man who was named after a dog. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have had that special ability to make popular films without equal in the history of cinema, and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is one of their greatest discoveries. 

 

“This is history.”