June 07, 2021
'Raiders of the Lost Ark'
The Ringer's Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey narrowly escape from a Peruvian temple to rewatch the 1981 classic 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' starring Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, and Paul Freeman, and directed by Steven Spielberg.
Cast
Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones
Alfred Molina as Satipo
John Rhys-Davies as Sallah
Denholm Elliott as Marcus Brody
Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Written by: Lawrence Kasdan
Music by: John Williams
Produced by: George Lucas
Notes
- $20 million budget, grossed $383.5 million worldwide.
- Tom Selleck was cast and fitted for the costume but CBS wouldn't release him from Magnum P.I.
- Spielberg was haunted by the 1941 over-budget disaster: 'I became a bit like Colonel Kurtz after my big successes... I just wanted to make a movie where people would say he's a responsible director.'
- The Cairo swordsman scene was supposed to be a long choreographed fight – Ford was too sick with dysentery and just shot the guy instead.
- Entire crew got dysentery in Tunisia; Spielberg avoided it by only eating SpaghettiOs.
- Paramount released 500,000 VHS copies at $39.95, far below the industry standard of ~$129. Within two years, 1 million copies sold – best-selling VHS of the 1980s.
- Steven Soderbergh recut Raiders in black and white with no sound except the Social Network score to demonstrate the visual storytelling mastery.
- Won 5 Oscars (Editing, Sound, Sound Editing, Art Direction, Special Effects). Lost Best Picture and Best Director to Chariots of Fire.
- Melissa Mathison (Ford's wife) collaborated with Spielberg on developing E.T. on the Raiders set.
- The script originated from Lucas and Spielberg brainstorming on a Hawaii beach after 'Star Wars' opened.
- R2-D2 and C-3PO appear in the hieroglyphics.
- Ford did his own stunts – bruised ribs getting dragged behind the truck, tore a knee ligament from the plane rolling over his knee.
Categories
Roger Ebert's review
Quote from Rog's review:
“An out-of-body experience, a series of breathless and incredible adventures.”
One of Ebert's calling-his-shot moments – said Spielberg has arrived at the top of his game.
Most re-watchable scene
- Opening temple/idol sequence – one of the best opening scenes of all time (Bill Simmons).
- Airplane fight into the truck chase (Bill Simmons).
- Exposition scene where Indy explains the Ark of the Covenant to the government agents (Chris Ryan).
- Cairo marketplace – Indy shooting the swordsman.
- Marion's bar fight in Nepal.
What aged the best?
- The John Williams score – possibly Williams's best work (Chris Ryan).
- Nazis as the ultimate movie villains.
- Runtime under two hours (~105 minutes).
- Harrison Ford's fedora.
- Young Alfred Molina in his film debut.
- The 'bad dates' poison date scene.
- VHS pricing revolution – became best-selling VHS of the 80s.
- Paul Freeman/Belloq and the fly-in-mouth moment.
What aged the worst?
- Indiana Jones and Marion's romantic chemistry is lacking.
- Some special effects – the ghosts look rough, though the face melt holds up.
- The monkey subplot.
- Temple of Doom sequel – lost the tone, too slapsticky.
- Pauline Kael's dismissive review (though she was arguably right about predicting the future of blockbusters).
Casting what-ifs
- Tom Selleck was cast but CBS wouldn't release him from Magnum P.I.
- Jeff Bridges was liked by the casting director.
- Danny DeVito was supposed to play Sallah but had scheduling conflicts with Taxi.
- Klaus Kinski was offered Toht but chose Venom for more money.
- Sean Young did the screen test – had enough chemistry with Ford to lead to Blade Runner.
Over-acting award
- Karen Allen – in 5th gear from the second she appears.
- Alfred Molina.
- Denholm Elliott.
Best "that guy"
- Paul Freeman as Belloq (Bill didn't even know the actor's name after 40 years).
- Ronald Lacey as Toht.
- John Rhys-Davies as Sallah.
Re-casting couch
- Gold: Kathleen Turner as Marion (Bill Simmons – wants the 'Body Heat' sexual energy).
- Silver: John Lithgow as Toht.
- Debra Winger as Marion (Chris Ryan).
- Sean Young as Marion (Sean Fennessey – great chemistry with Ford, as proven by Blade Runner).
Half-assed (internet) research
- Lucas got $1-4M + gross profit share, funding everything he wanted for 40 years.
- Spielberg got $1.5M as director + gross profit share.
- Monkey's Heil Hitler salute took 50 takes; used a grape on a fishing line.
- Frank Marshall ended up being the pilot stuntman for 3 days in a 150-degree cockpit.
- Canyon where Indy threatens to blow up the Ark is the same Jawa canyon from 'Star Wars'.
- Indy's bullwhip sold at Christie's in December 1999 for $43,000.
- First cut was 3+ hours.
- Filming in Tunisia – 130 degrees, ran out of stuntmen.
Apex Mountain
- Harrison Ford – Yes (in the middle of 'Star Wars' trilogy plus Blade Runner).
- Karen Allen – Yes.
- John Williams – discussed extensively but probably Superman or 'Star Wars' is the actual apex.
- Nazis as movie villains – strong contender.
- Fedoras in movies.
Picking nits
- Indy takes 15 straight punches from bald Nazi with barely a mark.
- Why didn't they just kill Indy at 7 different points?
- Everyone under-reacts to finding the Ark of the Covenant.
- How does Indy know closing your eyes saves you from the Ark's wrath?
- Who is handling snake maintenance in the sealed tomb?
(Probably) unanswerable questions
- Was Marion breaking even on her bar in Nepal?
- Would the movie be that much worse with Tom Selleck?
- Does E.T. happen without this movie?
- Is Indiana Jones an archaeologist or just a looter?
What memorabilia would you want (or not want!) from the movie?
- The fedora (Bill Simmons).
- Katanga's white turtleneck (Chris Ryan).
- The giant boulder (Sean Fennessey).
Who won the movie?
- Steven Spielberg – resuscitated his career after 1941, developed E.T. on set (Bill Simmons).
- Harrison Ford – launches a 20-year run as the signature American movie star (Chris Ryan).