Raiders of the Lost Ark
is a 1981
American
adventure movie
directed by
Steven Spielberg
and written by
Lawrence Kasdan
. It is based on a story by
George Lucas
and
Philip Kaufman
. It stars
Harrison Ford
,
Karen Allen
,
Paul Freeman
,
Ronald Lacey
,
John Rhys-Davies
,
Denholm Elliott
and
Alfred Molina
. The movie is about Indiana Jones, a globe-trotting
archaeologist
. He is competing with
Nazi
forces in 1936, to recover the long-lost
Ark of the Covenant
.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
is the first movie of the
Indiana Jones
series. It was highly successful and there are four film sequels?
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
,
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
,
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
,
and
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
.
In 1936, Indiana Jones is trying to find a golden
idol
in the
jungle
in
Peru
. His guide, Sapito, betrays him and tries to take the idol for himself, but is killed in a trap. After Jones comes out from the temple, he finds his rival Belloq and a dozen of the native people holding spears. Jones gives up the idol and runs to his airplane.
While he is teaching at Marshall College, the
U.S. Army
tells him the
Nazis
are trying to find the
Ark of the Covenant
. Jones wants to find it first, so he goes to a bar in
Nepal
. His old teacher, Abner Ravenwood, was trying to find the Ark and has the headpiece to the Staff of
Ra
, a piece that is needed to find the Ark. His daughter, Marion, now runs Abner's bar and she punches him in the face because they had a romance and he ran away. She, however, comes along with him after the Nazi Arnold Toht and his friends try to get the piece themselves.
Jones and Ravenwood fly to
Cairo
and recruit a man named Sallah to help him out. They start digging in the area where they think it is. The Nazis capture Ravenwood and make Jones think that she is dead. Sallah and Jones do some calculations and realize that the Nazis are digging in the wrong area because their staff is too long. Jones finds the right place and starts digging, finding it in a place called the Well of Souls. However, Belloq comes back, raises the Ark, and throws Ravenwood in there. They escape.
After a battle, Jones gets the Ark back. Sallah puts it on a ship which sails across the
Mediterranean Sea
, but the Nazis on a
U-boat
intercept the ship and search it. Jones escapes. He then takes a big weapon called
Panzerschreck
and threatens to blow up the Ark as it is being loaded onto a
Greek
island north of
Crete
. Belloq calls Jones' bluff, and Jones lowers his weapon. He and Marion are then tied up as Belloq and the Nazis test the power of the Ark by opening it. The spirits inside kill everyone. Jones and Marion close their eyes and escape the spirits' anger.
At the end of the movie, the Army puts the Ark inside a
warehouse
. They tell Jones that they are studying it, but Jones does not believe them. Marion tries to comfort him by saying that she will buy him a drink.
Lucas first had the idea of the
Raiders of the Lost Ark
in the early 1970s. He wanted to modernize the serial films of the early 20th-century. He further developed the idea with Kaufman, who suggested the Ark as the movie's goal. Lucas eventually focused on developing his 1977 space opera
Star Wars
. Development on
Raiders of the Lost Ark
resumed that year when Lucas shared the idea with Spielberg; he joined the project several months later.
[3]
While the pair had ideas for significant scenes in the movie, they hired Kasdan to fill in the gaps between them. Principal photography began in June 1980 on a $20 million budget. Filming took place on sets at
Elstree Studios
, England, and on location in
La Rochelle, France
,
Tunisia
,
Hawaii
and
California
.
Pre-release polling showed little audience interest in the movie, especially compared to the superhero film
Superman II
.
However
,
Raiders of the Lost Ark
became the highest-grossing movie of 1981, earning approximately $330.5 million worldwide. It played in some theaters for over a year because of its popularity.
The movie had very positive reviews from critics. It was a critical success. It has a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
[4]
Critics praised the movie for its modern take on older serial movies, and its non-stop action and adventure. The cast were all praised, particularly Ford, Allen and Freeman.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
received numerous award nominations and among others, winning five
Academy Awards
, seven
Saturn Awards
and one
BAFTA Award
. The United States
Library of Congress
selected it for preservation in the
National Film Registry
in 1999.
[5]
The movie has had a major impact on popular culture. The movie's success lead to imitations across several media and inspired several filmmakers. It continues to influence modern media.
[6]
Raiders of the Lost Ark
is the first movie in what would become the
Indiana Jones
franchise. There are also television series, video games, comic books, novels, theme park attractions, toys, board games, collectibles and an amateur remake.