Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. Set in 1936, the film stars Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, a globetrotting archaeologist vying with Nazi German forces to recover the long-lost Ark of the Covenant which is said to make an army invincible. Teaming up with his tough former romantic interest Marion Ravenwood, Jones races to stop rival archaeologist René Belloq from guiding the Nazis to the Ark and its power.
Lucas conceived Raiders of the Lost Ark in the early 1970s. Seeking to modernize the serial films of the early 20th century, he developed the idea further with Kaufman, who suggested the Ark as the film's goal. Lucas eventually focused on developing his 1977 film Star Wars. Development on Raiders of the Lost Ark resumed that year when he shared the idea with Spielberg, who joined the project several months later. While the pair had ideas for set pieces and stunts for the film, they hired Kasdan to fill in the narrative gaps between them. Principal photography began in June 1980 on a $20million budget, and concluded that September. Filming took place on sets at Elstree Studios, England, and on location mainly in La Rochelle, France, Tunisia, and Hawaii.
Pre-release polling showed little audience interest in the film leading up to its release date on June 12, 1981, especially compared to Superman II. However, Raiders of the Lost Ark became the highest-grossing film of the year, earning approximately $354million worldwide, and played in some theaters for over a year. It was also a critical success, receiving praise for its set pieces, humor, and action sequences. The film was nominated for several awards, and won five Academy Awards, seven Saturn Awards, and one BAFTA, among other accolades.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is considered by critics to be one of the greatest films ever made and has had a lasting influence on popular culture, spawning a host of imitators across several media and inspiring other filmmakers. The United States Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1999. Raiders of the Lost Ark is the first entry in what became the Indiana Jones franchise, which includes four more films—Temple of Doom, Last Crusade, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Dial of Destiny —a television series, video games, comic books, novels, theme park attractions, and toys.
Plot
In 1936, American archaeologist Indiana Jones recovers a Golden Idol from a booby-trapped Peruvian temple. Rival archaeologist René Belloq corners him and steals the idol; Jones escapes in a waiting float plane.After returning to the United States, Jones is briefed by two Army Intelligence agents that Nazi German forces are excavating at Tanis, Egypt, and one of their telegrams mentions Jones's former mentor Abner Ravenwood. He deduces that the Nazis are seeking the Ark of the Covenant, which Adolf Hitler believes will make their army invincible. The agents recruit Jones to recover the Ark first.
At a bar in Nepal, Jones reunites with Abner's daughter Marion, with whom Jones once had an illicit relationship, and learns that Abner is dead. The bar is set ablaze during a scuffle with Gestapo agent Arnold Toht, who arrives to take a medallion from Marion. Toht attempts to recover the medallion from the flames, but only burns its image into his hand. Jones and Marion safely take the medallion and escape.
Traveling to Cairo, the pair meet Jones's friend Sallah. He reveals Belloq is assisting the Nazis, who have fashioned an incomplete replica medallion from the burns on Toht's hand. Nazi soldiers and mercenaries attack Jones, and Marion is seemingly killed, leaving Jones despondent. An imam deciphers the medallion for Jones, revealing that one side bears a warning against disturbing the Ark, and the other bears the complete measurements for the "staff of Ra", an item which, when combined with the medallion, is used to locate the Ark. Jones and Sallah realize that the Nazis are digging in the wrong location, infiltrate the Nazi dig site, and use the medallion and the correctly sized staff of Ra to locate the Well of Souls, the Ark's resting place. The pair recover the Ark, a golden, intricately decorated chest, but Belloq and the Nazis discover them and seize it. Jones and Marion, whom Belloq has been holding captive, are sealed inside the well, but the pair escape and Jones captures a truck carrying the Ark.
Alongside Marion, Jones arranges to transport the Ark to London aboard a tramp steamer. A German U-boat intercepts them, seizing the Ark and Marion; Jones covertly boards the U-boat. The vessel travels to an island in the Aegean Sea, where Belloq intends to test the power of the Ark before presenting it to Hitler.
On the island, Jones ambushes the Nazi group and threatens to destroy the Ark but surrenders after Belloq deduces that he would never destroy something so historically significant, also surmising that Jones wants to know if the Ark's power is real. The Nazis restrain Jones and Marion at the testing site as Belloq ceremonially opens the Ark but finds only sand inside. At Jones's instruction, he and Marion close their eyes to avoid looking at the opened Ark, as it releases spirits, flames, and bolts of energy that kill Belloq, Toht, and the assembled Nazis before sealing itself shut. Jones and Marion open their eyes to find the area cleared of bodies and their bindings removed.
Back in Washington, D.C., the United States government rewards Jones for securing the Ark. Despite Jones's insistence, the agents state only that the Ark has been moved to an undisclosed location for "top men" to study. In a vast warehouse, the Ark is crated up and stored among countless other crates.
Cast
- Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones: An archaeology professor and adventurer
- Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood: A spirited, tough bar owner and Jones's former lover
- Paul Freeman as René Belloq: A rival archaeologist to Jones, in the employ of the Nazis
- Ronald Lacey as Major Arnold Toht: A sadistic Gestapo agent
- John Rhys-Davies as Sallah: An Egyptian excavator and old acquaintance of Jones
- Denholm Elliott as Marcus Brody: A museum curator and Jones's loyal friend
Producer Frank Marshall appears as the Flying Wing pilot. Pat Roach appears as the Nazi who brawls with Jones by the Flying Wing and one of Toht's Nepalese Sherpas. Vic Tablian plays Jones's treacherous Peruvian guide Barranca and the Monkey Man in Cairo. Alfred Molina appears as Jones's traitorous guide Satipo in his film debut. Terry Richards portrays the Cairo swordsman shot by Jones.
Production
Conception
conceived Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1973, shortly after finishing the comedy drama American Graffiti. An old movie poster of a heroic character leaping from a horse to a truck reminded Lucas of the early 20th-century serial films he enjoyed as a youth, such as Buck Rogers, Zorro's Fighting Legion, Spy Smasher and Don Winslow of the Navy. He wanted to make a B movie modeled on those serials and conceived The Adventures of Indiana Smith, featuring a daring archaeologist named after his Alaskan Malamute dog. Around the same time, Lucas was trying to adapt the space opera serial Flash Gordon, but could not obtain the rights. He shelved the Indiana Smith project to focus on creating his own space opera, Star Wars.In 1975, Lucas discussed his serial film idea with his friend Philip Kaufman. The pair worked on a story for two weeks. Lucas imagined his character as a college professor and archaeologist adventurer, based on his own appreciation for archaeology and famous archaeologists like Hiram Bingham III, Roy Chapman Andrews, and Leonard Woolley. Kaufman removed Lucas's vision of Smith as a nightclub patron and womanizer, and suggested the Ark of the Covenant as the film's central goal, taking inspiration from hematologist Raphael Isaacs's theories on the physics of Biblical miracles. The Ark provided a source of conflict for the hero and the Nazis, playing off Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's historical fascination with the occult.
Lucas wanted Kaufman to direct the film, but because he was already committed to working on the western The Outlaw Josey Wales, Lucas paused the idea again and resumed working on Star Wars. In May 1977, Lucas vacationed in Hawaii to avoid any potential negative news about the theatrical debut of Star Wars, which he feared would fail at the box office. He invited Steven Spielberg to join him and his wife. On a beach near the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Lucas and Spielberg discussed their next projects. Spielberg wanted to direct a James Bond film, but Lucas pitched him The Adventures of Indiana Smith. Lucas still hoped Kaufman would direct it, but a few months later it was clear he could not participate and Lucas asked Spielberg to replace him.
Writing
, Spielberg's recent discovery, was chosen to write the script. Kasdan had been working as a professional screenwriter for only a month but Lucas agreed to hire him after reading his script for Continental Divide. In January 1978, Lucas, Kasdan, and Spielberg spent about nine hours a day over three to five days at Lucas's assistant's house in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, developing Lucas's outline. Several ideas came from these discussions, including the boulder trap, the monkey in Cairo, Toht burning the medallion's imprint into his hand, and government agents locking the Ark away. Kasdan realized Spielberg and Lucas had several set pieces in mind, but they were looking for someone else to do the hard work of piecing them together.Spielberg hated the name Indiana Smith, believing it would remind audiences of the Steve McQueen character Nevada Smith. All three men agreed to use the surname "Jones" instead. The Indiana Jones character was based on actors Clint Eastwood and Toshiro Mifune, and the fictional character James Bond. Lucas also wanted Jones to be a kung fu practitioner and a playboy, funding his lifestyle with the spoils of his adventures, but Spielberg and Kasdan felt the character was complicated enough being an adventurer and archaeologist. Spielberg suggested making Jones an avid gambler or an alcoholic, but Lucas wanted Jones to be a role model who is "honest and true and trusting." Both men felt it was important Jones be fallible, vulnerable, and as capable of comedic moments as well as serious ones. They intended him to be someone the audience could relate to and idolize. Lucas suggested Marion would have a romantic past, at the age of 11, with the much older Jones; Spielberg replied, "she had better be older".
While Spielberg directed 1941, Kasdan used his office to write Raiders, taking inspiration from early 20th-century serials and adventure films like Red River, Seven Samurai, and The Magnificent Seven. He wrote Jones as an antihero, an archaeologist reduced to grave-robbing. Kasdan wanted a supporting cast with their own unique characteristics and believed it was important these characters had a memorable impact. He described how the hardest part of writing was explaining how Jones would fall into successive dangerous events and survive, and how he traveled between locations. In August 1978, after approximately five months, Kasdan completed his first draft.
Spielberg described the draft as good but too long; Kasdan and Lucas collaborated to trim and refine it. The script was a globe-spanning tale set in the United States, Egypt, Greece, and Nepal. Several elements were cut, including a journey to Shanghai that would lead to a minecart chase and Jones using a gong to shield himself from gunfire, ideas later used in the prequel Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. To his frustration, much of Kasdan's love story between Jones and Marion was trimmed, as were scenes showing the mutual attraction between Marion and Belloq. The screenplay was completed by December 1979.