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Raiders of the Lost Ark
As a film critic, I would like to think that the great movies are enlightening experiences. It is easy for me to review a film by Martin Scorsese or Werner Herzog and make a statement about their films being mirrors for the human experience—commentaries and visual essays that challenge our society as well as energize our senses. But at the end of the day, I admit that while I strive for intellectual topics and engaging themes in my cinematic preferences, there is that part of me that, dog gonnit, just likes to be entertained. Sometimes, all I ask is that a film hold me at the edge of my seat—to allow me to escape from my own world and to engage in my fantasies; to make me hold my breath until my face is blue; to cause me to bite my lip in anticipation, laugh at the thrill and, though it all, to never insult my intelligence. For this type of full-throttled, popcorn entertainment, there is the Indiana Jones trilogy, and then there is everything else. They are the sum-total of every B-movie, action thriller/serial that ever came before them, and they have never been equaled in terms of excitement, pure joy, or family entertainment by any film since. Raiders of the Lost Ark is the first of the series about the now archetypal adventurer/archeologist Indiana Jones, and it remains the best of the lot. As the title reveals, it is about Dr. Jones’ search for the lost Ark of the Covenant, the mythical Hebrew box said to contain the original tablets of the Ten Commandments, penned by the hand of God Himself. With such tablets comes enough power to rule the world—I don’t quite remember that particular detail in the Old Testament, but never mind. The story takes place a few years before the United States enters World War II, and the plot concerns Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford)—a square-jawed, American archeologist touting a bullwhip, a leather jacket, and a fedora—assigned to find the Ark before the Nazis, who want to use the supernatural powers contained within it to win the war. Indy must first beat the Reich in finding an ancient medallion that will reveal the Ark’s secret location in the hot, sandy hills of Egypt, and from there, his adventure is only beginning: We watch as Dr. Jones (who prefers the nickname “Indy”) takes a world tour through jungles, deserts, oceans, and fortresses. Along the way, he crosses paths with a competitive (and more sinister) archeologist (a superbly charismatic Paul Freeman), dodges gigantic boulders, booby traps, poison darts, angry natives, and pits of snakes. Lots and lots of snakes. There is also a girl (Karen Allen), but of course, you knew that. The above plot works exactly how it should: It is a means to an end, in order to place Indy in one seemingly impossible complication after another and watch how he gets out of them. But on second thought, it is really a means to an end? Here is a plotline about conspiracies, fantastic adventures, battles with Nazis, oceans of snakes, and supernatural forces, but there is something to admire here about the respect and reverence that director Steven Spielberg treats this material. He claims that he shot Raiders as nothing more than an old, B-serial, only with bigger special effects. That in itself makes it an effective homage to the fun, childhood excitement of yesteryear, and it also treats its audience with respect by returning to the great joys of older filmmaking styles. Thus, Raiders becomes a reminder for parents (and by now, grandparents) who remember the adventures that they once watched, and it also works as a segue to introduce a younger generation to such innocent thrills. Practically every moment of screen time is devoted to action sequences or building up to them, yet we never tire of the relentless energy. That’s because though it all, director Steven Spielberg never strikes the wrong note. He successfully balances plot and character development amidst the action spectacles. As a result, everything works together to create a complete cinematic experience: Every action sequence is breathtaking yet remarkably believable, consistently topping the one before it. In addition, every plot development is preposterously tour-de-force, every punch that’s thrown is crunching and startlingly realistic (though mostly bloodless), every shot looks great and epic (thanks to cinematography by Douglas Slocombe) and the now-famous music by John Williams might be the greatest film score of all time. Much of the success is due to Harrison Ford’s straight-forward approach to Indiana Jones, who creates a wide-cracking, hard-boiled adventurer loaded with more depth than the average action hero. After a while of watching his feats, your bones hurt for Indy, but he remains determined, resilient, and stubborn. Since Raiders of the Lost Ark first hit the scene, comparisons have been made between Indy and James Bond. While I think that the films have similarities—thrilling action openings, the talking villain, the infiltration of underground fortresses, chase sequences—Indy and Bond have very little in common, with the exception of the charismatic gleams in their eyes. Just compare Bond’s composure in chase sequences with Indy’s panicked expressions: Bond is suave and confident, as if he is aware that he is the hero of a movie and knows that he is never in real danger. On the other hand, Indy grunts, groans, grits his teeth, and screams as he is dragged behind a Nazi jeep. He does not want to be a hero; he is simply interested in being an archeologist. If Bond is a sum-total of British pride, Indy is the American forced into the spotlight. Indy also has a lot more personality that Bond, which creates a great deal of the film’s humor. After a daring trek through the jungle in which he is betrayed by his men, almost entombed in a fortress, and then attacked by the locals, Indy makes his daring escape and survives—only to be terrified by his pilot’s pet snake (“Aw, have a little backbone,” the pilot answers). In addition, you’ll never hear Bond mutter, “I’m making this up as I go,” but this line more or less is the essence of Indiana Jones’ strategy to save the day. He seems as surprised that he is getting away with his antics as his enemies are (and for that matter, us). In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Spielberg and his team has created what is probably the most thrilling adventure movie of all time, and on top of that, it is witty, frightening, romantic, and clever. It is one thing to create an action spectacle to wow an audience with stunts and special effects, but it is another thing to respect the audience by inspiring their imagination with a truly original idea and reminding them of an era of innocence, when the heroes were actually heroic and the villains were truly villainous. Raiders of the Lost Ark is a love letter to the B-movie, when the bad guy in black still tied the heroine to the railroad track and the good guy, on his noble steed, leapt to the rescue. Only this time, the heroine is resourceful and brave, and before the good guy can get to her, he probably has to infiltrate the enemy airport, steal a plane, parachute in, battle an army for a horse, and then outrun the steaming locomotive. You get the idea. A.KA. Indiana Jones and
the Raiders of the Lost Ark Cast: Questions? Comments? E-mail me: danel_the_tinman@hotmail.com |
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