Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark.

WH-TSH

(That was a the sound of a bullwhip in case it wasn't completely obvious, which it totally was, okay?)

Today we're talking Raiders! My favourite film of all time ever!*

Yes dear reader, it's gotten to that stage when I've run out of relevant things to say and so I'm just going to chat to you about why Raiders is so perfect in my eyes.

From the very opening, as the words "South America, 1936" appear on the screen (actually Hawaii, fact fans!), you can see from Spielberg's lush cinematography that you're in for a visual treat, the sound of a rainforest fills your ears and you see a convoy of men (and their donkeys!) cross before your eyes.

The leader of the pack is none other than Harrison Ford as the fedora-wearing, gun-toting, whip-wielding Dr Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones Jr.

Indy ponders the idol...

But we don't know that yet.

The opening sequence which sees Indy steeling the Hovitos' fertility idol and narrowly avoid a smushing under a giant boulder is one which has been imitated, referenced and parodied many a time in popular culture and rightly so, the imagery is striking, stunningly original but remaining, at heart, a beautiful pastiche to the world of the televised adventure serial that inspired the Indiana Jones series.

What goes follows is an adrenaline fuelled romp around the world which sees simple story telling at its' best. Not only is Raiders a pure action-adventure film, it manages to tell a story while still retaining its' awe and spectacle, a feat not many modern films manage.

Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood.

Not only is the story a simple yet entertaining jaunt, it manages to feel perfectly at home in the 1930's while doing away with many of the more negative aspects of the decade, for instance, Karen Allen as Indy's jilted love interest, Marion Ravenwood is a classic example of how feisty female companions can really add to a story. In fact, Ravenwood as a character manages to keep up with, challenge, annoy and seduce Indy making her one of the most well-rounded and believable heroines in cinematic history. While she does her fair share of screaming in fear, she also lands our hero a punch on the jaw and shows that she can hold her own as much as 'The Man in the Hat'.

Paul Freeman as René Belloq.

While Indy and co. are taking on the wider enemy of Nazism it is, in fact, René Belloq that is Indy's main rival in his search for the Ark of the Covenant. The classic device of making the enemy, as Belloq puts it, "A shadowy reflection" of our hero is employed with masterful relish by writer Kazan and actor Paul Freeman, who amongst the Indiana Jones audience doesn't wish that at least 'The Last Crusade' featured Belloq, however, his death at the end of Raiders is a wonderful image that will haunt and entertain for decades to come.

From the amazingly thrilling set pieces, such as Indy being dragged behind the truck, the boulder chase and Indy's daring escape from the Well of Souls to the more tender moments he shares with Marion on board the Bantu Wind, Raiders is the ultimate balance of action, sentimentality, golden-age heroics and, most importantly of all, adventure.

The fact of the matter is that I could postulate for hours on end about Raiders and the entire Indiana Jones series, but I shan't, these highlights will have to suffice for now, and who knows, maybe one day when I run out of other things to blog about, I'll once more reach for the fedora and the whip and share some more of my thoughts on everyone's favourite archaeologist.

Until next time, gang, and remember, you throw me the idol, I'll throw you the whip!

*By the parameter "of all time ever" excludes those films which I have yet to see, read "of all the films I've seen, this is my favourite!"