The thrills are fully consumed while you’re seeing this movie, and it’s totally over when it’s over. It’s a workout. You feel as if you’d been to the desert digs: at the end your mind is blank, yet you’re parched, you’re puffing hard -- you want relief.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:47
Fresh:44
Rotten:3
Average Rating:8.8/10
Consensus: Featuring bravura set pieces, sly humor, and white-knuckle action, Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the most consummately entertaining adventure pictures of all time.
Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
US Box Office: $0
Synopsis: Action-packed and adventure-filled, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is director Steven Spielberg's loving homage to the Saturday matinee cliffhanger serials of his childhood. When the Allies discover the... Action-packed and adventure-filled, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is director Steven Spielberg's loving homage to the Saturday matinee cliffhanger serials of his childhood. When the Allies discover the Nazis are planning to use the Lost Ark of the Covenant as a weapon, the U.S. government enlists archaeologist-adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) to locate the biblical treasure chest where the remains of the broken tablets of the Ten Commandments were placed. En route, Jones and his feisty ex-girlfriend, Marion (Karen Allen), must escape the clutches of evil Nazis, duplicitous "natives," and a nest of venomous snakes--not to mention the wrath of God. The groundbreaking special effects and furious, never-ending pace make for a stylish whirlwind of a movie, topped off with a fabulous sense of humor. This bare-knuckled, barnstorming, pot-boiling, eye-popping bucket of Technicolor popcorn became Paramount Pictures' highest-grossing film, and deservedly so--RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is quite simple one of the most enjoyable movies ever made. [More]
Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey
Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliott, Alfred Molina
Director: Steven Spielberg
Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriter: Lawrence Kasdan
Story: George Lucas, Philip Kaufman
Producer: Frank Marshall
Composer: John Williams
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Reviews for Raiders of the Lost Ark
Justifiably one of the most indelible adventure films in cinematic history...
It's the perfect vacation-time movie: not a serious moment in its whole two hours but so crammed with laughter, thrills and cinematic sleight of hand that audiences will be sorry when it's over.
Lost Ark holds up for many reasons, not least of which is because of Spielberg's consummate skill as a visual storyteller and his ability to draw charged performances from his actors.
The postmodern heir to North By Northwest...Like any deathless classic, Raiders is a perfect marriage of star and material.
...despite the fast pace, the movie is never frenetic or tiring, just pure, unadulterated fun throughout.
...lets us indulge in childish thrills without feeling silly about it.
Vastly entertaining, Spielberg's adventure herladed a new breed of Hollywood blockbuster (and event film), a tale that combines classic Hollywood story-telling, playful postmodern sensibility and spectacular stunts presented in rapid-fire pacing.
...a crackerjack fantasy-adventure that shapes its pulp sensibilities and cliff-hanging serial origins into an exhilarating escapist entertainment that will have broad-cased summer audiences in the palm of its hand.
One would think that a collaboration between Steven Spielberg and George Lucas would produce something better than this giggly pastiche of a Republic serial...
New Hollywood moguls Spielberg and Lucas teamed up to create the first -- and best -- of their extremely popular plunderings of old adventure serials ... In retrospect, it also appears as a precise pop-culture inauguration of Reagan-era retro Americanism.
Whether you swallow it or not, see it for a handful of totally unexpected visual jokes, worth the price of admission alone.
Classic action set pieces, Harrison Ford at his swashbuckling best, Old Testament spirituality, and a satiric jab at Nazi anti-Semitism.
This is the kind of movie that, even today, audiences immediately fall in love with. It has all the right ingredients: a smart script, a likable hero, a dash of romance, more than a touch of comedy, and a lot of fast-paced action.
Throughout the film, Spielberg evokes the kind of armchair-clutching action sequences that remind us why they're called motion pictures.
You'd have to be a heathen to argue with the fact that Raiders of the Lost Ark stands as the best action-adventure movie ever made.
Latest News for Raiders of the Lost Ark
July 28, 2008:
Lucas Considers a Fifth Indiana Jones ![]()
George Lucas is bringing Clone Wars to a theater near you, getting down to work on the Tuskegee Airmen-inspired Red Tails, and -- oh yeah -- contemplating a fifth Indiana Jones... More...
July 16, 2008:
Exclusive: The World of WALL-E
The artists behind this year's freshest film share their story with RT, with exclusive contributions from Andrew Stanton, Ben Burtt, Jim Morris, Lindsay Collins, Angus MacLane,... More...
May 21, 2008:
Indiana Jonesin': How Does the Latest Chapter Measure Up?
Everyone has their favorite Indiana Jones movie -- and their own thoughts on if Raiders of the Ark is better than Last Crusade. (Sorry, Temple of Doom -- there's no contest). ... More...
May 12, 2008:
RT on DVD: Indiana Jones Box Set, Narnia in Blu-ray, and a Porn Virus Epidemic?
Spaced, the UK cult hit series, is finally headed to the States this summer - but guess what's here now? A 3-disc Indiana Jones DVD collection and Narnia in Blu-ray! (Plus, we... More...
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