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Author Topic: #413: Raiders of the Lost Ark / Top 5 Films of 1981  (Read 7677 times)

1SO

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#413: Raiders of the Lost Ark / Top 5 Films of 1981
« on: September 11, 2012, 04:23:35 PM »
In anticipation of this episode, I wanted to get a jump and repost my review explaining why Raiders is my #6 film of All Time.



Raiders of the Lost Ark
We are simply passing through history. This... this is history.

Raiders of the Lost Ark is the greatest Summer movie ever made. It's not the greatest action film, barely losing to Die Hard which is more dramatic and less escapist, but no film better evokes the communal joy of air conditioning and hot buttered popcorn than the initial adventure of Indiana Jones. I've rewatched a lot of Spielberg recently and this shows him at the peak of his powers, deftly mixing action and adventure with character, heart and first-rate production values. (It's a close call for sure, but this is John Williams' best score.) Any one of the well-known action set pieces could be the climax of a great film, but just as much thought and imagination went into the other scenes.

Credit must be shared by the dream team who put the script together, screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan working from a story by Philip Kaufman and Executive Producer George Lucas (back when he was good at this stuff.) The story captures the excitement and awe of the old time Saturday Matinee serials it pays tribute to, and is so much better than any of them. Our great hero Indiana Jones uses not just a gun, but a whip (so cool). His travels around the world put him in constant danger, though he's only afraid of snakes, and he's the opposite of a confident bad ass.

Indiana Jones: I'm going after that truck.
Sallah: How?
Indiana Jones: I don't know, I'm making this up as I go!

I think William Goldman wrote about how Indiana Jones always has audience sympathy because if you track him through the film, he ultimately fails at everything he does. From the initial golden idol to the final scene, everything he goes after is taken from him and we love him for it. Along the way, he mixes up with a great cast of characters, many of whom were unable to have much of a career after Raiders. Take Ronald Lacey, channeling Peter Lorre as Nazi weasel Toht. He's amazing in this film, but google him and you'll find more about his face melting than about his acting career.


There are a couple of patches of disbelief. I still don't know how Marion didn't die in the truck. Indy says something about how they must have switched baskets, but we hear her as she's loaded in. Besides, how and why would they switch baskets? There's also the big credibility stretch of Indy hitchhiking on a submarine. In exchange for these trespasses we get the opening chamber of traps, the market fight, the Well of Souls, the airplane battle (featuring the muscular mechanic in what is probably the best action fistfight in cinema), the jaw-dropping truck chase and the special effects finale. (How interesting that the film decides not to end in another action sequence.)

You could argue that Raiders isn't very deep, but there's an interesting scene late in the film when Paul Freeman as Belloq makes an impassioned plea to Dr. Jones about preserving archaeological discoveries, that they are more important than the people who wish to possess them. Besides, Raiders is a movie deeply in love with movies made by a team of extremely talented fanboys purely for our entertainment pleasure. It's one of the Top 10 films of All Time.

MartinTeller

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Re: #413: Raiders of the Lost Ark / Top 5 Films of 1981
« Reply #1 on: September 11, 2012, 05:11:22 PM »
My top 5 10 for 1981:

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. Elippathayam (Rat-Trap)
3. 36 Chowringhee Lane
4. My Dinner With Andre
5. Thief
6. Das Boot
7. School in the Crosshairs a.k.a. The Aimed School
8. Sadgati (Deliverance)
9. Pikoor Diary
10. Pixote

Jared

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Re: #413: Raiders of the Lost Ark / Top 5 Films of 1981
« Reply #2 on: September 11, 2012, 05:51:22 PM »
1) Blow Out
2) Pixote
3) Das Boot
4) Body Heat
5) The Road Warrior
6) Raiders of the Lost Ark
7) Modern Romance
8.) Prince of the City
9) Vernon, Florida
10) Thief

tough leaving off Reds

Antares

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Re: #413: Raiders of the Lost Ark / Top 5 Films of 1981
« Reply #3 on: September 12, 2012, 12:35:08 PM »
Das Boot
The Road Warrior
Gallipoli
Escape from New York
On Golden Pond


@!SO, I think you'll have a new number 1 for this year after you watch Das Boot.
Masterpiece (100-91) | Classic (90-80) | Entertaining (79-69) | Mediocre (68-58) | Cinemuck (57-21) | Crap (20-0)

1SO

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Re: #413: Raiders of the Lost Ark / Top 5 Films of 1981
« Reply #4 on: September 12, 2012, 01:09:27 PM »
@1SO, I think you'll have a new number 1 for this year after you watch Das Boot.

You understand the steep odds against this, right?

Antares

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Re: #413: Raiders of the Lost Ark / Top 5 Films of 1981
« Reply #5 on: September 12, 2012, 03:08:19 PM »
@1SO, I think you'll have a new number 1 for this year after you watch Das Boot.

You understand the steep odds against this, right?

But I also believe that I'll win the lottery some day too!  ;)
Masterpiece (100-91) | Classic (90-80) | Entertaining (79-69) | Mediocre (68-58) | Cinemuck (57-21) | Crap (20-0)

Totoro

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Re: #413: Raiders of the Lost Ark / Top 5 Films of 1981
« Reply #6 on: September 12, 2012, 06:14:35 PM »
Top 10 of 1981
01. My Dinner with Andre
02. Raiders of the Lost Ark
03. The Fox and the Hound
04. The Aviator's Wife
05. Vernon, Florida
06. Diva
07. The Great Muppet Caper
08. Chariots of Fire
09. Absence of Malice (Revisit needed)
10. The Road Warrior (Revisit needed)


Alan Smithee

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Re: #413: Raiders of the Lost Ark / Top 5 Films of 1981
« Reply #7 on: September 14, 2012, 05:16:38 PM »
The fact that Possesion was left of any list or honorable mention is just disgraceful.

Also some not mentioned Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains, Cutters Way, Lola, Tales of Ordinary Madness, True Confessions, The Woman Next Door, Cannonbal Run anyone?

oneaprilday

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Re: #413: Raiders of the Lost Ark / Top 5 Films of 1981
« Reply #8 on: September 14, 2012, 05:47:16 PM »
1) Michael Phillips is dead to me.

2) The curtain rod. Holden is one awesome kid. (And I'm really happy he's reading the book first, before he sees the movie! I'm with Josh on that argument.)

MartinTeller

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Re: #413: Raiders of the Lost Ark / Top 5 Films of 1981
« Reply #9 on: September 14, 2012, 06:32:20 PM »
The fact that Possesion was left of any list or honorable mention is just disgraceful.

Also some not mentioned Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains, Cutters Way, Lola, Tales of Ordinary Madness, True Confessions, The Woman Next Door, Cannonbal Run anyone?

The Woman Next Door
Cutters Way
Lola

Tales of Ordinary Madness
Possession


 

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