Forty years since filming began, this whip-cracking adventure still delivers the (plundered) goods.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman
Running time: 115 minutes
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark is the first of the famous movie franchise, starring Harrison Ford as the rough-and-ready university professor turned explorer, who races off to far-flung corners of the globe in search of ancient relics for museums - in exchange for a small fee.
In this particular instalment, Indy is tipped off that the long-lost Ark of the Covenant has finally been tracked down, and there’s a race to get to it before the Nazis do. Worse still, Indy’s professional rival Belloq has also joined the search.
I was wary about reviewing one of my childhood favourites. Indiana Jones has always been, for me, the epitome of adventure and excitement. What if I re-watched this classic only to find it riddled with racist stereotypes, the problematic looting of religious relics and cultural appropriation?
Thank goodness, it wasn’t as bad as I feared. Although the main character is a white, middle-class, middle-aged man, he works in respectful partnership with his Egyptian colleagues – his friendship with Sallah the tomb raider being a particularly touching and, at times, comical part of the film. Indiana also often takes the moral high ground, despite being driven by money. Belloq sarcastically comments that Indiana “gives mercenaries a bad name,” when he threatens to destroy the Ark rather seeing the Nazis weaponise it.
This film gave birth to so many tropes, you’ll be seeing nods to it everywhere
It needs to be said here that this is a review of Raiders only; the rest of the franchise fails to avoid racist stereotypes, and I think Temple of Doom may struggle to wash its face today. We also can’t gloss over the fact that – as other films like Monuments Men and National Treasure have reminded us – the fragments of other cultures are often hoarded like trophies by those in power. Indy is essentially stealing artefacts, and here it is glorified for the sake of the big screen.
Though, gosh, it’s an action packed, brilliantly retro film. Bar fights, explosions, jungles, deserts, tombs, romance, snakes and spiders…this film really does try to pack everything in.
If I’m looking for any more faults to pick, Indy’s love interest, Marion, leaves something to be desired. She can drink like a sailor and likes a fight, but she quickly undermines her own kick-ass front with a series of wailing and crying scenes as she continuously relies on Indiana to save her at every turn.
Alas, I can’t dig any more holes in this film. If you haven’t embraced this classic, please do. John Williams’ iconic score, the much-repeated scene with a giant boulder booby-trap, the last-minute grab for a hat… this film gave birth to so many tropes, you’ll be seeing nods to it everywhere.
Just don’t watch The Crystal Skull.
Did you know? According to director Steven Spielberg, the film is designed as a tribute to filmmaking and contains nods to a multitude of films. For example, the final scene is a reference to the conclusion of Citizen Kane, and Star Wars characters RD-D2 and C-3PO make a cameo as hieroglyphics.
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