Raiders Turns 35 Today!

[Probe Droid]

Grab your whips and Westeds, kids, because Raiders of the Lost Ark is 35 years old today! I don't know if it's a perfect film, but it's pretty damn close, and, along with The Wizard of Oz, is a film that almost everybody likes. Pure fun.

Thank you George, Steven, and Harrison. Well done, lads.

 

[doppelganger]

Why isnt in tv today? I know i have the dvds, blurays and probably some vhs tapes, somewhere.... BUT THATS NO THE POINT! Im gonna sit here dressed as indy for the rest of the day.

 

[Apollo]

Was there when it first premired, "It's not the age it's the mileage" :lol

Got my vintage Herbie on for the day! :thumbsup

 

[Scott D]

Raiders and the 1977 Star Wars are in a literal battle in my mind/heart to be my favorite movie.

They are both that great to me. :thumbsup

 

[matty matt]

Raiders and ESB always battle it out for my favorite movie of all time. I don't know if any movie can be perfect but Raiders comes pretty damn close for me.

And one one of my favorite things to look for...the Toht dummy. Never gets old!

 

[Jeyl]

The film still cheats in the end and I hate cheaters.

 

[CessnaDriver]

Greatest action adventure ever made and I suspect that will remain the case. Not to mention smack in the middle of one of the most creative eras of film. Glad I was a kid to enjoy it all then.

 

[Captain Dunsel]

Greatest action adventure ever made and I suspect that will remain the case. Not to mention smack in the middle of one of the most creative eras of film. Glad I was a kid to enjoy it all then.

Absolutely agree--the best action adventure film ever made. If Raiders isn't a "perfect movie" I don't know what is. Perfect score, story, cinematography, casting, performances, set design, special effects, practical stunts....it has it all.

Like Indiana's search for the lost ark, Hollywood has been spending the last 35 years trying to recapture its magic and have yet to do it (in my opinion).

 

[Mike J.]

Happy Birthday, Raiders!

 

[Jedioz]

Really, 35, doesn't look it :darnkids

 

[SpaceMind]

Best of the Indy series by far!

 

[Anakhron]

Hard to believe it has been that long. I remember seeing it at the theatre when it premiered and walking out afterward still on an adventure high...

 

[Lightning]

And one one of my favorite things to look for...the Toht dummy. Never gets old!

As I understand it, it's not actually a dummy, that's stuntman Peter Diamond. They told him not to move, so he didn't. The thread on the subject at COW has since been purged, unfortunately.

 

[matty matt]

As I understand it, it's not actually a dummy, that's stuntman Peter Diamond. They told him not to move, so he didn't. The thread on the subject at COW has since been purged, unfortunately.

There's no way that's a person! That's got to be a hat on a stick or something. Lol.

https://youtu.be/pXwyJbNKsg8

 

[dascoyne]

The most completely satisfying movie experience of my entire life was watching Raiders at the Regency Theater in San Francisco in 1981. (the place is now a nightclub)

Star Wars was the other moviegoing "high" for me but I wouldn't call SW "satisfying" as much as I would say that it left me "hungry" (In the best possible way.).

Raiders of the Lost Ark was a complete movie experience. Which is what makes it an arguably perfect film.

 

[Laspector]

When the initial buzz for this movie was going on (which was mostly in Starlog) I had just spent the last couple of years so utterly and completely immersed in Star Wars, I honestly had reservations about it. I mean c'mon, no spaceships, no ray guns? How am I supposed to get into this?

But I did go see it when it hit theaters and boy was I surprised! I was quite happy to admit that I was 100% wrong in my misgivings. Yeah, it is pretty much a perfect movie.

On another note, anyone care to discuss the theory that Indy serves no point in the movie? That he does absolutely nothing to affect the outcome of the movie? I'm sure you have all heard of this. I'm not, by any means, saying I agree with it, but anyone care to comment on it?

 

[robn1]

...anyone care to discuss the theory that Indy serves no point in the movie? That he does absolutely nothing to affect the outcome of the movie? I'm sure you have all heard of this. I'm not, by any means, saying I agree with it, but anyone care to comment on it?

I was going to bring that up. You could argue that the Nazis would have found Marion on their own eventually, so Indy did prevent her death in that case. But the overall outcome would have been the same without him. But not nearly as much fun

 

[CessnaDriver]

When the initial buzz for this movie was going on (which was mostly in Starlog) I had just spent the last couple of years so utterly and completely immersed in Star Wars, I honestly had reservations about it. I mean c'mon, no spaceships, no ray guns? How am I supposed to get into this?

But I did go see it when it hit theaters and boy was I surprised! I was quite happy to admit that I was 100% wrong in my misgivings. Yeah, it is pretty much a perfect movie.

On another note, anyone care to discuss the theory that Indy serves no point in the movie? That he does absolutely nothing to affect the outcome of the movie? I'm sure you have all heard of this. I'm not, by any means, saying I agree with it, but anyone care to comment on it?

Same here. SW was all consuming and I was already a Sci Fi nut. 1930s???? It's not even WWII yet with cool fighter planes!
Who cares! WTF is an "ark"?? a boat? what's this bible stuff? LOL And I think that was great because wow did it take us off guard huh?
I went back to see it so many times.

 

[matty matt]

I don't buy into the whole Indy doesn't matter thing. If he wasn't on that island at the end the Americans never would have recovered the ark and warehoused it up.

 

[Probe Droid]

I don't buy into the whole Indy doesn't matter thing.

Me neither.

The intercepted communique clearly tells us that the Nazis are hunting Abner to secure the headpiece, except when Toht arrives he learns that Abner is kaput, so dead end (literally). Toht reports back that Ravenhood passed away and there's no headpiece, so what 's the next move?

Belloq tells them that Abner's daughter probably has his possessions, but has no idea where she is, but guesses correctly that Indy knows, so if Toht follows Indy he'll likely get to Marion and the headpiece, which he does. It's not a coincidence that Toht is on the same plane as Indy. Much later, Indy also is the one who locates the Well of the Souls, so without him they wouldn't have found the Ark. You could argue that the baddies would have hit the right spot eventually and still found the Ark, but that' s conjecture.

So, no Indy, no Marion...no Marion, no headpiece...no headpiece, no Ark...no Ark, no movie. Indy is integral to the story's outcome.


So there!