Raiders of the Lost Ark is my favorite film.
Luckily, during Raiders’ 35th Anniversary, I was able to catch a screening at my local theater.
Even in a film featuring perhaps the greatest action sequence ever filmed — the legendary desert chase — Raiders’ climax doesn’t see Indy throw any punches or take on baddies such as Belloq mano-a-mano.
The scene starts off with Indy celebrating the opportunity to go after the Ark but changes its tone when Marcus warns Indy not to take this particular quest lightly.
Later, in the Map Room at the Tanis archeological dig, Indy discovers the location of the Ark using the Staff of Ra.
Another great bit occurs when Indy and Sallah unearth the “Lost Ark,” a sequence drenched in shadows and a haunting underscore.
Around the hour and a half mark, there’s also a brief 20-second moment in which the Ark burns a Nazi swastika off the cover of a crate while nearby rats wither and freak out amidst its tremendous power.
Were people thrilled? Appalled? Stunned? Despite all the clues and foreshadowing, it’s likely most didn’t expect that — melting faces, exploding heads, lasers, and terrifying ghosts? Everything in this moment is such a radical departure from the rest of the film, I’d imagine most viewers back then were just as stunned as my young daughters were a few weeks ago, during which they could only watch in stunned silence at the carnage on screen.
But it really is the shocking horror aspects that push Raiders high above and beyond its many imitators, where it continues to stand triumphantly as an incredible masterpiece even four decades after its original release.