Raiders of the Lost Ark: On-This-Day Thursday
Every Thursday, an older film released on this opening weekend years ago will be reviewed. They can be classics, or simply popular films that happened to be released to the world on the same date.
For June 11th, we are going to have a look at Raiders of the Lost Ark
Before Indiana Jones was one of pop culture’s most recognizable names, he was a figure of mystery. When Stephen Spielberg was still at least considerably a part of the New Hollywood movement (and not the very definition of saturated Hollywood), he was trying to tick off which films styles begged to be revisited. The monster picture was Jaws. The science fiction drama was Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Eventually he sparked a huge wave of fantasy and/or sci-fi family pictures with E.T.. So, Raiders of the Lost Ark was meant to be his way of paying tribute to the old adventure films of the ‘30s and ‘40s, where logic and problem solving was fifty percent of the action, and unexplainable phenomena was the remainder. The film doesn’t play around, either. It jumps right into this archetype at full speed, with booby traps and stunts and hidden treasures. Plus, a gigantic boulder doesn’t hurt (except that it would hurt literally everyone).
So, I can examine Raiders of the Lost Ark on two fronts. Firstly, as an homage to an old style of narrative, it excels in bringing back that retro glory. A good portion of Raiders feels purposefully dated, as if this is what Spielberg misses from mainstream films (now that he’s responsible for the first wave of “blockbusters” ever, he could do whatever he wanted). I’m talking about the to-the-point plot that skips around needing time to really build upon characters and setting (although Raiders does a great job at detailing story on the fly), and even a number of shots and ideas (the snake pit seems like something straight out of a ‘30s film).
Indiana Jones figuring out how to steal a golden idol.
Then, we have Spielberg not forgetting what year he’s in. Raiders feels like an older film, but it looks as fresh as anything out of the early ‘80s (well, excluding some of the more dated parts like the ghoulish climax). I may give Spielberg a lot of flack even in more positive reviews of his works, but I have to admit that he is always aware of what cinematic tools he has at his disposal at any given time. Even if a particular film isn’t his best, you can’t argue that it isn’t completely up to date in how it is shot or produced. Raiders is no exception, yet it contains something I feel Spielberg has been lacking for years now: a touch of organic sloppiness. Spielberg films feel too pristine now. I wish we could get more of this Spielberg, where you feel like you’re a part of this ride because of how unpredictable the film feels; even if we can guess how the film will end, the trip to that point is still exciting. You actually feel like you’re going along for the ride. This feels like a human made it, and not a machine.
It takes a lot for an action film to be excused when it comes to a lack of exposition, and Raiders does a great job here. Most questions are answered quickly, and anything that isn’t clearly evident is a hidden secret (including how Indiana Jones knew about the secret in the film’s climax, which is scripted in code on an artifact in an earlier scene that Jones notices). Even the paranormal elements aren’t completely implausible, given the film’s flirtation with the unknown for the entire film (I mean, how do these traps get set up, and how do they actually work?). At the end of the day, Raiders is a kid’s film meant for older audiences, and it actually works. Every little bit is engaging in a variety of ways, either through humour, anticipation, fear, and celebration. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that the film is wonderful to look at and hear (especially with one of John Williams’ finer scores).
Jones and his crew digging for the location of the Ark of the Covenant.
Tossing in the Nazi plot thread is basically Spielberg’s way of ensuring this is really an ‘80s version of a Golden Age Hollywood film, although it at least isn’t dealing with then-modern propagandistic stances. The point is so much of Raiders of the Lost Ark is a sincere-yet-fun homage to the films of yesteryear, even down to the foundations of semblance. Is Raiders meant to be a hurrah-America romp? Only because the films it is inspired by were. Although that side of the film has maybe aged a tad poorly, it’s a bit easier to digest than similar films, given the bulk of the sincerity of the project (plus, this is the early ‘80s. Unfortunately, I feel the entire industry had a lot of playing catch-up to do).
Today, we have a few Indiana Jones films, including two sequels that miss the heart of the first film but capture the fun (and that Crystal Skull nonsense that missed the mark entirely). It’s become all about Indiana Jones himself. In case you haven’t noticed, I have not referred to this film as the newer title Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark because it was better when the film was about the mysteries of the world, plus the interesting lead character who inhabits this planet. Raiders was the first film to make that harmonious balance. With all of the emphasis on Jones — like he’s James Bond — you get a great character but a weaker series. It’s this franchise ordeal with the need to sell merchandise. While that’s all well and good, Raiders was the one time where it felt like an untapped universe: the marriage of mystical old cinema and the new wave. Before we knew all about Indiana Jones and the adventures he got up to, there was Raiders of the Lost Ark: a moment where anything could happen. It’s no wonder why it still holds up the best of any of these films (by leagues) forty years later.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.