Raiders of the Lost Ark

Happy 1 year anniversary to No Bad Movies. We did it, and all of you kept me going. 22,000 + hits in one year is nothing to sneeze at and I appreciate it. With my 365th review, I'm gonna write about/ geek out over a film that some (Me) have called the greatest movie of ALL time. Raiders of the Lost Ark is probably the film I have seen the most in my life. It is one of the all time great fictitious characters ever created. I don't think Indiana Smith would have been as successful, as that was the original name before Jones was tagged in. I am also glad Tom Selleck had other stuff to do, so we got another healthy dose of Harrison Ford. I do think it is the greatest opening scene in history. Think about it. Old cave with the golden fertility god, betrayal, and booty traps...that's what I said, booby traps. Spielberg wastes no time showing us the whip and how effective it can be, and we also see Indy's will to win, but also survive. The boulder chasing him down, with that little trip down to one knee [not scripted] is the most exciting 30 seconds possible. Right when it's over, we meet Belloq. Belloq is a punk. He lets hard working archeologists do the work, and then he takes what he wants by force. Indy must retreat with his life, but no god, to fight another day. We also see how fast Indy is. Those natives had a beat on him, but all of the sudden he opens up an uncloseable gap with them. If the opening 10 minutes does not do the best character development ever, then I don't know what does. Of course I was a wee lad the first time I saw this, but one would think that the rest of the film would be of Indy chasing Belloq to get back the fertility god, but that is not the case. It gets way deeper than that. He is going after the Ark of the covenant. This is the Ark which holds/held the 10 commandments, and is said to be a line to God. Indy must find it, because if he doesn't then the Nazi's will. To say the least, Indy is not a puss. He is unafraid of Nazi's, jilted ex lovers, using pistols, whips, or bazookas. He is however terrified of snakes. This does give us a great stand off with him and a King Cobra. I don't know of a film with this much action, backed up by this solid of a plot, and a slew of characters everyone can identify with. Indy will stop at nothing until every artifact known to man is IN A MUSEUM!!! He loves his job, and he does not do it for the fortune and glory. He just wants to educate people. And another thing, I bet he has tenure as a college professor. There is no way anyone would not be let go for only teaching a week out of each semester. He is off fighting evil, being kidnapped, saving lives and I love every second of it. The funny part about Raiders is the fact that if it hadn't been for him and his knowledge along with his contacts, the Nazi's may have never found the Ark. At the same time, it was his knowledge that saved his and Marion's lives. I don't know what else to say. It surpassed it's 30 year anniversary a few weeks back and I look forward to watching it several hundred more times. Everyone who knows me, knows I love this character and the entire series. That's right, even the 4th one. I hope a 5th installment is given to us as I will cherish more screen time with my favorite fictional American hero - Henry "Indiana" Jones III. I could go on and on, but I am sure you have all seen these films, so I will leave it at that. Thank you to all who read, and though daily posts may not continue, I will continue writing about anything new I see, whether it be DVD or Theater releases. Expect to get 3 reviews a week till the day I die. This upcoming week is a big one. Expect Source Code, Crazy Stupid Love, and Cowboys & Aliens this weekend. I guess we will have to wait and see when the streak ends. As for the 7 other authors that wrote a combined 14 reviews, I thank you as well. 

NBM rates Raiders of the Lost Ark - A Work of Cinematic Art