Reely Bernie Faves: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) perfected the adventure movie and broke new ground on the relic hunting culture we see on our screens today. Let’s face it: Without Raiders, there would be no Dora the Explorer, National Treasure, Nathan Drake, or even Animal Crossing!

The hunt for the holy relic is in our blood, and no gigantic rolling boulder, legion of Nazis, or pit of snakes are going to stop our legendary hero, Indiana Jones.

After probably my dozenth viewing of this action-packed classic, I am still in awe at not just the tangible filmmaking effects, pyrotechnics, and actual stunt work (no CGI in 1981), but also John Williams’s complementary film score.

This is Director Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece, no doubt, but the correlation between melodic theme and characters (the leitmotif) is just as exciting as the action, and Williams deserves all the credit. Heck, even The Ark gets a theme, and when it is first seen in a dusty textbook at the Marshall College lecture hall, the music becomes hauntingly cerebral, foreshadowing doom and gloom for poor professor Jones.

Burly, dusty-mugged Harrison Ford is fantastic in the first of the what is a 5-movie series. (None of the nostalgic magic is captured or celebrated respectfully in the recent bummer, Dial of Destiny.)

Raiders of the Lost Ark is Spielberg’s ode to his favorite movie, Lawrence of Arabia (1962), with the additional touch of a B-movie blockbuster. (“B-movie” was actually his intention.) Spielberg and producer George Lucas ended up creating an adventure movie travelogue for dozens of movies, television shows, and video games to follow. Arrow-spray booby traps, Luftwaffe aircraft explosions, and a non-stop car chase continue to flood our memories and hold their place in Hollywood lore.

For me today, it’s all about John Williams’s music, which embodies a second hero and enhances the archeological hunt. With leitmotifs attached to clues, we hear just as much adventure as we see. And, yes, what we see is natural and authentic when compared to the overabundance of CGI in today’s movies. When Indiana Jones is your protagonist with a built-in musical theme most moviegoers recognize, it quickly becomes more about the adventure than the special effects.

Reely Bernie Faves:

1. Amadeus (1984)

2. Magnolia (1999)

3. Poltergeist (1982)

4. Pulp Fiction (1994)

5. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

6. The Godfather Part II (1974)

7. Weekend at Bernie’s (1989)

8. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

9. Goodfellas (1990)

10. Nosferatu (1922)

11. Pollock (2000)

12. Kicking and Screaming (1995)

13. Jaws (1975)

14. Fargo (1996)

15. Citizen Kane (1941)

16. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

17. The Endless Summer (1966)

18. Back to the Future (1985)

19. Angel Heart (1987)

20. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

21. The Goonies (1985)

22. Trainspotting (1996)

23. King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)

24. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

25. Bambi (1942)

26. The Paradise Lost Trilogy (1996-2011)

27. Psycho (1960)

28. Parenthood (1989)

29. Swingers (1996)

30. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

31. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

32. Smoke (1995)

33. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

34. A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

35. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

36. City of God (2002)

37. 1917 (2019)

38. Black Swan (2010)

39. School of Rock (2003)

40. Mulholland Drive (2001)

41. Groundhog Day (1993)

42. If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

43. The Greatest Showman (2017)

44. National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)

45. The Florida Project (2017)

46. Cinema Paradiso (1988)

47. So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)

48. Shadowlands (1993)

49. Steve Jobs (2015)

50. ¡Three Amigos! (1986)