Raiders Of The Lost Ark!

Raiders of the Lost Ark hit the big screen in 1981. Ronald Reagan was beginning his first term as president of these United States beginning a slow steady decline which has gotten us finally into the mess we find ourselves in today. We didn't know how good we had it when Ronnie began his assault on the public good and even the whole idea of a public good. But even then we needed some escape from the rigors of life and Steven Spielberg's not-so-little action flick was an ideal choice for a moviegoer looking to forget the real world. 

Indiana Jones was one tough nut. As the movie begins, we're not even certain he's a good guy. And truth told it takes most of the movie for him to figure that out. He's not a villain for sure, but is he a hero? At many points in the movie it's questionable. He's a compulsive figure who seeks ancient secrets and does so at no small cost to those around him. Harrison Ford's portrayal is ideal and it's of course impossible now to imagine someone in that role. Tom Selleck was apparently all set to do it when Magnum P.I. got in the way. I think we're lucky in that regard in that as charming as Selleck can be in his roles, he lacks the mean streak that allows us to believe even for a moment that Indiana can fight as he does. Shooting the swordsman is an ideal example of a man who is pragmatic and not overcome by whimsical notions of good and evil. 

It's been a few years since I watched this movie again and I'd forgotten how good the other parts are. Karen Allen is vivacious and believable as the tough-as-nails broad who lives on her own in Nepal and drinks larger men under the table for cash. Paul Freeman is vile and charming all at once as Indy's counterpart who pretends not to be as bad as the Nazis but turns out is. John Rhy-Davies makes his impression as the passionate and loyal Sallah. There are several highlights (the giant rock, discovery of the Ark's hidden site, the pragmatic battle with the swordsman, and more) but for me the sequence where Indy takes on the whole of the Nazi forces for control of the truck and so control of the Ark is one of the most exciting fight sequences ever filmed. It hovers on the edge of believability, and it is in fact incredibly, but in the frame of the film it holds the viewer fast. 

According to Spielberg he wanted to make a movie on time and on budget. With the help of George Lucas as producer he did just that with a movie I don't think either of them imagined would spawn the franchise it became. They made a movie that's at once cynical and yet offers up hope in something greater than ourselves, if we don't lose track of what's important. It's all too easy to do. Just ask those of us who still remember Ronald Reagan. 

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