The film world is a vast place, and yet where changes are concerned it appears as if this world is suffering from the biggest case of mass paranoia ever experienced. This is fair enough because sometimes an update is detrimental to the original product (Independence Day), yet it's forgotten that sometimes it actually works out well (I am one of those who preferred Apocalypse Now: Redux). The one most often hated in this regard is George Lucas, who made the horrendous crime of adding scenes that he always intended to be in his film. Personally I find the whole process kind of contradictory, we scream that too many directors make films for the masses instead of their own personal art, yet when a director decides to release a film the way they always intended it they are despised because the masses don't like the changes. This argument was first revealed to me in an episode of the hit animated series South Park. The episode in question saw the kids fighting the Evil Spielberg/Lucas duo who were attempting to re-release Raiders Of The Lost Ark with all new digital effects. I admit to laughing, but still I felt the episode was a little unfair on the directors themselves. Maybe this is why Paramount decided to keep a lid on the Indiana Jones DVDs for so long, yet despite hearing no official word I definitely noticed some touch ups to the effects of Raiders. The famous glass in front of the snake is now nicely invisible and the finale has been made more spectacular than ever. You know what else I realized? I still don't care. There are no additional scenes to slow the pace down, or completely change a characters personality, as Star Wars fans so frequently point out. It's simply been touched up in the area of effects, which were beginning to look a little dated anyway. As a result Raiders Of The Lost Ark remains the classic adventure film it always has been (Though I can still imagine there will be complaints, Ebert I'm looking at you.)
Raiders Of The Lost Ark was Steven Spielberg's homage to every Saturday matinee serial you have ever seen. It has action, adventure and Nazis (a common villain in the serials he was aping, mainly for the costumes and accents they offered.) It sees an intrepid archeologist named Indiana Jones going on a fantastic adventure to discover the lost Ark Of The Covenant, before the Nazis can find it and take over the world with the power of God.
That one simple sentence is all that is needed to summarize the plot of Raiders Of The Lost Ark (maybe with one more sentence if I want to go from start to finish) and that simple story has been the cause of much contention among a few of the more particular critics. It's been claimed that the film doesn't develop any themes and that it's to biased to give it's villains any degree of depth, but of course this is the point. Spielberg would later prove with Schindler's List that he was capable of tackling the subject of Nazis in a mature way, but with Raiders Of The Lost Ark he has approached the material with the mind of a fun loving adolescent Jew who just wants to stick it to the Nazis.
The way he despatches of the various villains leaves you in no doubt as to Spielberg's intentions. Most memorably are probably the giant Nazi technician who gets caught in the propellers of a plane, or best of all the infamous face melting end that is met by the evil Toht. Spielberg films these scenes in such an over the top, bloody way that you can practically hear him laughing with sadistic glee as you watch it, (Actually I'm a little surprised that the film managed to get away with a PG rating) yet it's not just those obvious examples because little subtle digs at the Nazis permeate the entire film. Such scenes as the moment Indy tries to grab the hood ornament of a Mercedes truck, and it snaps off at the merest touch leave you with the impression that he had a lot of fun making this film, and that fun quickly becomes infectious. You, as the audience member, quickly find yourself cheering out loud as our hero despatches wave after wave of Nazi scum, all to the sound of one of the most iconic theme tunes in history.
That theme tune is a large part of why the film has succeeded for so much longer than most similar action adventures. John William's entire score is just perfect throughout. He basically performs the entire film as 1 long song, gradually building the suspense, picking up the pace until he lets rip with a blisteringly fast chorus, and then repeats time and again without letup. To give you an idea of the Talent Williams can bring to a score you just need to take a look at his filmography. Highlights include Star Wars, Jaws, Superman, Harry Potter and Jurassic Park, so even ignoring his melodramatic moments in films such as Stepmom we can already see that he has a skill for designing these kind of grand, operatic and breathtaking accompaniments to some of the most popular movies ever made. However the theme tune he came up with for Indiana Jones will always rank as the most thunderous, memorable and exhilarating Score in an already amazing career.
Of course no score on Earth could save a film like this if it the main ingredient of strong characters, being played by strong actors wasn't achieved. In this regard Indiana Jones gives it's master stroke. Indy himself is the ultimate hero, not because he's a bullet proof super hero, but because he's just an every day guy who gets into these extraordinary situations. When attacked by a guy 3 times his size he gets his head kicked in and walks away from it severely bruised, yet he never gives up. That is what makes him so cool, he is vulnerable and he has fears, yet he never shies away from these dangerous situations. Harrison Ford embodies everything we've come to love Indy for, the unstoppable courage and the roughish charm are very much aspects that Ford manages to bring to the role, and honestly I am so glad that Magnum PI prevented Tom Selleck from accepting, because it just wouldn't have been the same.
As for the rest, Karen Allen (Scrooged) was wonderful as Indy's romantic interest Marion Ravenwood, a woman who managed to be strong and independent in a time before Lara Croft had established that strong independent women required large breasts and tight tops. John Rhys-Davies (Lord Of The Rings) plays Indy's friend and associate Sallah, and gives life to a genuinely funny role. Best of all though is Ronald Lacey (Red Sojna) who nails the camp, twisted evil of Toht, Indy's nemesis throughout this adventure.
As for the problems, well I feel bad mentioning this in a film like Raiders but there are some pretty huge plot holes. At one point were supposed to believe that Indy clung onto the outside of a sub making it's way back to base. Impossible for him to sneak inside we are supposed to believe that the submarine never did something like Diving? The official explanation recently released is that Indy tied his whip around the periscope and was dragged along by the submerged sub, but, I don't know. I just don't buy that, do you? There are quite a few moments like that one, but at the end of the day the film moves at such a thunderous pace, that when you reach these plot holes you sail over them like a Ferrari over a drain, it barely even registers so the problem is minimal.
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