Raiders of the Lost Ark
Spielberg's Role: Director
US Release Date: 1981
"
. . . I've always wanted to bring a serial to life that
blends Lash LaRue, Spy Smasher, Masked Marvel and
Tailspin Tommy with elements from Edgar Rice Burroughs
and George's [Lucas] great imagination.... [Raiders]
found its own fantastic elements in a genre that sadly
has been dormant far decades in American cinema." -Steven Spielberg-
And so he did. The Raiders
of the Lost Ark was the first in the Indiana Jones
Trilogy. Based on the cliff hangar action serials of the
1930's and 40's, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas hired
Harrison Ford as the Title character.
The Lost Ark brought two of the
most prominent film makers of the 80's together for the
first time. Lucas was best known for his Star Wars
Trilogy which contain the same type of epic story-line
though out in every detail in classic Lucas form. Another
similarity between the two trilogies is Harrison Ford.
Playing Hans Solo was Harrisons second major role (and
second Lucas Film). George Lucas plans on making prequels
to his Star Wars movies, the first of which is due out in
Summer of '97. At the same time Lucas, Spielberg and Ford
are spreading rumors about a possible Indy 4. Either way
it is nice to see two greats getting the chance to create
together.
After winning 5 Oscars, this
film is one of many in which Spielberg was nominated for
best director and still didn't win. The complete list of
Oscars won by the Last Ark is on the top of this page.
For the serious fans, I borrowed the Scripts for each of
the movies from another site. You can download them below.
In June of 1998, Raiders of
the Lost Ark was chosen as one of the 100 best
American films in the 100 year history of cinema by the
American Film Institute. Steven Spielberg had more movies
honored than any other director, with 5. The other 4
movies were Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws,
E.T., and Schindlers List. Raiders
of the Lost Ark was ranked 60th.
The story: Indy must race the
Nazis in search of the Lost Ark of the Commandments. With
this treasure the Nazis plan to let the power of God
guide their troops to victory in their war efforts.
The Script
(86.8KB Zipped)
*the quote at the top of
the page is from Peter Sullivan of Starlog Magazine
August 1981
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