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