Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) - Retrospective / Review 

I've been watching your reviews for almost a month! One of the most addicting videos on RU-vid! Thank you so much!

Can you please do " Close Encounters of the third kind "?

Oliver, didn't Spielberg say Jaws was his most unpleasant movie making experience?

Oliver Harper Harrison: Rather be Jones instead of Solo Hamil: Rather be Joker instead of Skywalker

1941. If you haven't watched it in awhile, watch it again. It really was a good movie, especially with all the proper scenes in place, so to speak. The soundtrack is ridiculously underappreciated. I wanna say that it was John Williams' personal favorite. Or was it Spielberg's favorite? Hmmm...too tired and too lazy to look up...anyway, keep up the great work...👍🏻

Dogs never get enough credit. They are heavenly!

Deffinitely, that Husky was the true creative force behind Lucas

It shows up in the Last Crusade into, but that's not justified enough for him, he deserves a statue in front of Elstre Studios.

A quote from "Astro Zombie" (with a Misfits user icon) and another from "Sid Vicious"... I sense an accidental theme going on here.

I think the dog owned shares of LucasFilm And ILM.

Just keep your eyes shut at the end ghosts

nobody is scared of that lol have u seen some of the films and shows made for children these days? they tackle pretty heavy themes and ideas and have pretty tragic things that happen. i think ur just lookin at it thru rose colored glasses saying things like "the good old days." also think about it, today is gonna be someone elses golden days in a couple decades...

@@kg7219 Name one modern kids film that does it

@@tastycookiechip I haven't seen it, but I heard new Dr Strange film is freaky for kids.

​@@kg7219 Nothing from modern studios will EVER be considered as influential, well made, or classic like this film. Everything today is made off a communist assembly line, pandering to far lefties and gender benders, with absolutely no substance or staying power.

Diana Psotka can’t wait until he grows older lol I’m curious if he’ll still be as big of a fan as he is now. I was like that when I was very young too and I’m still a gigantic fan and I’m 16 now

@@jimid9240 Im not religious either but I can respect other peoples beliefs and recognize that without something like Christianity holding a society together and fostering a sense of morals you end with shit like people transitioning their children. Now fuck off and grow up.

I'm sure this movie isnt suited for 2 year olds :D

Christmas is magic when kids with imaginations get items of interest. For both kids and parents.

Well... I think ur son would like the adventures of young Indiana Jones.... and if he ever into reading their a whole series of books about his further adventures and comics... with video games.. here to your son's sense of adventure, and tell to give uncharted a try.... he will be not disappointed... From one fan to another

Potatro tatro you mean £120 million not £ 120 thousand.

They're willing to spend five times more on production because tickets cost like five times more now - and people keep paying it. I mean, I don't. I don't go to the theater anymore because why would I pay a ridiculous asking price to see a movie one time with a bunch of other dickbags in the room who might pull out their phone and ruin the experience for me when for the same money I could probably just buy my own copy of the movie and watch it as many times as I want in the comfort of home with perfect sound on an excellent monitor with no interruptions? But people still pay the ticket price for whatever reason, so budgets will rise to meet what people are willing to pay.

@Michael Lam Robert

@Michael Lam Yup!

Inflation dude

It also endures because it's a great story told with sincerity and conviction, makes you believe that these fantastic events are REAL. A lot of that is Lawrence Kasdan's masterful structure and dialogue, but a lot of it is Spielberg. He's a director who doesn't judge whether a movie is "popcorn entertainment" or whether it is "serious historical drama"--he just believes in the story and strives for realism so you believe in it too.

celestialfilms I would go for plausibility more than “realism” as a term. Nothing in cinema is or can be real, but events that are fantastic can be believed in if (provided we can suspend that disbelief) we can imagine that if these events were happening, then this is how they would occur. A good example is Alien. There are no deep space mining ships and no alien life forms that have acid for blood, and we all understand this implicitly as part of science ‘fiction’. But when the fictional events are portrayed in such a way that it makes you think “if there really WERE spaceships, and aliens and people fighting to survive against insurmountable odds, then this is exactly how it would play out”, then you have plausibility in the story. The audience will invest. On the other hand, Prometheus is a waste of time because you can’t believe in any of the characterisation and the motivation to do what they’re doing. It’s pretty, high budget, boring horseshit. EDIT - so yes, you’re right! I just think the term “realism” is often conflated with graphic portrayal of events in films these days. Like “Oh wow, that war film was so REALISTIC! I could see all the blood and explosions!” Which doesn’t help the film ultimately in terms of story and audience involvement with the narrative.

Spitfire Mark1A I remember how big Raiders was back in the early 80s in Australia and I remember seeing it back then at around 5 years old. I think it was a bit scary (The snake pit put me off) and I could not enjoy the film at the time. Watching it again 5-7 years later after my dad bought me a copy of it, I could really enjoy it at the older age and I now grow fonder of this film with every year that goes by and now is one of my most treasured films from my childhood.

***** That's a bold statement. No offence, but how could Kingdom be better than 'Temple'? (Which I assume you put at number 4) I mean 'Temple' had Short Round. Short Round for heavens sake! Ha ha.

great memory of u and your Dad

+gutz1981 Thanks for sharing. Your Dad set you straight.

+gutz1981 Thanks for sharing. Your Dad set you straight.

I contend that the Indiana Jones movies did more for Ford's career than Star Wars. People assume it was Star Wars because of the mutually exclusive popularity of the film series and actor. Ford wasn't the star of the wars though, Mark Hamill was.

COULDN'T AGREE MORE !

Ford seemed to be having the most FUN in Raiders! His "sourpuss scowl" began to emerge in Temple and Crusade. I don't know if that sour-puss scowl was acting, what Ford felt the character of Indy needed, or if Ford himself was disgruntled, fed up with the character and the whole concept in general, wanted more challenging roles like Allie Fox in Mosquito Coast and Jack Ryan in the Tom Clancy movies, or if Ford wanted more money up front or a bigger back-end % than he was getting from the highest-grossing movies of all time. He NEEDED Sean Connery in Last Crusade to lighten him up!

@@kthx1138 I think that'd just Ford growing up and becoming more serious. Harrison himself has stated in many interviews that he LOVES Indiana and despises Han, and how he's fine doing Indiana Jones films because he really likes the character (Probably because unlike Han, who was just a cocky smuggler, Jones seems like a real teacher with a passion for history and adventure and who can get tired of things pretty quickly, which might be relatable to Ford).

I could’ve written this comment word for word. Nice to meet another raiders fan.

Wow never noticed that, very interesting

I never loved Raiders that much, please don't kill me, I still think it's a fantastic 9/10 movie, but I never was that eager to rematch it, unlike last crusade witch is always one of my favourite movies of all time (somewhere in my top 20?)

+A GriffinTV i agree actually

"Crystal bastard Skulls" really made me laugh :)

+degree7 - Amen.

Thanks buddy!

And let me say, Oliver, this is one of your best pieces EVER. I have watched every single video you've done and this one is absolutely LAVISHED with love. Thanks for doing the film justice.

Thanks for letting us know about your temp job! Lucky you! :D

I am lucky to get to watch your work, too, Oliver :D Thanks for sharing your passion for film!

Javin Gibson Were you directing that comment towards Oliver or myself? I was 9 when Raiders came out.

How awesome is that? How did you land that job?

Zer0dog Or whether or not you have a gay, black, and/or disabled protagonist.

It was apparently decided by nazis.

@@SarumanOrthanc : Chariots of Fire was about ... a white male heterosexual Christian.

@@IndianaJoe0321 I was talking about the modern "Best Pictures" like Moonlight or Crash.

@Stimulator7 You're right, but this was good. Hell, great even. Certainly should've won Best Picture in '81 that's for sure.

Looking back, I see how lucky we were to be in that Goldilocks age range when George and Steven were tearing up the silver screen. A magical time that will never happen again. I just kept going to the movies never realizing that the freight train of great movies would last for just a little while. I'm almost certain I would be a different person today if I hadn't grown up when these movies were made.

I was also 12 when I saw this in the theater. I had not heard of the movie, but went because my friends were going. I was blown away. Poltergeist was also awesome. I also loved The Lost Boys, a wonderful celebration of youth & vampires.

Love Time Bandits. Benson: "Master, I see the map!" Evil: "Where?" Benson: "The little one has it." Evil: "The little one?!"

cabshdun no thank you lol

Luckily it never happened and Harrison made the movie a myth

You know I’m something of a treasure hunter myself

Dafoe would have made a great Indy. Such depth.

. . . and Christopher Walken was considered for Han Solo. Imagine *_that!_*

Yeah its definitely a crime. I will consult my lawyer haha

THEY SURE R

@@OliverHarper 😂😄😂 You are hilarious. I have to say Oliver, you have some of the best in-depth retrospective reviews on classics movies on youtube. You seem very intuitive, which I really like. I can relate. I'm a visual artist who has done filmmaking so I can definitely feel things you have to say in almost all of your videos. Great job.

Absolutely 👌

This absolutely +1

Also, Close Encounters and 1941.

Thanks Mikel!

+Oliver Harper With the upcoming movie 'Fantastic beasts and where to ind them', you should do a retrosperspective on one of the Harry Potter movies.

Thanks very much buddy for your feedback!

Oliver the reviewer concurs with your assessment..

No way - Raiders had way more ocation shoots, Last Crusade had a bunch of awful looking studio sets - like the cheapo plastic cave they end up in. In the opening scene of Raiders Indy is actually filmed flying in a biplane. In crusade it's a lameo studio shot in front of a green-screen and wind machine. The Nazi's in Raiders seemed more believable - whereas in the Last Crusade they're more 'Allo Allo' comedy Nazis. And that climactic scene with the old knight and the plastic set? No comparison the epic arc-opening scene from Raiders.

thank you sir!

Thank you very much for your feedback buddy.

What's funny is that Connery is only 12 years older than Ford :-)

+Joe Digger Darth Vader is on 12 years older than Han Solo

Good choices!

Did you do those things? Hope you did

Thank you very much!

Thank you very much dude!

Thanks Lester!

Do it. Ive been watching these retrospectives for years now and they really add to the tapestry that is my film universe. thus the reason i give a bit back on patreon.

Thanks for your feedback Alexander!

Evan T there are many, many great films I truly treasure but have to agree with you. This is the only 10. I’ve never gotten over the fantastic rush I got as a 10yr old seeing this in the theater. Went back two more times, then wore out VHS tapes for years. The only other film I’d rank near 10 is The Milagro Beanfield War.

Thank you Terese!

SAME HERE! GREAT TASTE IN MOVIES

Thanks Maurice!

I'd add Tombstone, Wyatt Earp (sense a theme)

Thanks man!

That has got to be one hell of an interesting story. The only movie where we see Natalie Portman smoke.

mjl1966y you don’t actually see her smoke that was in the contact she wouldn’t actually be seen with a cigarette in her mouth

Cheers buddy!

Did you mean "Life" Magazine?

@@stickiedmin6508 Yes, good catch!

Thanks man!

Same here. Still looking forward to his view on the last crusade