This is my piano arrangement of the cue that plays while the Ark of the Covenant wipes out a bunch of Nazis at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. It starts with an establishing shot of the island they're on; I've then omitted the underscore that's heard while Belloq performs a Jewish ritual and opens the Ark itself. The music picks up as the cameras, lights, and weapons all begin malfunctioning, and the dust within the Ark starts to glow. Then spirits pour out of the Ark, swirling around the Nazis. They're beautiful at first, but then one of them becomes an angel of death, and the Nazis proceed to shrivel, melt, explode, or be electrocuted. Once they're all dead, a huge firestorm engulfs the area, carrying the bodies into the heavens, leaving only Indy and Marion standing alone, hands no longer bound.
It's a great scene. =D
The music is appropriately apocalyptic - it and "The Map Room: Dawn" are the two biggest developments of the Ark theme. There's a sense of beauty and even dark playfulness before the Nazis start dying, but once that angel's lovely face turns into a skull, it's pure orchestral chaos. I've omitted a lot of that, too, as you'll hear - it just doesn't translate that well to piano. Instead, I've inserted a bit of "Desert Chase," as heard in the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, before I transition into the rest of the cue.
Make sure to watch while you listen...I've put together a slide show of sorts. =D Enjoy, and let me know how I can improve!
17 фев 2009
