why Raiders REALLY works | Indiana Jones analysis 

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My grandma was the actress that played the ghost that turns scary after it's released from the ark, so seeing this movie mentioned always leaves a smile on my face

I always liked how the Ark ends up buried in the US Gov.'s backlot of stuff; to me, it always seemed like the Ark either wanted to be hidden away, or it was always destined to remain hidden. It really adds to the idea that it is a fantastical, great power, that mortal men are not meant to tamper with

I read that Indy was supposed to actually fight the swordsman, but Harrison Ford, like everyone else on set, was so debilitated with dysentery that he improvised shooting the guy because he didn't feel up to it.

Raiders was may absolute favorite film as a 10 y/o in 1981. I scrimped and saved may spare change so I could see it 18 times in the theaters! That said, a lot of people point to Die Hard as the film which killed (or seriously diminished) the invincible action hero of the 1980s, but Raiders had already introduced the everyman action-hero a decade before. Unfortunately, Raiders did it so well that any other films which featured a vulnerable, realistic hero (unfortunately and unfairly including the excellent film,Romancing the Stone) were accused of being Indy rip-offs.

For Hollywood, a globe trotting adventure usually just means monuments and architecture, not the actual culture (unless it's something romantic like Paris, which is more about the fantasy than a sense of reality anyway). The surface level stuff, not the actual experience of being in that country. Obviously they don't need to make it a travelog, but it adds so much, like you demonstrated here.

Brilliant video as usual! Fun fact: Indy shooting the swordsman was actually ad-libbed by Harrison Ford. He and a large number of the cast and crew had come down with (I believe) dysentery. Harrison Ford had a fever and felt so awful that instead of getting into the whip vs. sword fight planned for the scene, he pulled out his revolver instead😂 George Lucas loved it so much they left it in

I also just rewatched this for the first time in many years and holy crap its so much fun. My only comment is I really liked Marion, especially compared to whatever the name was of the girl in ToD. THAT is a character with no autonomy. And while Marion obviously isn't the main character she can hold her own. See her intro scene and the one with Beloq in Cairo.

Ever notice how the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction is doing exactly what you're talking about with its animatronic populace? Each character is involved in a little story of their own, a vignette. Now that you mention it, in Raiders it's almost like Steven Spielberg made that experience into a 2 hour movie. The main characters are just wedged in front of the camera as it shoots the never ending, ever changing Disney attraction in the background!

Only two parts of that film have "just go with it" moments: when Indy finds Marian again and says they must have switched baskets, and when Indy rides the submarine to the secret base without it ever submerging.

Marion goes through so much in that movie that would make most people {man or woman} lose their minds in fear, I find her reactions pretty realistic given that with all her bravado she is still just the owner of a bar in a place where everyone knows her. I feel far too many people focus on the screaming and constantly needing rescuing whilst ignoring how strong she is and that even a strong person can find themselves in over their heads; as Indy himself does regularly in all four films {I haven't seen Dial of Destiny yet}. Likewise I've never had any trouble with Willy Scott in Temple of Doom, because again I found her to be a realistic trope of the 1930s which is what they were going for. BUT I cannot stand Elsa in Last Crusade, because I find her to be totally unrealistic and fake.....Of course because of the double-agent storyline she's supposed to be fake but I just feel it doesn't work and Allison Doody was a case of miscasting......Even her final scene feels off to me. - As for watching Raiders any time, I'm afraid I watched it so many times {wearing out the VHS} as a kid that I simply cannot watch it all the way through in one sitting anymore.....I know it too well. Temple of Doom is now my favourite Indiana James movie.

I always thought spots like Marion shooting the Sherpa who got the drop on him in Nepal, clocking the pilot, and lighting up an entire truckful of responding nazis with the tail guns (for examples) went a looonnng way to mute her "damsel in distress" role. In each case, Indy woild have been DRT without Marion.

While not explained, I liked the scene when Indy puts on the first German's uniform but it doesn't fit. It pokes fun at the fact that many heroes seem to be able to put on any clothes they find and they perfectly fit, as is shown immediately later after Indy knocks out the second soldier.

I never noticed the random guy nicking the sword before 😂

Love Indy! Happy to see this fun review of the movie. :) I've been watching a British medical doctor reacting to episodes of House, and it made me wonder if you'd be interested at all in reacting to episodes of Fraiser (very high strung, goofy American psychiatrist). Could be fun. :)

i don't know how new it actually is but i love your new intro

Love your observations about the culture/character of Egypt in this. It is expertly integrated into the story and adds texture, mystery and grit to the movie.

@2:58 relating Indiana Jones to how Jackie Chan portrays his own characters is really apt: the entire time Jackie Chan will be doing some AMAZING stunt work, but humanizes himself to the audience so that we can almost see ourselves in his place. Indiana Jones, in that way, is amazingly accessible. I remember reading an interview with the lead costumer Deborah Nadoolman (who is largely responsible for the efficacy of Indiana Jones's look) in which she remembered the team's disappointment that the "larger than life" Tom Selleck had to turn the role down, but admitting that Ford's take on the role wound up being much more accessible and turned the potentially flat "super-hero" esque character into one we could relate to and admire.

Top........men

You nailed it buddy, In a way that make RU-vid amazing. I live in Orange County Cali and would never have heard your analysis without it. You could have gone on further and I would of watched it. We all love this film 40 years on, but WHY? It’s the perfect blend of non-stop action with just enough time for great plot an dialog to catch your breath!

I must have seen that movie a hundred times and never noticed that someone ran off with the sword until you pointed it out. Its pure entertainment

Actually the first Indiana Jones has a very great moments - mystery, pure action suspense pure perfection, an a little horror also a romantic scene, Didn't forget a great very bad vailens to all it makes a very impressive beautiful great fabulous wonderful movie. My great information for today. Have a great fabulous wonderful day.

Not a bad summation, and full disclosure, I haven't watched any of your content regarding "Dial of Destiny". But hey, here's a point to consider: The McGuffin should *not* be something which doesn't only belong in a Museum, but is currently *in a museum collection.* I think that's a major issue when it ought not to be because it busts the suspension of my disbelief immediately, before the film even starts. (And, to be fair, there must actually be a lot of real-world museum collections which externally resemble the big U.S. Gubmint Warehouse at the end of Raiders. Not because they have the Arks, but because the collections aren't on display and aren't likely to be.) I'll attempt to illustrate this by challenging a characterization you've made: "Indy is slighty cartoonish." Maybe a tiny bit of Yes, but mostly that's a No. It might be action-comic as-in-comic-book action, but it doesn't follow cartoon physics at all. To be even more precise, this is meant to be in reference and as an homage-in-form to serialized adventure pulp fiction and the radio dramas inspired by it. Sometimes, those stories were printed alongside still images of key moments luridly described in the text. That's the cross-over point between the Form and the Storyboard of the Film, which is where Lucas and Spielberg had a very good inkling about what to do. This is why the McGuffin thing matters a lot. It is a key element which is meant to be Throwaway, and yet significant enough to act as a center of narrative gravity until the climax and natural conclusion. The third film has the Holy Frickin' Grail descending into a crack in the Earth rather than leaving it in the hands of any Earthly power, and besides, God apparently underwrote the insurance policy regarding the security system. In Raiders, the insurance policy - the thing which brings those four characters together at the beginning of the film when the U.S. Gubmint approaches Indy and Marcus - is also God, but more precisely, Judeo-Christian cultural tradition. There is no other reason for anyone to suspect that an Ark of the Covenant actually exists.

That you mentioned James Bond. Speilberg wanted to do a James Bond movie, But Lucas talked him out of it and talked about doing a 1930s movie serial, action adventure hero type movie, instead.

Wonderful Wonderful take on a movie I grew up on, being born in early 80s Allows me to appreciate it in a whole new light after all these years Brilliant, m8

Glad you watched this film! Welcome to planet earth!!

The opening song of Feather from Nujabes was very nice.

I actually prefer The Temple of Doom! I love the variety of that film and how every scene pretty much is a new amazing set piece.

I really hope you discuss The Bear, particularly season 2 because I am going through it right now 😭

THANK YOU TO THIS DAY WHEN I THINK THIS MOVIE I THINK THESE PARTS HOW ITS A REAL GOOD LOOK AT ANOTHER CULTER I NOTICED THAT AS WELL

Yes 🙌🏽

Raiders is a perfect film in my opinion. I have seen it countless times and it never gets old. I think the opening is simply one of the best openings of a film ever. And I like Karen Allen's portrayal of Marion because she's annoying and kind of spazzy, which is more realistic than some perfect looking super model type.

I never noticed that someone takes the sword after the swordsman is shot.

🌳

No green screens...

You forgot to comment on half the film, ya tease!

I watched this too after I saw newest Indy.. haven’t seen it in years and it blew me away the quality and love from everyone involved in making Indy 1.

This is apropos of nothing, and I don't know why it came to me now. Spoilers for Inception- In Inception, the main plotline is that the protagonists have to plant an idea in the head of the son of an already-deceased CEO. As we find out, the CEO's last words to his son were 'disappointed', which impacted his son deeply. Our protagonists achieve their mission by modifying his memory into 'disappointed that you tried,' so that the son of the CEO takes those last words not as condemnation, but as encouragement to be his own person, and so he takes the company in a different direction (more favorable to their employers). Some reviewers took issue with this, as it seemed duplicitous. What, do you think, is the proper role of reframing and reimagining past experiences, in terms of achieving personal healing, without getting to the point of willful ignorance or revisionism?

It's Ravenwood, not Ravenswood.

I really liked how useless Marion was! Too often it feels like every female character has to justify herself by being extra smart, athletic, charismatic, you name it, and is rarely allowed to be as flawed or pathetic as some of the males, loosing a lot of character in the process. The "girlboss"-effect. Of course Marion isn’t particularly useful next to Jones. This is his job, while hers is being a bartender, yet she still holds her own pretty well. And she is, let's be honest, kinda pathetic. Just as pathetic as Indy is at times. She's overconfident, a bit dumb, argumentative, hot-tempered, and full of character. The only female character from the last decade I can think of that is allowed to be pathetic and the main butt of the joke is Evelyn from Everything Everywhere at Once. That makes older characters like Marion and Willie Scott really refreshing(even though the movies don’t lack of-its-time moments that annoy me). We're not all badasses! Some of us are dumb as shit!

Thanks for pulling back from threats (unlike Woke Disney and the obviously woke Holly-Weird media) who has the audacity to call anyone who doesn't want to see their film sexist, racist, bigoted, etc.

Indiana Jones is pointless. His character accomplishes nothing. If he doesn't exist, the Nazis still find the ark, open it and die.

Cool vid!! But I totally disagree with your take on Marion! She's a fricken badass in this movie😊