Raiders of the Lost Ark

¶ … Raiders of the Lost Ark

Directors Steven Spieldberg and George Lucas teamed to bring the audience Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first action adventure of a series of Indiana Jones movies. For anyone who has not seen the series, Indiana Jones is an archeologist who works to retrieve lost artifacts from thieves and others who would use the power of the artifact in question to harm the world. This is the case of the Ark of the Covenant; that Biblical chest having once belonged to the Hebrews, from whom it was stolen by an Egyptian pharaoh and secreted away in a burial site.

In this first adventure Indiana is on a mission on behalf of the U.S. Government to get the ark before the Nazis do. The film opens with an introduction to the character of Indy the action adventurer in South America, where the character is introduced to the audience as a savvy adventurer educated to the tricks of the ancients who sought to keep their secret idols and mysteries out of the hands of mankind. It also sets the pace for the forces of evil encountered by Indiana - whose mission is always on behalf of preserving antiquities in museums, right or wrong.

The beginning is close ups of the evil doers, those men who travel with Indiana because he is the expert, the one who takes the risks. Having found the place where a particular ancient Incan idol is hidden away, the viewer is almost immediately introduced to the special effects that Spielberg and Lucas are so famous for. In the cave, the shots are close and tight around the character and a series of close ups and medium shots and long shots that convey the sense of the tight space Indy and his partner are in. Then, when the action starts and the special effects begin in a series of step-by-step cause and effects steps forward by Indy triggering the release of the booby traps; the directors employ close ups of Indy's expression to convey his hesitancy, his confidence, and then his fear. The close ups of his assistant/partner are always to convey the fear of the unknown. As Indy is running for his life, pursued by the final booby trap in the form of a giant boulder speeding down the slope behind him, the scene is from the point-of-view of the waiting Bielak, Indy's nemesis.

Returning to the college where he assumes his role as geek-like professor, the audience is introduced to the fact that Indy is as much a lady's man as he is an explorer. A close up of one of his students reveals the words "Love," on her left eyelid, and "You," on the right eyelid as she closes her eyes for the professor to get her message. Indy is a medium shot, showing his handsome form in his work suit attire. He is as handsome and exciting a man in a suit, as he is dressed in his jungle garb with his famous leather jacket and hat (which we discover the secret to in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade).

Having accepted the undercover mission to get to the ark before the Nazis, who will use its powers to further Hitler's wartime goals; Indy must first go to Nepal, where there is a vital component of the secret of where the ark is hidden. In Nepal, Indy is reunited with Marian, the daughter of his former friend, another archeologist, Abner. Marian is introduced as a character self-assured, self-reliant and who can drink any man under the table. When Indy comes back through the door and back into her life, Marian is angry, reminding Indy of the pain he inflicted on her. Indy has no time. The shots in the scene reuniting Indy and Marian are impersonal, long shots and medium shots.

The scene introducing the relationship between Indy and Marian quickly cuts in to the Nazi whose expertise is one of torture. He has come for the same thing Indy has, and the close ups are Marian's facial expression of fear as she's about to lose her eye to a red hot poker. Indy comes to the rescue and the final Nepal scene is a montage of dynamic action where Indy and Marian make their escape.

The film cuts to the Middle East, where Indy and Marian have traveled, as have the Nazis, in search of the ark. The first part of this Act II, so to speak, introduces Indy's good friend and his Middle Eastern contact. The scenes in the Act II employ a series of medium and long shots as Indy and Marion make friends with each other in the Middle Eastern market place. This is followed by another montage of action as Marion is captured by the Nazis, and, in a daring rescue that employs a motif of market activity and confusion, Indy believes Marion has been killed. He is taken prisoner by the Nazis, who reintroduce him to his nemesis, Belak. Belak is now working for the Nazis.

The reintroduction of Belak employs a series of close ups and points-of-view of first the character of Indy and then Belak as their conversation and adversarial role is reintroduced. Indy is rescued by his Middle Eastern contact and friend, and the scene cuts to home of a wise man who can interpret Marion's medallion. This scene employs close ups of the handsome Harrison Ford, and his friend and Middle Eastern contact as they realize - just in time that Indy is about to swallow a poison date. There is a POV of both Indy and his friend as the focus is on the dead monkey lying on the floor.

The scene cuts to the archeological dig site where Marion is being held captive. From this point out, there is a lot of action shots employing montage film techniques and a lot of directorial use of panning to capture the images of the vast dig sites. The retrieving of the ark from the Nazis is the action montage, and it cuts to the ship where Marion and Indy are making their get-away. On the ship the scenes between Indy and Marion close ups, to capture the expressions of affection and rekindling of romance.