Raiders of the Lost Ark begins just as the Third Reich is forming.  The forces of the fuhrer are searching for a long lost artifact of infinite, immense power called the Ark of the Covenant.  History tells us that the Nazis were global, in Europe very much so, though this film elaborates and imagines the Axis powers establishing archeological digs in places as remote as Mongolia and Egypt.

     Raiders of the Lost Ark is a bewitching masterpiece with bold characters that one grows to care about, voluptuous cinematography, and a climax that puts the Nazis in their place.

     The story concerns the adventures of a talented archeologist named Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford).  This is a globe-trotting and splendidly suspenseful story that starts in South America as "Indy" is searching for a golden idol.  He is betrayed by his tour guides and much suspense ensues.

     He is double-crossed again my his arch nemesis, a French archeologist named Belloq (Paul Freeman).  This canny Frenchman's wicked laugh carries through the jungle as he orders tribesmen to kill Indy.  Indy makes his getaway by plane and in the passenger seat there's a snake.  Indy hates snakes.

     The next sequence takes place in Indy's classroom where he teaches archeology.  Then this leads to his briefing for what will be the main narrative thread of the film...  the search for the Ark of the Covenant.  Indy is full of book smarts and briefs the people who are briefing him.  Much is made of the staff of Ra and a golden medallion.  Supposedly if you go to a maproom somewhere in Tanis, Egypt and use a staff at the proper height with the gold medallion ontop, the sun will shine through the medallion at a certain time of day.  And give one the location of the Well of Souls.  This is where the Ark, containing the smashed remains of the Ten Commandments tablets, is to be found.

     First, onto Mongolia will Indy go to track down a former partner, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen).  The first scene set in this harshly cold country is set in a bar owned by Marion.  She is in the middle of a drinking game with some locals.  After she wins the game, which one can tell she's a tough one who can hold her liquor, Indy straggles on into her bar.  She breaks two shotglasses in surprise and they make a subtle, cliched noise.

     He is looking for the gold medallion that was passed onto Marion from her father.  She punches him for being a jerk to her in the past, saying that she was young and that he was wrong for pursuing a romance with her all that time ago.  She tells him to come back tomorrow.  He pays her for the medallion anyway and makes his way out of the bar.  Marion sits by a candle and contemplates the money on one hand and her heirloom which has much importance for her on the other.

     The bar door creaks open and some unsavory characters enter the bar.  "Good evening, fraulein...  we are not thirsty," says the Nazi torturer Toht.  The late, great character actor Ronald Lacey gives a wicked, pungently charming performance as this classic villain; he delights in every nuance and every subtlety.  They make small threats and then threaten to burn her with a coal poker.  Indy snatches the poker away from Toht with his whip and says "Let her go."

     Gunfire lets out and a fight for the medallion ensues.  When one of Toht's henchmen has Indy in a bind, Toht simply says "Shoot them... shoot them both."  Indy manages to get loose and Toht burns his hand on the medallion and simply drops what he was looking for to go cool his hand down in the snow.  Indy escapes with Marion after the henchmen have been defeated.  Toht, much like Gollum in Lord of the Rings, will show up later.  After her bar burns down Marion announces "Well, Jones at least you haven't forgotten how to show a lady a good time.  Until I get back my $5,000, you're gonna get more than you bargained for... I'm your goddamn partner!"

     They make their way to Cairo and meet a gentle friend of Indy's who lets them know about the boss German Dietrich and that Belloq is also after the Ark.  Much chases ensue and when the Ark is discovered there is a ritual performed.  "The power of the Ark manifests itself as a column of fire that skewers the Nazis" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times).

     The spirits that entice and then destroy the Nazis are just about the most stylish and charming special effects I've ever seen in a movie.  The climax is bewitching and unravels with absolute catharsis.  The coward Nazi men get their comeuppance at the hands of a beautiful angel that morphs into an insidious demon.  This leads to a classic line: "It's beautiful!"

Tags: Film Review Raiders Ark Covenant

Bookmark: