Raiders of the Lost Ark

"The return of the great adventure."

1981 1h 55m EN

🙌

7.9

BANGER

★7.9TMDB · 14,081

AdventureAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When Dr. Indiana Jones – the tweed-suited professor who just happens to be a celebrated archaeologist – is hired by the government to locate the legendary Ark of the Covenant, he finds himself up against the entire Nazi regime.

“The return of the great adventure.”

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Cast

Harrison Ford
Indiana Jones
Karen Allen
Marion Ravenwood
Paul Freeman
Dr. René Belloq
John Rhys-Davies
Sallah
Ronald Lacey
Major Arnold Toht
Wolf Kahler
Colonel Dietrich
Anthony Higgins
Gobler
Denholm Elliott
Dr. Marcus Brody

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Lawrence Kasdan, Philip Kaufman, George Lucas
Languages: English, Spanish, German, Hebrew, Arabic, Nepali
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $390M — a 21.7× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

45 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 6 languages: English, Spanish, German, Hebrew, Arabic, Nepali.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Indiana Jones Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

245+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Steven Spielberg, shot by Douglas Slocombe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michael Kahn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Steven Spielberg directs. Douglas Slocombe behind the camera. John Williams scores. Michael Kahn cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish, German, Hebrew, Arabic, Nepali.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $390M — a 21.7× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
245 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 6 languages: English, Spanish, German, Hebrew, Arabic, Nepali.
4Part of the "Indiana Jones Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5245+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by Steven Spielberg, shot by Douglas Slocombe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by John Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Michael Kahn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Harrison Ford and Karen Allen and Paul Freeman carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "The return of the great adventure.".
11IMDB entry: tt0082971 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
1214,081 TMDB user ratings logged — serious cultural footprint.
13Classified under 25 themes, including "egypt", "treasure", "medallion", "swastika".
14Released under 56 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Douglas Slocombe
Original score: John Williams
Editing: Michael Kahn
Production design: Norman Reynolds
Costume design: Deborah Nadoolman Landis
Makeup / hair: Mike Lockey
VFX supervisor: Richard Edlund
Sound: Ben Burtt
Stunt coordinator: Glenn Randall Jr.
Runtime: 115 min · 1h 55m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $18,000,000
Box office: $389,925,971
Return: 2166% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Sound
Academy Award for Best Visual Effects
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Academy Award for Best Film Editing
Academy Award for Best Production Design

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Indiana Jones Collection

Adventure film series created by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman starring Harrison Ford as archaeologist Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., and directed by Steven Spielberg and James Mangold. Spanning the globe, on death-defying archeological endeavors, if adventure has a name... it must be Indiana Jones.

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Steven Spielberg

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

tmdb395137282015-01-09
Trailblazers of a Lost Art Little wonder James Cameron and Joss Whelon movies are the biggest box-office earners. They are masters of cinematic rhetoric. The unfolding dramatic situations and controlled dialogue are meticulously contrived. Cameron could probably have potted more if it wasn't for his earnest, simplistic messages (rich bad; nature good). All three movies (Titanic, Avatar, Avengers) plot along comfortably then suddenly spike spectacularly. But no one has ever laid on the cinematic charm and cajolery like Stephen Spielberg. He was by far the craftiest manipulator of action and melodrama there ever was. He was the progenitor of summer blockbusters and all-ages, all-nations spectacles. At his best he had a gift for re-living and realizing that ethereal and irresistible childhood awe. If Raiders of the Lost Ark (NOT the sequels... NO, not even the father- son one) was made today, exactly the same way, okay maybe in 3D with updated CGI, it would surely land at the top of the box-office heap. It is essentially the first comic book movie that wasn't a comic book (bespectacled mild-mannered Archaeology prof by day and globe-trotting whip-wielding action hero on sabbatical). Raiders of the Lost Ark (the first and only) is arguably the greatest adventure movie ever cooked up. And we, the abject audience, servile participants of the artifice, were licking its boots. We wanted Spielberg and his Indy to rope us in, reel us into the action, and completely have their way with us. We overlooked the emotional manipulation and contrived trappings because it was a pure freaking joy to watch, a Lucas produced godsend. Harrison Ford was born to play it just as Steven was born to direct it. It's really too bad they had to brand and knock off inferior sequels that, while making oodles of money, tarnished the shine of the unsurpassed prototype. Indiana Jones was the perfect reluctant action hero on a selfless mission. A whip-snapping, truck-wrangling, swordster-gunning, Nazi- brawling adventurer who was matched only by his headstrong and sassy love interest, one pistol of a gal who could drink any man under the table. Not enough credit has been given to the great Lawrence Kasdan as the writer of this marvellous adventure. The script is as close to perfect as anybody could scribe. Even a dialogue-heavy expository scene (poisoned dates) was infused with a tense element of suspense. Yes, the story was hyper-fictional, completely contrived, shamelessly far-fetched... and altogether delightful. I wasn't expecting much when I went in to watch it back in 1981, but it had me wanting to do do back-flips on the way out. America's own Fab Four, Larry, Steve, Harrison and George, put on an action-adventure clinic. Possibly the only weak spot in the movie is the climax which had our hero and heroine tied to a stake while God, the almighty Mcguffin from the Old Testament, magically wrapped things up for them. "Don't look" Indy warns, with his patented crooked grin. Are you kidding? We can't possibly take out eyes off of this. With respect to lost Teddy Bears from space and anti-Nazi machinators, Raiders is Spielbergs greatest achievement. It is one of the finest films ever made, of its or any kind. It is, hands down, my desert island movie.
Gimly2017-10-18
★ 7/10
I think for a lot of people, Raiders is their favourite (x) movie. Be that their favourite adventure movie, favourite '80s movie, favourite Spielberg movie, whatever. None of those ring true for me, but it is my favourite Indiana Jones movie. I was a mad fiend for Temple of Doom as a kid, and I've managed to make multiple teachers put The Last Crusade on in class, so I'm quite a fan of the franchise, but Raiders is the most enjoyable to me... I've never even seen Crystal Skull... So maybe it's dishonest to say I'm a fan of the franchise... I'm a fan of the trilogy! Final rating:★★★½ - I really liked it. Would strongly recommend you give it your time.
Kamurai2020-08-17
★ 7/10
Good watch, could watch again, and can recommend. For Spielberg's American Alan Quartermaine, I can certainly understand what the hype is about, but I've never been a big fan myself. For starters, Nazis are boring. I'm sure they were all the rage once upon a time as a classic villain, but it doesn't do much for me. Harrison Ford, of course, carries the movie, but Karen Allen plays really well with him throughout the movie and is amazing in her own right. If nothing else, Spielberg is able to shoot a powerful atmosphere, and the movie is captivating and engaging. It's not something I can watch over and over, but when I do watch it I know I'm going to get drawn in and have a great time.