Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark is the first installment of Lucas’ Indiana Jones tales and it doesn’t disappoint as Lucas continues to grow as a filmmaker.  When I think of classic Indy images many of them come from Raiders, like the infamous rolling boulder booby trap set off by Indy’s misjudgment of weight when stealing the idol.  He sets this film apart by playing on the humorous qualities of our famed archaeologist while simultaneously developing a complex action plotline that is still fascinating to follow.  All parts of the story mesh extremely well between the humor, action, and roller coaster of love that Indiana Jones experiences along the way, not to mention a stellar cast helps keep things interesting.

I have learned that Lucas is a great judge of setting and just how, and especially when, to set a film in order to make the plotline more believable and thrilling.  Although Lucas made the film in 1981, it is set fifty years earlier in the 1930s when a discovery such as the lost ark would be most enticing to a group like the Nazi regime. In typical Lucas fashion though, of course, the ark has magical qualities that draw archaeologists, fascists, and local mystics towards it alike.  The battle that ensues to find the legendary ark, supposedly holding the original ten commandment tablets, intertwines with Jones’ own personal life by involving Marion, an ex-lover.  Juxtaposing the real (WWII and Nazis) with the mystical (magical powers emanating from the ten commandments) creates a veritably exhilarating dynamic unlike that found in Star Wars.  Both series are clearly successful in their ventures to gain a following as well as to tell a compelling action story, but Indiana Jones shows a different side of Lucas’ interests based in reality.  Not every film created by George Lucas has to be so ridiculous that only science fiction lovers can relate to it.

Indiana Jones as a character is one of the most impressive parts of Lucas’ creation.  He is far more complex than any of the Star Wars leads, including Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and Han Solo.  Those characters work so well together because they are each rather one dimensional, but as a team complete each other.  Indy can stand on his own against the likes of Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, the droids, and Princess Leia all wrapped together.  He represents many of their various characteristics, such as the wit of the droids, the cunning of Han Solo, and the unbridled bravery of Skywalker.  Sometimes watching Harrison Ford play Indiana Jones looks to me like George Lucas asked him to take all of his favorite traits of the heroes of Star Wars and try to make them into one.  Jones’ complicated history and personality make him stimulating enough to follow solo as opposed to as a part of a larger team that continues throughout all of his adventures.  Indy is not perfect though; Lucas explicitly includes the fact that our hero is scared of snakes to give him some type of weakness in a Superman/Clark Kent-esque vein.  Not only is this a form of expertly crafted comic relief, but also it makes Jones into a real person.  As much as Indiana Jones can feel like a James Bond type of character, he is flawed in a funny way that Bond lacks.  The various dimensions of Indiana Jones make him charismatic and enthusiastic, not like the dark shadows and undertones that seem to follow every step Bond and Skywalker take.

Marion’s first cinematic introduction to Indiana Jones is extremely revealing to our hero as a whole.  Lucas chooses to give our two romantic leads a past, but we are introduced to them as a couple long after their first meeting.  The scene in which they first interact with each other illustrates the damaging past they once had with each other and skips over the introductory scenes of romantic build-up that would usually occur in film.  Marion’s first words to Jones are, “Indiana Jones. I always knew some day you'd come walking back through my door. I never doubted that. Something made it inevitable.”  The on-screen tensions is automatic between Marion and Indy even though we have never seen them together as a pair before, and this is a truly difficult feeling to convey to an audience.  Lucas excels in portraying relationships between his characters whether it is platonic or overtly sexual.  This specific relationship works despite coming in directly in the middle of their conflict resolution because of the strong sexual tension they have.  It is not automatically romantic or harshly platonic, but the tension gives them space to grow together. 

In the end, Indy solves the mystery, survives, and gets the girl, but Lucas leaves the ending open for sequels to come.  We obviously know how successful the series ultimately becomes, but without this first installment none of the following films would have ever been conceivably possible.