Opening

87% Star Trek Into Darkness May 16
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—— Populaire May 17
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Coming Soon

—— The Hangover Part III May 23
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—— Epic May 24
94% Before Midnight May 24

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

tomatometer

95

Average Rating: 9/10
Reviews Counted: 59
Fresh: 56 | Rotten: 3

Featuring bravura set pieces, sly humor, and white-knuckle action, Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the most consummately entertaining adventure pictures of all time.

71

Average Rating: 7.1/10
Critic Reviews: 7
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 2

Featuring bravura set pieces, sly humor, and white-knuckle action, Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the most consummately entertaining adventure pictures of all time.

audience

93

liked it
Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 808,555

My Rating

Movie Info

Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is no ordinary archeologist. When we first see him, he is somewhere in the Peruvian jungle in 1936, running a booby-trapped gauntlet (complete with an over-sized rolling boulder) to fetch a solid-gold idol. He loses this artifact to his chief rival, a French archeologist named Belloq (Paul Freeman), who then prepares to kill our hero. In the first of many serial-like escapes, Indy eludes Belloq by hopping into a convenient plane. So, then: is Indiana Jones afraid of

PG,

Action & Adventure

Lawrence Kasdan

Oct 21, 2003

$3.1M

Paramount Pictures - Official Site External Icon

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All Critics (60) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (64) | Rotten (3) | DVD (39)

Raiders of the Lost Ark has it all -- or, anyway, more than enough to transport moviegoers back to the dazzling, thrill-sated matinee idyls of old.

August 8, 2011 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | Comments (4)
TIME Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The thrills are fully consumed while you're seeing this movie, and it's totally over when it's over. It's a workout. You feel as if you'd been to the desert digs: at the end your mind is blank, yet you're parched, you're puffing hard -- you want relief.

May 27, 2008 Full Review Source: New Yorker | Comments (80)
New Yorker
Top Critic IconTop Critic

...a crackerjack fantasy-adventure that shapes its pulp sensibilities and cliff-hanging serial origins into an exhilarating escapist entertainment that will have broad-cased summer audiences in the palm of its hand.

June 28, 2007 Full Review Source: Variety
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

One would think that a collaboration between Steven Spielberg and George Lucas would produce something better than this giggly pastiche of a Republic serial...

June 28, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comments (87)
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Whether you swallow it or not, see it for a handful of totally unexpected visual jokes, worth the price of admission alone.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This is the kind of movie that, even today, audiences immediately fall in love with. It has all the right ingredients: a smart script, a likable hero, a dash of romance, more than a touch of comedy, and a lot of fast-paced action.

November 6, 2003 Full Review Source: ReelViews
ReelViews
Top Critic IconTop Critic

impossibly good

October 15, 2012 Full Review Source: Film Freak Central
Film Freak Central

As action adventure goes, it's about the best there is.

September 21, 2012 Full Review Source: This is London
This is London

Steven Spielberg's rollicking adventure yarn still looks buoyant and dashing after 30 years.

September 20, 2012 Full Review Source: Guardian [UK]
Guardian [UK]

The boulder has never looked bigger, the guns have never sounded louder and Indy's whip has never cracked sharper than they do here.

September 19, 2012 Full Review Source: Total Film
Total Film

If Lucas is Raiders' guts and Kasdan its head, then Spielberg is its beating heart. Little wonder Part IV is still on the cards.

September 16, 2012 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine
Empire Magazine

A necessary package for any fan of the franchise, at least until the folks at Lucasfilm dust off another forgotten making-of feature or, God forbid, green light another Indiana Jones adventure.

September 16, 2012 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine

Raiders is a classic and repeated viewings, especially when presented properly on the big screen, only reinforce this further.

June 29, 2012 Full Review Source: Cinema Autopsy
Cinema Autopsy

Breathtakingly efficient, immaculately constructed... This is the ne plus ultra of blockbuster filmmaking.

December 18, 2011 Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy
Antagony & Ecstasy

It is the classic film [by] Lucas, Spielberg...back before they were replaced by automatons put here by aliens.

May 17, 2011 Full Review Source: Needcoffee.com | Comment (1)
Needcoffee.com

Indy's first adventure is a rip-roaring action masterpiece.

January 2, 2011 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media

Justifiably one of the most indelible adventure films in cinematic history...

May 26, 2008 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews
Reel Film Reviews

It's the perfect vacation-time movie: not a serious moment in its whole two hours but so crammed with laughter, thrills and cinematic sleight of hand that audiences will be sorry when it's over.

May 22, 2008 Full Review Source: Kansas City Star
Kansas City Star

Raiders of the Lost Ark holds up as a spectacle film, spooky funhouse ride and rollicking adventure yarn. Steven Spielberg was, then and now, the finest director of grand-scale Hollywood blockbusters.

May 21, 2008 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine

Lost Ark holds up for many reasons, not least of which is because of Spielberg's consummate skill as a visual storyteller and his ability to draw charged performances from his actors.

May 21, 2008 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine

The postmodern heir to North By Northwest...Like any deathless classic, Raiders is a perfect marriage of star and material.

May 14, 2008 Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews
Groucho Reviews

...among that rare breed that have their tongue planted firmly in their cheek but never ridicule the action-adventure style. (Blu-ray edition)

May 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis
Movie Metropolis

...despite the fast pace, the movie is never frenetic or tiring, just pure, unadulterated fun throughout. (Blu-ray edition)

May 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis
Movie Metropolis

Audience Reviews for Raiders of the Lost Ark

I loved this movie. Loved it loved it loved it loved it loved it. Loved its sense of adventure. Loved the chemistry between Harrison Ford's artifact obsessed Indiana Jones and Karen Allen's headstrong, alcohol tolerant Marion. Loved the clever banter and witty dialogue. Loved the evil villains who were portrayed by actors that made you hate their characters at every turn. Loved the humour that continually made you never take the film too seriously. Loved the car chases, shootouts, and hand to hand fight scenes. Loved the mysticism that revealed itself in the third act. Loved the mystery plot's seemless integration of history, fantasy, and archaeology. Loved Indiana's sidekick Sallah (played by a younger John Rhys-Davies). Loved the fact that no movie collection is complete without this masterpiece from director Steven Spielberg, writer Lawrence Kasdan, and producer George Lucas. This is nothing short of an incredible picture that is without a doubt one of the greatest movie adventures of all time.
February 5, 2007
MovieGeek13

Super Reviewer

Raiders of the Lost Ark is pure cinematic entertainment at it's finest. Harrison Ford works wonders here as a fight for the possession of the wonderous ark is on the rise. The first half of the film is mostly buildup to the finale, but the second half of the film is where it really got me. The first half is a bit slow for my taste, but it picks up around the middle, creating a fantasy adventure for everyone to love. The ending made my jaw-drop, and the outcome is brilliant. Steven Spielberg directed the hell out of this film and it shows both visually and in the story on screen. I loved "Raiders of the Lost Ark" from start to finish. This is one fantastical action/adventure!
September 25, 2010
KJ Proulx

Super Reviewer

    1. Sallah: Ah Indy why does the floor move?
    2. Indiana Jones: Give me your torch.
    3. Indiana Jones: Snakes why does there have to be Snakes?
    4. Sallah: Asps very dangerous you first.
    – Submitted by Aaron P (42 days ago)
    1. Marcus Brody: An army that carries the ark before it is invincible.
    – Submitted by Adrian D (2 months ago)
    1. Satipo: Let's go. There's nothing to fear here.
    2. Indiana Jones: [pushes him up against the wall] That's what scares me.
    – Submitted by Cody H (4 months ago)
    1. Indiana Jones: Jock, there's a snake in the plane!
    2. Jock: Oh, that's just my pet.
    3. Indiana Jones: I hate snakes, hate some much.
    – Submitted by Brandon M (7 months ago)
    1. Indiana Jones: Trust me.
    – Submitted by David E (7 months ago)
    1. Toht: What shall we talk about?
    – Submitted by Iron W (8 months ago)

Discussion Forum

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Latest News on Raiders of the Lost Ark

August 15, 2012:
Raiders of the Lost Ark Is Headed for IMAX
The Spielberg classic will celebrate its Blu-ray conversion with a return theatrical engagement.

July 26, 2012:
Frank Marshall Offers Indiana Jones 5 Update
Yes, we have no MacGuffin.

April 20, 2012:
Five Favorite Films with Lawrence Kasdan
As any student of popular American cinema knows, the name Lawrence Kasdan is synonymous with some...

Foreign Titles

  • Jäger des verlorenen Schatzes (DE)
  • Raiders of the Lost Ark (UK)
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