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Movies / On DVD / Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark

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Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

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Reviews Counted: 47

Fresh: 44

Rotten:3

Average Rating: 8.8/10

Consensus: 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.

Rated: PG

Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Theatrical Release:Jun 12, 1981 Wide

Synopsis: Action-packed and adventure-filled, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is director Steven Spielberg's loving homage to the Saturday matinee cliffhanger serials of his childhood. When the Allies discover the... Action-packed and adventure-filled, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is director Steven Spielberg's loving homage to the Saturday matinee cliffhanger serials of his childhood. When the Allies discover the Nazis are planning to use the Lost Ark of the Covenant as a weapon, the U.S. government enlists archaeologist-adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) to locate the biblical treasure chest where the remains of the broken tablets of the Ten Commandments were placed. En route, Jones and his feisty ex-girlfriend, Marion (Karen Allen), must escape the clutches of evil Nazis, duplicitous "natives," and a nest of venomous snakes--not to mention the wrath of God. The groundbreaking special effects and furious, never-ending pace make for a stylish whirlwind of a movie, topped off with a fabulous sense of humor. This bare-knuckled, barnstorming, pot-boiling, eye-popping bucket of Technicolor popcorn became Paramount Pictures' highest-grossing film, and deservedly so--RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is quite simple one of the most enjoyable movies ever made. [More]

Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey

Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliott, Alfred Molina

Director: Steven Spielberg

Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriter: Lawrence Kasdan
Story: George Lucas, Philip Kaufman
Producer: Frank Marshall
Composer: John Williams
Studio: Paramount Pictures

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Release:

May 20, 2008

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Reviews for Raiders of the Lost Ark

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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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.

Full Review Source: New Yorker | comment 14 Comments
05/27/08
Pauline Kael
New Yorker
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
05/26/08
David Nusair
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.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
05/22/08
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

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.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
05/21/08
Jeremiah Kipp
Slant Magazine

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

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
05/14/08
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

...despite the fast pace, the movie is never frenetic or tiring, just pure, unadulterated fun throughout.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
05/07/08
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

The most purely fun movie ever made.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
05/06/08
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

...lets us indulge in childish thrills without feeling silly about it.

Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | comment Comment
05/06/08
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm

Vastly entertaining, Spielberg's adventure herladed a new breed of Hollywood blockbuster (and event film), a tale that combines classic Hollywood story-telling, playful postmodern sensibility and spectacular stunts presented in rapid-fire pacing.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
03/08/08
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Splendid.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
03/04/08
Channel 4 Film

perhaps the greatest adventure movie of all time

Full Review Source: sbs.is | comment 1 Comment
02/15/08
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
sbs.is

...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.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
06/28/07
Stephen Klain
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top 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...

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 34 Comments
06/28/07
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

New Hollywood moguls Spielberg and Lucas teamed up to create the first -- and best -- of their extremely popular plunderings of old adventure serials ... In retrospect, it also appears as a precise pop-culture inauguration of Reagan-era retro Americanism.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
08/07/06
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

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

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

Classic action set pieces, Harrison Ford at his swashbuckling best, Old Testament spirituality, and a satiric jab at Nazi anti-Semitism.

Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment Comment
11/07/03
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films Guide

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.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
11/06/03
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Throughout the film, Spielberg evokes the kind of armchair-clutching action sequences that remind us why they're called motion pictures.

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
10/27/03
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

You'd have to be a heathen to argue with the fact that Raiders of the Lost Ark stands as the best action-adventure movie ever made.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
10/18/03
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
09/02/03
Ryan Cracknell
Movie Views
 
 
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