Raiders of the Lost Ark (The Kind Of Movie That Disney Should Have Been Making In The 70s And Early 80s) (Part 2) (SPOILERS)

 

WARNING: The following review might contain spoilers. Watch the movie before reading this review.

Hello and welcome to part 2 of my retrospective on Raiders of the Lost Ark. Previously, I talked about the film's production, now I address how George Lucas and Steven Spielberg were innovating with Raiders of the Lost Ark in a time when Disney was being creatively bankrupt after Walt's death. 

When it comes to discussing Raiders of the Lost Ark, it's not always easy to add further to what has already been said by countless critics and fans. Everyone knows how flawless this movie is. It's a masterpiece in terms of action, performances, direction, humor, special effects, and storytelling.

Everyone often addresses these aspects, but what's often overlooked by many (except the late film critic Richard Schickel of TIME Magazine), is that this is the kind of entertainment that Disney should have been making during this period. One of Spielberg's influences is Walt Disney, and his movies were more in line with the kind of entertainment that Walt used to make in his lifetime.

After Walt's death in 1966, Disney became a tight knit and conservative community, played things safe with family audiences rather than breaking new ground, and relied on older filmmakers. So the company was stagnating at the time and has given us some awful films such as The Apple Dumpling Gang, Midnight Madness, and Pete's Dragon.

The other studios on the other hand, focused on newer, younger, and more ambitious talent, and created more innovative material, which was lacking from the Disney films from that period. With George Lucas and Steven Spielberg pioneering the summer blockbusters, their movies have more energy and flair with their imagination and creativity.

What makes Indiana Jones one of the most memorable movie heroes is his genuine concern for history. He's not some egotistical, greedy explorer who goes off on adventures for his well being. He wants to collect ancient artifacts and to preserve them in the right conditions, so they will never be forgotten in the years to come. He's the complete opposite of his rival Belloq (Paul Freeman), who only interest in archeology is to plagiarize Jones' research for some fast cash.  

In addition to its beautifully executed action sequences and special effects, the movie employs a sense of humor throughout, but it's not done in a cheap slapstick way, like those crappy Disney comedies from the 70s. The humor is very subtle throughout, from the spiders crawling on Indy's sidekick at the beginning of the film, to Indy shooting a swordsman dead because he's too tired to deal with him. These moments don't jar with the film's tone at all and nicely complements the action scenes. 

The cast all give great performances, especially Harrison Ford. He broke the mold from just being known as Han Solo and further demonstrates his skills as an actor. I think Ford seems to enjoy playing Indy more than Han Solo. After all, he wanted Han to be killed off after Empire Strikes Back, but he didn't get his way, and he wasn't given much to do in Return of the Jedi. But with the Indiana Jones franchise, he's center stage while Han Solo is a supporting character, so some people, including myself, see Harrison Ford as Indy than Han Solo, despite being great in both roles.

With the capable hands of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, Raiders of the Lost Ark has all of the ingredients to make a rock solid summer blockbuster. This is what Lucas and Spielberg were masters of. Unlike what Disney was doing during this period, they have that special talent of knowing what audiences wanted to see. These two were on a roll, especially Spielberg, who snagged with his 1979 comedy 1941, which was a costly dud at the box office. Raiders gave Hollywood the confidence they needed with Spielberg, and he's been an active filmmaker and innovator ever since.

Raiders of the Lost Ark is worthy of all of the praise it gets. It stood the test of time and it's a masterpiece on all fronts. If you never saw it, check it out immediately.