It is a rare and magical thing when an actor so perfectly encapsulates a fictional character that you can see no other in the role. It is one of those lightning in a bottle things; no one can predict it, plan it, or repeat it. Even those responsible have no clue how it happens, it just does. Perhaps that is the beauty of it. There are a miniscule number of actors who have been blessed with this rarest of cinematic gifts, and Harrison Ford is one of them. He earned his status in film history, no question about it, but he was also never first choice, never predicted to be such a perfect fit for the character, and never knew himself what it was he was about to accomplish. Harrison Ford is and always shall be Indiana Jones.
To celebrate the release of the Indiana Jones series on blu ray, we offer a four part retrospective article series honouring one of the most beloved franchises in film history.
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
1980 saw Spielberg and Lucas—friends and successes independently of each other—finally decide to pool their talents. With mega hits Jaws and Star Wars under their belts, you might think that any studio in the world would have butchered their own mother to get at what these two combined could offer. But it wasn’t so. The duo had an ambitious adventure film in mind; one that paid steep homage to the serialized cliff-hangers of the Thirties and Forties. It was audacious in both its scope and in the budget the duo proposed it could be accomplished for. Most studios passed, believing it impossible. If one thing history has proven again and again with these two is that they eat impossible for breakfast.
Conceived in Lucas’s mind before he wrote Star Wars and proposed to Spielberg on a beach in Hawaii, Raiders of the Lost Ark would follow the adventures of Indiana Smith, an archaeologist who travelled the world hunting precious artefacts and finding himself out of his depth. Spielberg, who was keen to do a Bond picture at the time (bet they’re wishing that had come off!), was taken instantly with the premise and agreed on the spot to do it: with one change: Indiana Smith became Indiana Jones.
It is a well-known fact these days that Tom Selleck won the role, and was forced by the pick-up of a little TV show called Magnum, PI to back out at the eleventh hour (due to production delays, fate would have it that he could have shot both the movie and the TV show, but it wasn’t to be). Spielberg returned to his first choice, Lucas’s lucky charm Harrison Ford, despite Lucas’s reluctance to keep using the actor for ‘every project’.
Raiders saw Jones in a race against the Nazis to find the Ark of the Covenant. The template for all the following films was set here: Indy appears in the thick of conflict and leads us at breakneck speed through a never ending series of misadventures toward the ultimate goal—the McGuffin, as Hitchcock once coined it.
This, for a young audience in the Eighties, was a whole new pacing of film; something that has continued to this day. Unlike a lot of movies these days, Raiders’ razor sharp screenplay by Spielberg/Lucas oft-collaborator Lawrence Kasdan squeezes as much character development and story in as it does set pieces.
You are invested in Indy’s quest from the outset. He is the perfect relatable hero—one of the best ever conceived—because of his failings, his humanity, his ego. Indy is a guy that looks like he’s going to fail at every corner, but by the skin of his teeth holds on and endures over great odds. Supporting characters are equally well drawn and the economy in which they connect is another testament to Kasdan’s work, along with long time Spielberg editor Michael Khan.
The film’s look, a rough and ready nod to the cliff-hangers of old, was shot through the lenses of Douglas Slocombe, a DP Spielberg would use for the entire original trilogy. Raiders’ photography above the other two looks the most like the classics it honours, only with a broad colour palette that takes the best of older techniques and pumps it up another notch. This is something modern films continually fail to do when they simply copy without adding something of their own to the mix. For the fourth instalment, Slocombe’s eye was missed, but more on that in the fourth article.
Another magical element—something that is almost guaranteed with this man—is the score. John Williams, who was already one of the most cherished and celebrated film composers in the world for his Spielberg/Lucas collaborations, once again delivered a theme that is as instantly recognized in the most isolated locales of the world as it is in Hollywood. Added to which, Raiders delivers one of the most cohesive and evocative scores ever created; from Marion’s theme to the Ark, the score perfectly immerses you in Indy’s world.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of those rare gifts; an absolutely perfect creation where everything came out better than anyone could anticipate. The leading man embodied the hero pitch perfect and became an icon, the editing, the sound, the supporting cast, those classic moments that happened by accident—they all came together to create a treasure that Indiana Jones himself would try to collect; and while this film spawned a beloved franchise, I think it stands alone in its perfection. Raiders is an undisputed masterpiece in adventure filmmaking.
Check out part two of the four part series - Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures Box Set - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Check out part three of the four part series - Indiana Jones" The Complete Adventures Box Set - Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade
Check out part four of the four part series - Indiana Jones" The Complete Adventures Box Set - Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
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