Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Jonathan Rhys-Davies and Denholm Elliott
I could not, would not, in good conscience post an entry like the one below without an equally positive entry on the Indiana Jones series. I felt I needed a “Ying”, if you will, to fit with the “Yang” below covering Crystal Skull. In case it was somehow unclear, Crystal Skull was a real frustration for me.
But, it goes without saying that I, like 95% of movie fans, absolutely adore Spielberg’s library of films. So, let me try and offer some commentary on a classic scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Raiders opens with Indiana Jones showing off his survival skills: I will have to cover this iconic opening scene another time. Immediately after this first scene, a couple of “government men” come to Jones’ college seeking his advice on an Abner Ravenwood, a person who “Dr. Jones” knows from way back. It seems Ravenwood has gone in cahoots the Nazis, who are scouring the globe for occult artifacts, including the Ark of the Covenant. One of the elements mentioned in a Nazi cable from Ravenwood is a “staff of Ra” in connection with the “lost city of Tannis”. This city, before it was buried in a huge sandstorm, held the Ark and a little map room with a replica of the city, which noted where the Ark was kept. It seems Ravenwood and the Nazis have discovered both. Here’s where things get really good, and Dr. Jones draws on a chalkboard to help us all understand.
Way back, in ancient times, if you wanted to find the Ark of the Covenant’s location in Tannis, you needed a few items. First, you required a little “headpiece”, which was a golden circle about three inches in diameter with a crystal in it. Next, you needed a perfectly measured stick – or “staff”. Finally, you needed to be in the map room at a particular time of day. If you took this headpiece and put it on top of a perfectly measured staff into the map room at Tannis at a certain time of day, the sun would shine through the headpiece and show you where in the city the Ark was located. THIS, my friends, is superb storytelling. You can’t wait to get a real-life demonstration of this process, can you?
The scene in which Indy recovers the true headpiece is phenomenal, but again, for another entry. Indiana Jones entering this map room is no less exciting. Sallah, Indy’s faithful friend, helps lower Indy by rope down into the little chamber. It’s just moments before the sun will be in the right place – oh, the tension! Indy has measured the staff out perfectly, so check that off the list. Now, he impresses us even more with his skills than he already has: he takes out a little book with a rubber band around it (great little details like that exist in this picture). Using the notes in this little book, he finds the hole in the floor where the staff belongs. Come on, Indy, put the staff of Ra in the hole already!
He does. And the sun keeps pouring in the little hole in the room where he came in. And he waits. And John Williams’ score is building. And he waits some more. And the slight reflection from the crystal is starting to show on the floor… is the Ark in that temple? How about that one? The crystal’s light is getting stronger – as is Williams’ music – and FINALLY, the sun hits the crystal full on and shows Indy exactly where the Ark is. It’s a huge scene!!