Raiders of the Lost Ark

I was lucky enough to see this film for the first time as a little kid at the Czech premiere in a completely packed cinema (people were sitting on the stairs), during the deep totalitarian era, when everybody was happy to see something other than a Soviet film (despite the many years of delay). The audience togetherness and the incredible burst of laughter of the whole cinema during Indy's duel with the swordsman is something I will never forget. Beautiful fun. (04/12/2003)

During its filming, it was undoubtedly a groundbreaking film that redefined the genre and became iconic. It is possibly only surpassed by Pulp Fiction in terms of the number of imitations and copycats. Today, signs of wear and tear are apparent - the special effects have aged, the pace is weaker compared to the subsequent films, and there are far fewer lines and jokes than those remembered by the old-timers. However, Spielberg's traditionally precise direction, great cast, and entertaining, charismatic characters are still present. Last but not least, there is John Williams' music with its famous theme, which has become the signature of the entire series. For a long time, I believed that this movie "must" be impressive for anyone who hasn't forgotten their childhood and adolescence associated with dreams of romantic adventures. Then, through my children, I became acquainted with the perspective of the new generation and experienced disillusionment. For them, the world of Indiana Jones was only tolerable, as they looked for their favorite heroes elsewhere. Overall impression: 75%. (01/07/2019)

Raiders of the Lost Ark was and will probably remain the best adventure movie. No wonder, when two of the most ingenious and most talented filmmakers of their era, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, stood behind its inception. They created the character of Indiana Jones, a slightly unorthodox archeologist who went down in history in a short time. First we meet him in 1936 when he is commissioned by the US to find the mythical Ark of the Covenant which Adolf Hitler, obsessed by the occult, is desperate to acquire. The first part of the Jones Trilogy is without doubt the best. The mystical powers of the Ark, along with the enrapturing music by Williams manages to evoke fear of the unknown even now after so many years. The ending in the warehouse has an indescribable atmosphere that makes your hair stand on end. (12/02/2006)

I didn't get to the first Indy adventure until 42 long years after the film's premiere, and my average rating is based on that. I didn't grow up on Spielberg's film, nor do I have a nostalgic attachment to it, and now that I've seen it for the very first time, I have to say that the ravages of time are quite visible. It's most noticeable in the special effects scenes, which is understandable given the year it was made, but the same can't be said for the action and fight scenes, which look laughable (in the negative sense) to the point of being artificial. The scene with the snake's lair or the final confrontation with the Ark of the Covenant had a solid atmosphere, I don't deny that, but for most of the film I felt like I was watching some kind of still undeveloped Indiana Jones prototype. (07/01/2023)

My first great adventure film, and if it wasn't for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, it would have remained the greatest. Spielberg has a rare talent for combining a thrilling story, a mystically chilling atmosphere, superbly rendered characters, and a narrative push-off into an explosive whole that is funny, haunting, thrilling and emotional. Dr. Jones, a man of two faces versus Hitler's evil realm in an environment of mysterious and ancient forces. Iconic from the first to the last second, fabulously filmed, the acting, the sound, the tricks... It's kind of a fairy tale, kind of a horror film, and every inch the adventure ride that turns grown men into little boys and little boys into big heroes... So, what do the ladies say? (04/18/2004)