What helps ground the action is that the sequences are well-edited and expertly paced, especially compared to contemporary films. In nearly every scene, with the possible exception of the Nepalese bar fight, it's simple to follow the characters and know exactly where they are in relation to one another and the objects around t

Watching the movie again, what stood out to me is how you're barefoot for so much of the movie - including places that would really hurt in real life, like burning sand and rough rocks. How was that to film? Because that definitely looks like a challe

While the cast and crew were out in Tunisia, shooting the Cairo-set scenes for Raiders of the Lost Ark , they all got really sick from food poisoning. John Rhys-Davies, who played Sallah in the movie , apparently got so sick that he soiled himself during a scene that required him to bend over. The only person involved in the production who didn’t get food poisoning was Steven Spielberg, because he had brought his own food from home – which reportedly consisted of dozens and dozens of cans of Spaghetti-O’s – and didn’t eat any of the local food that everyone else was hav

(Lucas resisted casting Harrison Ford for a while, because he didn’t want him to become the Robert De Niro to his Martin Scorsese , but eventually, he couldn’t deny that Ford was perfect .) For Marion, they considered Michelle Pfeiffer, Debra Winger, Mary Steenburgen, Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Seymour, and Barbara Hers

The unique seven-act structure of Lawrence Kasdan’s screenplay harks back to the bite-sized plot progression of those serialized adventure tales, while the production design perfectly recaptures the aesthetic of those early serials with a modern filmmaking

A couple of moments in Raiders push the boundaries of its PG-13 rating – particularly the climactic sequence in which a couple of the bad guys’ faces melt off their skulls due to the awesome power of the Ark. The face-melting effect is still terrifying after all these ye

Indiana Jones might travel all around the world for ancient artifacts, but the character was created in Hawaii. George Lucas went on a vacation with his friend Steven Spielberg when Star Wars was released __ and Spielberg revealed that he had always wanted to make a 007 mo

A lot of modern action movies – including the most recent Indiana Jones movie – tend to opt for CGI, but before that was an option, action filmmakers had to stage their set pieces for real with incredibly skilled stunt teams. Raiders of the Lost Ark updates Ark is full of breathtaking practical stunt w

From establishing Indy’s characterization and his rivalry with Belloq in the gripping opening set piece to wrapping up the quest for the Ark of the Covenant in a neat bow with the grisly climax, Lawrence Kasdan’s screenplay for Raiders is airtig

Finally, a lone man pushes the crate through an enormous warehouse, disappearing among the thousands of similar-looking crates, creating one of the greatest and most mysterious ending shots of all t

In the timeless, iconic story of King Kong , explorers capture a gigantic ape living on an uncharted island and take it back to New York to turn it into a glorified circus act. In one of film history’s most memorable climaxes, Kong escapes from captivity and scales the Empire State Build

Based on lengthy story discussions with Lucas and Spielberg, Kasdan masterfully boiled the plot down to its essence and turned in a script that perfectly encapsulates the spirit of its hero, as well as the spirit of adventure its

But Indiana Jones remains one of the cinema’s most beloved icons and there are many things in Raiders that still hold up today. From Harrison Ford’s charismatic performance to John Williams’ awesome music, these are the most timeless elements of the 1981 clas

I got to know it in little bits and pieces, because I met Steven first in New York. He came to New York, and we just talked for 15 or 20 minutes. He didn't tell me much about the film, it was just considered Steven Spielberg's next project. And then about a week later, he sent me the scene in the Ravenwood bar. I read that scene, and he wanted me to fly to Los Angeles and audition - they actually wanted to do full-on screen tests - with two men who were possible Indiana Joneses. One was Tim Matheson, who I had worked with in the first film I'd ever done called Animal House. And another was a New York actor named John Shea, who I knew a little bit just from New York - which at the time felt like a very small actor community. My first connection to it was really just that one scene. And in that one scene, working on that one scene over and over again, I fell in love with the character. It's such a wonderful introduction to the character in the film, And then when they asked me to do the film, they sent me for the first time the whole script, so I got to read the script after they had made an offer to