Perhaps what sums up Raiders' greatness __ is that it reflects the importance of filmmakers having a vision and being allowed to make the kind of movie they want. In an age of shared universes and formulaic filmmaking, it's refreshing to see a director know exactly what he wants and how to translate it into movie ma

What, you didn't know there was a riveting 1930s period drama hiding under this classic adventure film? The famous Dr. Jones was uncovering ancient mysteries and fighting Nazis before it was cool, and immersion in this time period is what contributes to the status Raiders of the Lost Ark mounts Ark as a fan and critic favor

Harrison Ford’s stunt double actually had to be dragged through the jungle on the back of a truck. Practical filmmaking techniques always make for more visceral, hard-hitting action than featherlight CG spectac

In their scenes, white stuntmen Malcolm Weaver and Terry Richards were cast to portray ethnic villainous henchmen. Problematically, they had been given bad prosthetics and makeup to play the part . Not only is this extremely racist but it is quite surprising that Spielberg hadn't thought so

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

After the first Mad Max movie presented a bleak dystopia in a somewhat recognizable near-future, the second one dived head-first into a barren post-apocalyptic wasteland ruled by gas-guzzling villainy. Mel Gibson returns to the role of Max, tearing across the desert in his V8 Interceptor, looking for a fight worth fight

There aren’t a lot of biopics that fall into the martial arts genre, but Ip Man is a prime example of both. The great Donnie Yen stars as Ip Man himself , the legendary Wing Chun grandmaster who taught Bruce Lee how to fi

There are a bunch of different ways to choreograph a fight scene – like Bruce Lee’s real-life martial arts prowess or Quentin Tarantino’s in-camera editing – and these action movies exemplify the very best of on-screen fisticu

While turning Marcus Brody into a bumbling comedic relief character was unfortunate, the interplay between Indy and his father is often hilarious. It's great seeing Indy revert to this child desperate for his father's approval and to see Connery playing the proper scholar who is appalled by all the violence around

Karen Allen brings so much humor, heart, and fun to the character. From her first scene where we find her in the midst of a drinking contest, she makes for an unforgettable character who is a welcome addition to this advent

The Last Crusade has some memorable villains but they're all just a little too cliché without any real personality. Raiders of the Lost Ark makes Belloq a more complex bad guy while the Nazi officer Toht was a frightening yet weaselly henchman who you couldn't wait to see get his comeuppa

Both these movies share a biblical theme in their MacGuffins, but the Ark of the Covenant is just a more interesting item. There is a real mystery behind what it is and what it can do. It all pays off wonderfully in the epic gruesome finale when the Nazis finally open it and get more than they bargained

Pretty much every Bruce Lee movie has great fight scenes . Fans of fight choreography won’t be disappointed by Enter the Dragon or Way of the Dragon or even the incomplete Game of Death . But arguably the greatest movie in the Lee canon is 1972’s Fist of Fu

Though the love interest angle of The Last Crusade is not great, it does feature the best of Indy's sidekicks in the franchise. Sean Connery joined this third film as Indy's father, Dr. Henry Jones Sr. A famed archaeologist in his own right, the elder Dr. Jones was a tough, sophisticated and hilarious partner to his

He seems genuinely excited about the work, which we come to learn is inspired by his father's teachings. This makes the final journey to find the Holy Grail all the more satisfying as Indy and his father both us their knowledge to escape the traps, beat the bad guys and find the true

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 is full of breathtaking practical stunt w

This turned out to be one of Woo’s greatest movies, Hard Boiled , starring Chow Yun-fat as badass cop Tequila Yeun. The climactic hospital shootout is one of the most iconic action sequences ever s

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