Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
98%RT Audience Score: 96%
Awards & Nominations: Won 5 Oscars
37 wins & 24 nominations total
Featuring bravura set pieces, sly humor, and white-knuckle action, Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the most consummately entertaining adventure pictures of all time.
If you’re looking for a movie that’s got it all – action, humor, and some seriously impressive stunts – then Raiders of the Lost Ark is the flick for you. This adventure-packed film is seriously entertaining, and it’s no wonder it’s considered one of the best of all time. From the heart-pumping action scenes to the clever jokes, this movie will keep you on the edge of your seat. So grab some popcorn, sit back, and get ready for a wild ride with Indiana Jones.
Production Company(ies)
Paramount Pictures, Lucasfilm,
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Sidi Bouhlel, Tozeur, Tunisia
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1981
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Atmos
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 55m
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Language(s):English, German, Hebrew, Spanish, Arabic, Nepali
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 12, 1981 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 13, 2008
Genre(s)
Adventure/Action
Keyword(s)
starring Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Wolf Kahler, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas, Philip Kaufman, adventure, action, PG rating, box office success, Frank Marshall as producer, reviewed by David Denby, Scott Cain, Zaki Hasan, Bob Thomas, Arthur Knight, Bruce McCabe, Allison Rose, Frank J Avella, Brian Eggert, Alan French, Dennis Schwartz, Matt Brunson, Indiana Jones, archeologist, occult, U.S Government, ark of the covenant, Ten Commandments, Hitler’s agents, Nepal, Cairo, bravura set pieces, sly humor, white-knuckle action, consummately entertaining, hair’s-breadth escapes, tension, great spirit of high adventure, good humor, museum, rousing action-adventure fun, perfectly cast Harrison Ford, enduring action adventure film, genre classic, original popcorn summer blockbuster, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Lawrence Kasdan, Philip Kaufman, Raiders of the Lost Ark
Worldwide gross: $389,925,971
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,313,773,039
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 61
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 143,268,597
US/Canada gross: $248,159,971
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $836,122,504
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 27
US/Canada opening weekend: $8,305,823
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $27,984,713
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 494
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $18,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $60,647,191
Production budget ranking: 670
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $32,658,512
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $1,220,467,336
ROI to date (est.): 1,308%
ROI ranking: 87
Karen Allen – Marion Ravenwood
Paul Freeman – Rene Belloq
Wolf Kahler – Dietrich
Ronald Lacey – Toht
John Rhys-Davies – Sallah
Director(s)
Steven Spielberg
Writer(s)
Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas, Philip Kaufman
Producer(s)
Frank Marshall
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 5 Oscars
37 wins & 24 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Art Direction Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Editing Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Sound Mixing Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Visual Effects Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
All Critics (89) | Top Critics (29) | Fresh (85) | Rotten (4)
Spielberg has made a pure-fun extravaganza that is like a thirties serial, only grander, funnier, and blessedly free of interruptions.
June 17, 2022
David Denby
New York Magazine/Vulture
TOP CRITIC
Sensational… Under Steven Spielberg’s witty and brisk direction, “Raiders” depicts more hair’s-breadth escapes than would seem possible in a two-hour movie. This is a terrific moviegoing experience.
November 9, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Scott Cain
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TOP CRITIC
To quote the man himself in one of his sequels, ‘It belongs in a museum.’
June 15, 2021
Zaki Hasan
San Francisco Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Entertainment that propels the audience inexorably from one excitement to the next.
October 17, 2018 | Rating: 3/4
Bob Thomas
Associated Press
TOP CRITIC
It’s all done with such a great spirit of high adventure and good humor that you don’t even begin to count the corpses… The finale suggests that Ford’s Indiana Jones character will soon be back with further adventures, and I’m all in favor of it.
June 12, 2018
Arthur Knight
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
Raiders is an assured, relaxed, impressive work. It’s almost impossible to resist. It’s no more substantial than cotton candy — but it’s easily the best piece of entertainment Hollywood has produced in 1981.
April 26, 2018
Bruce McCabe
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
For Ford, portraying Indiana Jones offered some similarities to his role as Hans Solo while one major glaring difference was the addition of formal schooling.
June 14, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
Allison Rose
FlickDirect
Raiders of the Lost Ark is rousing action-adventure fun with a perfectly cast Harrison Ford keeping viewers enthralled for two hours.
June 14, 2022 | Rating: B+
Frank J. Avella
Edge Media Network
From scene to scene the picture surges with nonstop energy and craft.
March 21, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Forty years since its release, Raiders of the Lost Ark remains one of cinema’s true masterpieces while spawning a worldwide phenomenon.
January 14, 2022 | Rating: A+
Alan French
InSession Film
The popular action pic was a great commercial success despite its lunatic plot.
July 7, 2021 | Rating: B
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
One of the all-time greats. Harrison Ford is perfection-plus as Indiana Jones, so iconic a character that the AFI cited him as the second greatest movie hero of all time (just under Atticus Finch and just above James Bond).
June 19, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy…
Plot
The year is 1936. An archeology professor named Indiana Jones is venturing in the jungles of South America searching for a golden statue. Unfortunately, he sets off a deadly trap but miraculously escapes. Then, Jones hears from a museum curator named Marcus Brody about a biblical artifact called The Ark of the Covenant, which can hold the key to human existence. Jones has to venture to vast places such as Nepal and Egypt to find this artifact. However, he will have to fight his enemy Rene Belloq and a band of Nazis in order to reach it.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no mention of anything goofy, funny, or odd about the film or anyone in the cast in this particular Fresh Kernels entry.
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