121. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Summer of Spielberg)

Unlike lots of people their age, neither Laci nor Matt grew up with the Indiana Jones films. But at least one of them has fallen in love with the franchise as an adult, especially this first film. The two talk about the origins of Raiders of the Lost Ark on a beach in Hawaii in 1977 as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas built sandcastles together. One imagines they were very well-crafted and functional sandcastles, Lucas’s a little too clinical, Spielberg’s a little sappy. Still, they were good castles, is what we’re saying.

Matt recalls his first time watching Raiders of the Lost Ark at the relatively late age of 16, while Laci has mushed all the Indiana Jones movies together and experiences all of time as one instant. But she loves Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones! He’s doing a lot of work, she says. 

Then the podcast goes very thoroughly through the film, recapping Raiders of the Lost Ark in excruciating detail. Harrison Ford and Karen Allen are great, of course, but Paul Freeman as René Belloq kind of steals the movie. 

Does the film do enough with Indiana Jones’s fear of snakes? Is the Raiders of the Lost Ark car chase the best in movie history? Is the plot of this movie too hard to follow? This and much more is litigated over this spirited two-hour Raiders of the Lost Ark movie review. 

Watch this episode in full: https://youtu.be/tZNfFFFYhkQ

Next week: A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)!

ALSO catch us on TikTok Live talking about the entire Indiana Jones franchise on July 19, 2024 at 9:00 p.m. EST. Join the discusion! https://www.tiktok.com/@load.bearing.beams

Time stamps:

00:02:21 — Big-picture thoughts on the Indiana Jones franchise

00:10:16 — Our personal histories with the Indiana Jones franchise

00:17:19 — History segment: The origins of Indiana Jones with George Lucas and Philip Kaufman; Lucas brings Spielberg on board in 1977; the two hire Lawrence Kasdan to write the script; casting Harrison Ford and Karen Allen; production, release, and legacy

00:46:38 — In-depth discussion of Raiders of the Lost Ark

01:47:39 — Final thoughts and star ratings

Artwork by Laci Roth.

Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).

Songs by Rural Route Nine in this episode:

“Summer of Spielberg” - https://youtu.be/yglAqqLEaoI  

“Winston-Salem” - https://youtu.be/-acMutUf8IM   

“Snake Drama” - https://youtu.be/xrzz8_2Mqkg  

“The Bible Towers of Bluebonnet” - https://youtu.be/k7wlxTGGEIQ  

“Summer of Spielberg” theme song credits:

Words and music written by Matt Stokes

Performed by Wade Hymel (drums/guitar), Laci Roth (vocals), and Matt Stokes (vocals/guitar/bass)

Produced by TJ Barends, Wade Hymel, and Matt Stokes

Engineered and mixed by TJ Barends at Bare Sounds Studio in Ponchatoula, Louisiana

Sources:

The Complete Making of Indiana Jones: The Definitive Story Behind All Four Films by J.W. Rinzler - https://amzn.to/3LipUfr 

Steven Spielberg: A Biography by Joseph McBride - https://amzn.to/3xzYOx1

George Lucas: A Life by Brian Jay Jones - https://amzn.to/3XX2rI8