Best Raiders review?

Canyon

Well-known member
In your opionion, what is the best review you have ever come across for Raiders? My favourite is a review which featured in a 1998 issue of the British television magazine, Radio Times.



"Executive producer George Lucas and director Steven Spielberg minted fresh excitement from the cliffhanger serials of their youth in this breathless fantasy extravaganza. Hold on tight, because it starts at full throttle and never lets up as unorthodox archaeologist Indiana Jones (a part that fits Harrison Ford like a glove) searches the Holy Land for the fabled Ark of the Covenant, and finds himself up to his neck in booby-trapped caves, snake chambers, Nazi spies, religious demons, damsels in distress and even a spot of romance.

The brilliantly evocative 1930s-set saga uses all the old clichés as if they've just been newly minted and dazzling special effects to craft a wonderful Boy's Own yarn that rattles along with wit, invention and the raw spirit of true adventure.

The climactic unleashing of the artefact's awesome holy fire remains a spine-tingling masterwork of visual effects ingenuity and ambitious dramatic force. No surprise then that one of the four Oscars this fabulous production picked up was for visual effects (the others were for art direction, sound and editing).

The cast, including Karen Allen, Denholm Elliott, John Rhys-Davies and Paul Freeman (as the smoothest villain imaginable), is at its best in this definitive action masterpiece, which captures storyteller Spielberg at the height of his powers to delight the imagination with terrific eye-grazing tableaux, nail-biting tension and engaging characters.

The two sequels that followed, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, were merely pale imitations of this gloriously nostalgic paean to Hollywood's Saturday matinée ideals and atmosphere."
 

swords

New member
I like this review, also sums up the parts I enjoy in one paragraph:

I remember watching all three films in the trilogy and loving them as a kid, as well as being terrified and having nightmares in some instances (and who's to blame me, with all those Poltergeist-style rotting corpses dropping on Karen Allen in that dank tomb?). The adrenaline flows during the fluid, excellently-choreographed action scenes, which, like in John Woo's films, are almost balletic in approach. I'm talking about the classic opening shots (which beats the entire Tomb Raider movie hands down, and probably inspired the original game) of Indy stealing a jungle idol and getting chased by a huge rolling boulder; the exceptional fist-fight between Indy and scary-looking Pat Roach by a rotating plane and a fine set-piece involving Indy boarding a moving truck. There are lots of other bits in there too, but those are my favourite moments.

http://homepages.tesco.net/~intruder/movies/movies/raiders.htm
 

Canyon

Well-known member
Just clicked on your link and I love the part where it says:

"Harrison Ford stars in his most famous and best role and has Indy's character spot on. He's dependable, charismatic, handsome, heroic, brave and, best of all, very human."

That to me sums up Indy very well! :D
 

swords

New member
Thanks. I like this part of your review:

The brilliantly evocative 1930s-set saga uses all the old clichés as if they've just been newly minted and dazzling special effects to craft a wonderful Boy's Own yarn that rattles along with wit, invention and the raw spirit of true adventure.

That is a nice way of describing it, Raiders takes from the old yet makes it seem new, which is true!:)
 
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