Did you see Raiders of the Lost Ark in the theater in 1981?

Did you see Raiders of the Lost Ark in the theater in 1981?

  • Yes I did

    Votes: 17 47.2%
  • No I didn't

    Votes: 18 50.0%
  • Does the Drive-In count?

    Votes: 1 2.8%

  • Total voters
    36

Henry W Jones

New member
Did you see Raiders of the Lost Ark in the theater in 1981?

If so, how old were you and what affect did it have on you?

If not, what year did you see it? How old were you and what affect did it have on you?

I did see it in 81' twice in the theater. I was 5 almost 6 years old and it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. ;)

P.S. I did a search first and found nothing. Hopefully this is not a repeat thread. If so sorry.
 
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twlightzone1205

New member
I was 8 1/2 when I saw it in an old downtown theater in August of '81. It was a packed house even that far into the summer. It did scare me a little though and I remember wanting to lift my feet up during the Well of the Souls sequence. Great memories as I saw Wrath of Khan at the same location one year later.
 

Henry W Jones

New member
twlightzone1205 said:
I was 8 1/2 when I saw it in an old downtown theater in August of '81. It was a packed house even that far into the summer. It did scare me a little though and I remember wanting to lift my feet up during the Well of the Souls sequence. Great memories as I saw Wrath of Khan at the same location one year later.

The one part I remember scaring me :eek: was also In The Well of Souls when Marion finds the mummified corpses :dead: :dead: :dead: I also remember my Grandma a year later taking me and my bro to the same theater for Khan as well. KHHHHAAAANNNNN!!!!! ;)
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Yes. 3 times in 1981 for me (and 2 more times during the re-release in '82).

Just 2 months before "Raiders" opened, I had turned the very, impressionable age of 14. In my province, Quebec, the film was given a 14+ age rating so it was good timing since some theatres used to check for I.D.

The opening sequence in Peru completely blew me away and the whole movie sparked my interest in history, globe-trotting and old adventure flicks.

Fond memories: My best friend had recently moved downtown and I was staying over at his place for the weekend. We had no plans on going to the movie but that changed after his older brother came home on opening night RAVING about it. He said, "It has everything! Cowboys, Nazis, whips...". My mom had given me $10 to spend for the weekend so we went the very next night, Saturday July 13th, and I still have the ticket stub!
 

Henry W Jones

New member
Stoo said:
Yes. 3 times in 1981 for me (and 2 more times during the re-release in '82).

Just 2 months before "Raiders" opened, I had turned the very, impressionable age of 14. In my province, Quebec, the film was given a 14+ age rating so it was good timing since some theatres used to check for I.D.

The opening sequence in Peru completely blew me away and the whole movie sparked my interest in history, globe-trotting and old adventure flicks.

Fond memories: My best friend had recently moved downtown and I was staying over at his place for the weekend. We had no plans on going to the movie but that changed after his older brother came home on opening night RAVING about it. He said, "It has everything! Cowboys, Nazis, whips...". My mom had given me $10 to spend for the weekend so we went the very next night, Saturday July 13th, and I still have the ticket stub!

That's Awesome Stoo!!! I wish at 5 years old I would have thought to keep my tickets stubs. ;)
 

Tundrarider

New member
Yep.:D

21 years old, stationed in Virginia and I had no idea what I was in for. I recall seeing the Indy "standee" in the lobby as we walked in. That was the only "preview" I had before the film began.

Needless to say, when the ending credits rolled, a life-long fan had been born.

I'm excited to see it 30 years later on the big screen this Friday!(y)

Michael:hat:
 

Henry W Jones

New member
Tundrarider said:
Yep.:D

21 years old, stationed in Virginia and I had no idea what I was in for. I recall seeing the Indy "standee" in the lobby as we walked in. That was the only "preview" I had before the film began.

Needless to say, when the ending credits rolled, a life-long fan had been born.

I'm excited to see it 30 years later on the big screen this Friday!(y)

Michael:hat:


Have fun Friday that's really cool :cool: you are somewhere they are showing it. (y)
 

indyclone25

Well-known member
I saw it the weekend it came out, twice! The movie knocked my socks off. I wanted his hat, jacket and whip, now I do!
 

loganbush

New member
Unfortunately I didn't, but in about summer 2004 or so I got to see it at a huge outdoor screening in Kansas City. So many people were there. Like maybe 1,000 I'd guess. It was filled with laughter and gasps and cheers. It was so fun, and I'm glad this film still brings joy to people. It's one of the reasons I'm going into film.
 

G-Man

New member
No, I was 9 when it came out, but for some reason it passed me by.

The first time is saw it was on a ferry between England and Germany around 1985, but it was dubbed into German, but since I was desperate to watch it for the first time ever I talked my parents into letting me go. I'd seen Temple and read the novelisation of Raiders by then, so was able to follow it, and it was great!

About 5 years ago, a local independent cinema showed it again for 25th anniversary(?), which was the first time I saw it on the big screen in English.
 

Mickiana

Well-known member
Saw it when I was 13 on the big screen. It blew me away. I didn't get to see it again until it came out on one of our commercial channels. I remember it was during a power strike but the load shedding schedule allowed my family to watch it as it was aired. I wanted to be Indiana Jones then and there in 1981. Well, I at least got a whip or two and cracked them until they fell apart. An independent cinema showed an old copy on their big screen several years ago here in Brissy. The first couple of moments the film was purple (colour loss) with the big long streaky lines of deterioration but then it came good. It was great to see it in the cinema again.
 

shazamtd

New member
Although I was 6.5 years old when Raiders came out I never got to see it in the theater. Nor have I ever. :(

I don't even rememeber seeing it for the first time at all. I do know that it was probably on HBO when I did. :D
 

WilliamBoyd8

Active member
I still remember watching "Raiders" in August 1981 at a small theater in
Auburn, California.

I was 33 at the time.

A month later I was in Peru, the start of a five-month trip through
South America.

:)
 
I was a baby only a few months old at the time so no. I am proud though that I was born when Raiders was in post-production, I am now 30 years old and Raiders is 30, oh and my dad was born the same year as Harrison Ford (dad on April 4 and Ford on July 13, 1942 and both were born in Chicago):)

I do vaguely remember a time when Raiders and Temple of Doom were the only Indy films, it was at that time I became an Indy fan when they aired on TV, especially on the Disney channel (yes the Disney channel actually showed a lot of good movies in the late 1980's). I do remember seeing The Last Crusade in theaters in 1989.
 
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Caidanbi

New member
No, I wasn't born yet! :p But I wish I could've seen it in the theatre, my parents did and they said it was really cool!

I think I was about 8 when I saw all the Indy movies, and I just loved them!
 

Chewbacca Jones

New member
I had just turned 8, I knew nothing about it. It was the end of a long and stressful day for the family, and my father thought it would be a good way to end the day on a positive note. He convinced me to go by telling me that Han Solo was in it, and it would be like Star Wars in the past, or something like that.

At any rate, it was one of the best, most enthusiastic audiences I have ever been a part of, and I loved every second of the movie.
 

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
I saw it at a Drive-In....(hence the addition to the poll)

...and don't get me started on the ante-room with the pieces of artifacts that Indy throws on the table back home..."these are good pieces, Marcus"...
 

Henry W Jones

New member
Pale Horse said:
I saw it at a Drive-In....(hence the addition to the poll)

...and don't get me started on the ante-room with the pieces of artifacts that Indy throws on the table back home..."these are good pieces, Marcus"...

I should have worded it "on the big screen" and not "in theater". In my opinion it counts.

P.S. What did I do wrong on posting pics of books and pilots on egg thread for future reference?
 
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