The thrill of the chase made 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' great

Harrison Ford goes for glory in 1981’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” (Paramount Pictures/MovieStillsDB.com)

The eight-minute truck chase is just one of many things about "Raiders" that captivated audiences then and now.

"Raiders of the Lost Ark"
Released June 12, 1981
Directed by Steven Spielberg 
Where to Watch

"Raiders of the Lost Ark" is the greatest adventure film of all time. Period, end of, send tweet, etc.

And given the film industry's reliance on computer-animated effects, it's not going to be surpassed anytime soon. Yes, Harrison Ford is perfectly cast as the heroic Indiana Jones, a dashing archaeologist who is perpetually moving forward toward his goal while relying on his intelligence, adaptability, and durability to get him past danger after danger. Yes, director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas came together like Hollywood's Mega Powers to create the idealized version of their cinematic childhoods. Yes, screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan manages to craft some of the most efficient and effective exposition scenes ever to catch the audience up on the plot before diving into another extended setpiece. All of these are key reasons why "Raiders" works as well as it does.

But the cherry on top is the action. The filmmakers managed to take the best lessons of 80 years of movie stunts, practical effects, and editing and use them all in one film. Nowhere is that more evident than in the eight-minute chase scene that leads us to the last third of the film.

If, for some reason, you're a movie fan who found these retrospective columns who's never seen "Raiders of the Lost Ark," let's quickly summarize the plot. Indiana is a pre-World War II archaeologist who routinely risks his life to obtain rare and historical artifacts. He's recruited by a government agency to track down the Ark of the Covenant, the Biblical chest said to contain the stone tablets of Moses that announced the 10 Commandments. To find it, Indy must convince his ex-lover Marion (Karen Allen) to help him discover the Ark's resting place in Egypt while staying ahead of a Nazi regiment advised by his rival Belloq (Paul Freeman), who are also on the hunt.

In the first 90 minutes of "Raiders," the heroes and villains trade advantages with ever-escalating urgency, leading to the point where the Nazis gain possession of the Ark while Indy and Marion escape a near-death situation. Indy announces his intention to regain control of the Ark, now transported on a Nazi truck. Along with his aide, Sallah (John Rhys-Davies), Indy and Marion regroup on the sidelines.

"How?" asks Salla.

"I don't know; I'm making this up as I go," Indy replies.

"One of the original images that sent me off on this archaeologist looking for paranormal kinds of things was a shot that was repeated several times in the Republic serials of a guy on a horse jumping onto a truck," said Lucas in a behind-the-scenes retrospective on "Raiders." "So we did that exact same stunt and built a whole sequence around it."

And what a sequence. The movie proceeds to the kind of action-packed chase described by film commentator Patrick H. Willems as a Blue Flame Special. 

With the "Raiders" chase, Indy has a primary goal (regain the Ark) but is challenged to overcome several smaller tasks to achieve his ultimate desire. To use the terminology given in the Blue Flame Special video, the chase is built not with a series of "and then" moments, but many "but" and "therefore." 

The action is staged, so every one of those smaller tasks feels like a climactic moment in itself, thanks to the "but" and "therefore." One example is when Indy catches up to the truck on horseback but ends up right before an armed vehicle. The Nazis begin shooting at him, but Indy quickly rides up in front of the truck, using it for cover; therefore, the Nazis have to cease fire or kill their own men. Indy manages to take control of the truck, but now the Nazis in the back are making their way to him; therefore, he must shake them off. And so on. The story of the chase is filled with "but" and "therefore," as it builds momentum, and the advantage between the opponents constantly changes from second to second.

Of course, there's nothing stopping filmmakers from developing their own Blue Flame Special action sequences using modern-day computer effects. Still, outside of the John Wick and Mission: Impossible franchises, few movies appear interested in using stunts and practical effects to execute. That's another reason why "Raiders" excels. Before CGI was a cinematic tool, the crew of this movie used all of their talents and collective experiences to make the chase feel as real, physical, and dangerous as possible. As the main actor, Ford gets physical in many closeups and medium shots, wrestling with several truck divers while enduring punches, kicks, and even bullets. He's supported by stuntmen Terry Leonard, Vic Armstrong, and Martin Grace (who also appear as some of the nameless Nazis who antagonize Indy during the chase), who double for Ford in some distance shots and dangerous moments, such as the hero intentionally being dragged underneath and behind the truck.

"Terry (Leonard) said, 'This has been eating away at me for years,'" Spielberg said in the same featurette. "'Is there any way you can add a stunt where I go under the truck and come back out the other side?' That whole stunt was his idea."

Spielberg let second unit director Michael D. Moore handling the filming of the complicated chase sequence. Their work, along with Douglas Slocombe's cinematography and Michael Khan's editing, makes the scene a masterwork in building purposive action while giving audiences just enough information to understand where all the characters are at all times. The last garish of the chase is the music of John Williams, then amid a metaphorical hall of fame streak for cinematic scores with "Jaws," "Star Wars," "Superman," and "The Empire Strikes Back." A wonderful, subtle touch occurs at the beginning of the chase: Throughout the movie, we hear teases of the famous Raiders March whenever Indy does something successfully. As Indy mounts the horse to go after the truck, we hear a longer version of the Raiders March, but before the action. It gives us a subliminal idea that, yes, Indy will be successful here too, but like the hero says, we still have no idea how he's going to do it.

The eight-minute truck chase is just one of many things about "Raiders" that captivated audiences then and now. It's a fantastic work of film that deserves to be preserved and studied for its artistic achievement. 

The film's success helped make Spielberg and Lucas household names and industry legends and cemented Ford's status as a leading man beyond the Star Wars movies. It all came from Spielberg’s desire to do an expansive adventure movie, along with Lucas's affection for the cliffhanger serials he watched in his youth.

"I'd been looking to do something that would take me globetrotting," Spielberg said. "I had that in my appetite. By hook or by crook, I would somehow make that international movie involving action, chases, big set pieces, and a fantastic John Williams score. I had the template, but I didn't have the carrier pigeon until George mentioned this idea he had about Indiana Jones."

"It always comes down to what I want to see," Lucas said. "'Raiders' was the one where I just wanted to see the movie. When I was working on 'Star Wars and came up with the idea, I'd say this would be a fun movie. I was constantly trying to get somebody else to do it just so I could see it."

Lots of people saw it. "Raiders" was released at a time when blockbuster movies were rewriting the rules of filmgoing almost every year. The original release earned over $212 million and stayed in theaters for nearly a year. Since this was also a time before cable and video rentals were widely available, you couldn't relive the adventure without going back into the movie theater, so "Raiders" was re-released in the summer of 1982, earning another $21 million, and then yet again in 1983 for another $11 million haul. Who's to say they wouldn't have put it out in theaters again in 1984 if not for "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" premiering across the world. "Raiders" would go on to gross a total of $389.9 worldwide over the years and remains the 22nd top-grossing film of all time in adjusted dollars at the moment. For comparison's sake, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" sold more tickets than "The Godfather," "The Dark Knight," and "The Avengers." That's pretty big.

"What is a little amazing about 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' is that (the) plot somehow holds together and makes some sense, even though it functions primarily as a framework for the most incredible series of action and stunt set pieces I've ever seen in a movie," wrote Roger Ebert in his original review for The Chicago Sun-Times. "Indiana and Marion spend the entire film hanging by their fingernails -- literally, at one point, over a pit of poisonous snakes. 'Raiders of the Lost Ark is a swashbuckling adventure epic in the tradition of 'Star Wars,' 'Superman,' the James Bond pictures, and all the other multimillion-dollar special-effects extravaganzas. It wants only to entertain. It succeeds."

"Raiders" continues to hold our affections, holding approval ratings in the mid-90s on Rotten Tomatoes. A few sequels were produced, which mainly had the high praise of the original movie, but 2008's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" broke the streak. While many fans complained of that movie's science fiction plot, I'd argue the movie's biggest problem is an overreliance on CGI-driven setpieces that eliminated the need for the high-caliber stunt work of the 80s films. 

But if I may paraphrase Indy from the maligned "Crystal Skull," all of the sequels, as good as they could be at times, had the same problem: They're not "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Next Week: "Chinatown"