Raiders of the Lost Ark
Movie, 1981, The '80s, Set in 1936
Raiders of the Lost Ark is #6 of 35 in release order and #6 of 35 in chronological order in the Steven Spielberg.
The story
When Dr. Indiana Jones – the tweed-suited professor who just happens to be a celebrated archaeologist – is hired by the government to locate the legendary Ark of the Covenant, he finds himself up against the entire Nazi regime.
Raiders of the Lost Ark recap
In 1936, after narrowly escaping a booby-trapped temple in Peru, only to lose a golden idol to his French rival Rene Belloq, Indiana Jones returns to teaching. Two US Army intelligence officers tell him the Nazis are searching for the Ark of the Covenant, which carried the Ten Commandments and is said to make any army invincible. Indy travels to Nepal to find his old mentor's daughter, Marion Ravenwood, who has a medallion, the headpiece to the Staff of Ra, needed to find the Ark. Marion, still angry at Indy from years before, joins him after Nazis led by the sadistic Toht burn down her bar. In Cairo, they team up with Indy's friend Sallah, and Marion appears to die in a truck explosion. Indy finds the true location of the Ark, the Well of the Souls, full of snakes, and finds Marion alive, but Belloq and the Nazis seal them in the tomb.
Raiders of the Lost Ark ending explained
The Nazis open the Ark on an island, and the spirits inside kill them all while Indy and Marion survive by keeping their eyes shut. Indy and Marion escape the tomb, Indy chases the Ark on a truck, and later they are captured on the island. Back in Washington, the government says "top men" are studying the Ark, which is crated and stored in a vast warehouse.
Post-credits scenes
No. There is no post-credits scene.
Where to watch Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark is streaming on Prime Video, Disney+, fuboTV, Paramount+, and YouTube TV in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 8.4/10, Rotten Tomatoes 94%
Where it fits
- Release order: after 1941, before E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
- Chronological order: after 1941, before E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Cast
- Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones
- Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood
- Paul Freeman as Dr. René Belloq
- John Rhys-Davies as Sallah
- Ronald Lacey as Major Arnold Toht
- Wolf Kahler as Colonel Dietrich
- Anthony Higgins as Gobler
- Denholm Elliott as Dr. Marcus Brody
- Alfred Molina as Satipo
- Vic Tablian as Barranca / Monkey Man
- Don Fellows as Col. Musgrove
- William Hootkins as Major Eaton
Directed by Steven Spielberg.