Journal #3

I chose to watch Raiders of the Lost Ark, which is the first Indiana Jones film. It was directed by Stephen Spielberg and came out in 1981. George Lucas and Philip Kaufman wrote it. Harrison Ford stars as Indiana Jones, the archeologist/adventurer, who is hired by the government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis do. Karen Allen plays Indiana's love interest, Marion Ravenwood, who goes along with him to find the Ark.
The Music in Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the most notable things about the movie and the Indiana Jones series in general. The film uses an original score by John Williams. The music in Raiders defines the film. It is used in almost every scene to convey the mood and to give the audience a clue as to what is going to happen next. During the scenes with a lot of action, the music would get loud and intense but when it was a relaxed scene the music would be faint in the distance. The most famous use of music in Raiders of the Lost Ark is the theme song for Indiana Jones himself. He has a musical motif that is played whenever he is coming to save the day or has just won a battle. That theme song has defined all the Indiana Jones movies. The composer John Williams did a great job at creating a motif that would be recognizable whenever it was played.
Another fantastic aspect of Raiders of the Lost Ark is the direction. Stephen Spielberg directed this film and it is one of the main reasons that it has become one of the best films ever made. Spielberg is one of the greatest directors of our time and his abilities really shine through in this film. He and George Lucas were the ones who came up with the idea to make this movie. They had all the say into who was cast and what the plot was going to be. Spielberg’s major role in creating the idea of this film gave him the upper hand in actually directing it. He knew how every scene should be shot to make it the best it could be. Spielberg uses his signature film making for this movie. He made everything larger than life. All the sets were incredible. They were huge and very realistic. Also the explosions and action sequences were done in a big way and so the audience would be captivated which they were. The reception for this film was amazing. It got rave reviews and ended up winning four Academy Awards. It was not only reviewed well but it did extremely well at the box office. It made about $209 million. The public loved it. They loved that Indiana wasn’t just another superhero with powers. He was a regular guy that was a hero. People could relate to him and that made them like the movie even more. Even though this movie came out 27 years ago it still is loved today. The whole Indiana Jones series is loved which is shown in that Spielberg and Lucas have made a fourth one that comes out this May and the buzz is enormous. Everyone is so excited for it to come out. All the film aspects of The Raiders of the Lost Ark are very well done. Because of these aspects it has become a classic and Indiana Jones has become America’s favorite action hero.