Though both movies have action sequences that rank among the best of all-time, The Last Crusade edges out the original. From the opening train fight to the boat chase through Venice to the wild tank battle, these action scenes come one after another and are all extremely impress
Jaws opens with a point-of-view tracking shot through the ocean. It could be the point-of-view of the shark, but it looks a lot like the point-of-view of a snorkeler. When we watch this scene as an audience member, we’re taken back to memories of swimming in the ocean. With John Williams’ ominous score playing over it, building suspense, we’re terrif
He seems genuinely excited about the work, which we come to learn is inspired by his father’s teachings. This makes the final journey to find the Holy Grail all the more satisfying as Indy and his father both us their knowledge to escape the traps, beat the bad guys and find the true
When she’s not fighting, Marion is often stuck with people who want to take advantage of her. Pirate captain Katanga even saves her life by claiming she’s a sex slave to be sold. To be fair, Marion is the series’ best female lead but given her role in Raiders of the Lost Ark Gold guide Ark, the bar’s set pretty
The Last Crusade has some memorable villains but they’re all just a little too cliché without any real personality. Raiders of the Lost Ark makes Belloq a more complex bad guy while the Nazi officer Toht was a frightening yet weaselly henchman who you couldn’t wait to see get his comeuppa
Steven Spielberg is quite possibly the most imaginative and diverse director of his generation, and this is best seen in his blockbuster legend Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indiana Jones’ (Harrison Ford) cinematic debut has him fighting Nazis around the world in a breathtaking adventure movie that only Spielberg could make. Since then, action movies followed Raiders’ example and Indy’s presence was never forgot
Cartoonishly evil Nazis are practically a tradition of heightened World War II fiction, with Raiders of the Lost Ark featuring its famously occult-obsessed members of the Third Reich. As delightfully villainous as Major Toht and company may be, their characterizations still ignored the inhuman ideals that real-world Nazis belie
Given how many comic book movies are around these days, it’s easy to forget how difficult it can be to introduce a character no one has ever heard of and make the audience cheer for them almost immediat
Steven Spielberg has been revered by film buffs and casual moviegoers alike since his directing career begin in the ‘70s. Bursting onto the scene with his first breakout hit Jaws in 1975, effectively birthing the summer blockbuster (for better or for worse), Spielberg has continued to revolutionize Hollywood filmmaking for deca
One of Indy’s best friends is Sallah, a fellow archeologist and excavator who’s known for his jovial attitude. He’s also an Egyptian who’s portrayed by the Welsh actor John Rhys-Davies in both Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusa
Raiders of the Lost Ark overflows with iconic moments, with its prologue being one of the best opening acts in cinematic history . Here, Indy braves a trap-filled temple to get his hands on an ancient artifact. Because of how effective this sequence was, it became the subject of parody ever since it was first seen in cine
Karen Allen brings so much humor, heart, and fun to the character. From her first scene where we find her in the midst of a drinking contest, she makes for an unforgettable character who is a welcome addition to this advent
Selleck ended up turning down the role due to CBS picking up Magnum PI , but the show was delayed due to an actor’s strike. Since Raiders of the Lost Ark filmed in different parts of the world, Selleck could have played Indiana Jones, but by that point, Ford was already cast in the role inst
From the minds of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg and brought to life on the big screen by Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones is undoubtedly one of the best cinematic heroes of all time. Though he is a professor of archaeology in his day job, Jones spends his spare time traveling the globe and facing danger while recovering long lost artifa
Movie MacGuffins existed long before Indiana Jones, but this franchise really perfected the concept. Indy is always after some ancient artifact that is said to possess incredible power. If such an artifact were to fall into the wrong hands, it could be devastating to the wo
Since Raiders of the Lost Ark was inspired by the pulpy adventure serials of the 1930s , the early conceptual designs for the characters were a lot pulpier. The pulpiest of the bunch was the initial design for the Nazi villain, Arnold Toht. Whereas he’s just a sinister man in black in the final film, he was originally supposed to wear a cartoonishly kitted-out Nazi unif
Raiders of the Lost Ark was the first cinematic Indiana Jones adventure and did a fantastic job presenting a hero that would go down in cinema history. As soon as Ford steps out of the shadows in that first scene, we were hooked to this guy. The movie showed him to be a smart, charming rogue who could kick butt but was never taken overly seriou