Raiders of the Lost Ark - Thriller opening sequence review

Raiders of the Lost ark 

Raiders of the Lost Ark was Directed by Steven Spielberg and Produced by George Lucas in 1981. Lucasfilm and Paramount played a part in this film too. 

In this sequence, Indy and his guide have gone to collect this ‘Golden idol’ from what appears to be some sort of cave. After dodging an arrow dart and stepping carefully, Indy, the man with the hat, collects the head but is then chased out of the cave by various closing doors. He throws the head to his guide in return for the whip but, the guide runs off and leaves him for dead. Indy recovers himself and then slides under the door to find the guide dead as he has been stabbed by multiple spikes. A boulder is then released and Indy darts away and reaches the opening where he is met by tribesmen pointing arrows in his direction. He gives up the head to another explorer but runs of to his ride to the safehouse while being chased by the tribesmen. 

The target audience of this film is for young children and upwards. There is suggested violence and a bit of gore when the guide is killed but other than that, nothing could harm anyone. It’s also a thriller. We, the audience can tell this is a thriller because of the excitement shown in this sequence. We can also tell by their costumes, facial expressions and set and location. For instance, Indy, our main character is wearing all brown to blend in with his surroundings which, is a jungle. The tribesmen aren’t wearing much and that is because of their culture. Their facial expressions are a mixture. Happiness at the start as they have found this rare head. In the middle they are scared and nervous because the cave is falling apart. Finally, relief at the end when they escape the cave. Set is a jungle in South America.  

The camera work is very good and really captures the thriller elements in this film. When the arrows start firing. The director uses a tracking shot so that the audience travel at the same speed as the actor himself immersing us in the film. There are lots of close-ups which, shows the emotion in the character’s face. When we first encounter the sound of the boulder, the use of tracking shot gives the feeling of dread to the audience and then, when Indy is being chased by the boulder the director uses a variety of shots, from wide angle to mid long shots as he runs towards the camera creating a feeling of empathy for him and also we can see the threat following him too. The variety means that the audience can view the ellipses of him escaping the cage. The camera pans from left to right as Indy dives out of the cage showing us how far he jumped. It then reveals the tribesmen with close ups so that we can see their faces. Then when the other explorer is taking his weapon and the head, the director uses an over the shoulder high angle shot which, make Indy look weaker than the other explorer.  

The sound is good at emerging us into the film. At the starts we have a low droning non-diegetic soundtrack which alerts the audience about the danger that is upon the characters. There are spooky and mysterious violins in the background which makes us suspicious about this cave. When the Dart is shot, the violins go to a higher pitch and it sounds surprised and shaken. Along with the non-diegetic soundtrack and the sound of the crunchy leaved beneath his feet, tension is built by all the sounds combined as we hear every one of his footsteps as he approaches the head. When Indy grabs the head, the only instrument playing is a violin. This fills the audience with a sense of relief. But, as the stone falls into the rock, we and the characters hear the booming sound of the cave collapsing. The soundtrack becomes fast-paced to replicate the heartbeat of the characters. The sound of the boulder overpowers every other element and suddenly becomes the main point as you can’t focus on anything thing else. All the music stops as Indy jumps from the cave and we are faced with the tribesmen and all we can hear is the diegetic jungle sounds. Finally, as the pane starts to roll down the river and take off, we get to hear the main theme of the franchise which fills the audience with joy. 

For the editing, the transitions are very smooth. We get to see the whole journey from entering the room where the head is stored to when he gets on the plane and flies off. There is no ellipses so we literally see everything that happens which, allows the audience to see the bravery of Indy and the guides. Indy gets a long screen time showing his status and showing that he is the main character. 

I think this is a successful scene as it depicts a journey and sets the story for the rest of the film. It also makes it unpredictable keeping the audience guessing.