---
title: "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
year: 1981
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/raiders-of-the-lost-ark"
fi1m_id: "raiders-of-the-lost-ark"
imdb_id: "tt0082971"
tmdb_id: 85
wikidata_id: "Q174284"
fi1m_score: 93
critics_score: 89
critics_reviews: 19
published: "2026-09-15"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:44.774132+00:00"
region: "CA"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Directed by Steven Spielberg · 1h 55m · CHVRS PG · Adventure, Action

## Identity

Raiders of the Lost Ark

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/raiders-of-the-lost-ark
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** raiders-of-the-lost-ark
- **IMDb ID:** tt0082971
- **TMDB ID:** 85
- **Wikidata ID:** Q174284
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082971/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/85, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q174284

**Fi1m score: 93** · Critics 89 from 19 reviews

*In a sentence:* Harrison Ford makes being chased by a boulder look like a difficult day at work

> Steven Spielberg’s adventure earns its excitement through clear action and Harrison Ford’s knack for looking battered but capable. We would recommend it to almost anyone, though its violence is rougher than the playful tone might suggest.

## Synopsis

Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) moves from one dangerous encounter to the next in Steven Spielberg’s action-adventure. A rolling boulder is among the obstacles in his path. Karen Allen plays Marion Ravenwood, with Paul Freeman as Dr. René Belloq and John Rhys-Davies as Sallah. Ronald Lacey’s Major Arnold Toht and Wolf Kahler’s Colonel Dietrich also figure in Jones’s adventure, alongside Denholm Elliott’s Dr. Marcus Brody. Written by Lawrence Kasdan from a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman, the film follows Jones through chases, confrontations and narrow escapes.

## Review

*Raiders of the Lost Ark* is an adventure we would recommend even to people who think they have had enough of chases. Steven Spielberg understands that speed alone will not keep us interested: we need to grasp the danger, wonder how anyone can escape it and care about the person attempting to do so. He makes that look straightforward, which it is not. The film draws on serial adventures without treating their pleasures as something to be embarrassed about.

Harrison Ford makes Indiana Jones worth following because he allows the effort to show. He looks determined enough to tackle the next obstacle and tired enough to regret it, which makes the physical punishment count. We laughed at how little dignity Ford brings to escaping the rolling boulder; he makes getting out alive seem quite enough to ask. His willingness to look harried keeps Jones likeable, even when the danger is plainly outlandish.

Karen Allen’s Marion Ravenwood is a welcome match for that performance, with enough force and humour to make us want more of her. Lawrence Kasdan’s screenplay is at its most enjoyable when it gives the actors room to spar rather than sending them towards the next emergency. Our reservation is that the appetite for another chase sometimes wins too easily. We would happily trade a little forward movement for longer in Allen’s company, especially when the dialogue is doing more than supplying information.

The truck chase shows how carefully the film makes a threat readable. Douglas Slocombe’s photography keeps the truck’s size and Ford’s vulnerability clear, so the danger never becomes a jumble of movement. Michael Kahn’s editing keeps the sequence urgent without making us work out what has happened after the danger has passed. We can anticipate trouble and still be startled by it. Few action films are so attentive to our need to understand where everyone is before they start moving again.

Norman Reynolds’s production design helps the hazards feel solid. The sets have a scale that makes Ford look exposed, and their apparent weight gives the stunt work something convincing to push against. Spielberg uses that space with a practical eye for how a body might move through it, so the scenery earns the attention it receives. We believe in the immediate physical difficulty even when the adventure is asking us to accept something unlikely.

John Williams’s music is generous with encouragement, making Jones sound a little more assured than Ford ever lets him appear. The score gives the action lift without smoothing away its roughness, and its readiness to enjoy the adventure matters. Spielberg is not pretending that this is sensible behaviour, but neither is he nudging us to feel superior to it. It is a relief to watch an adventure that does not keep apologising for being silly.

The caveat is the force of the violence, which can be more unsettling than the joking prepares us for. A PG certificate should not be taken to mean that every child will find the danger comfortably pretend. At 115 minutes, the film is brisk enough to make its occasional thinness between set pieces forgivable. Choose it for an evening when everyone wants an adventure, but do not assume the youngest person on the sofa will take the punishment as lightly as the adults.

*Fi1m score 93, published 15 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews are unanimous: nineteen in, all of them positive, and most treat the film as the high point of the series. The praise gathers around the set pieces, with the opening temple, the boulder and the desert truck chase named again and again, and around Harrison Ford, whose tired, rueful hero several critics consider his best work. Spielberg’s staging, the pace, John Williams’s score and the sparring between Ford and Karen Allen come up nearly as often, and more than one writer credits the film with setting the pattern for the modern blockbuster.

Reservations are scarce and small. The spread runs from roughly 70 to full marks, and the only cooler notice, from Total Film, concerns the IMAX re-release, where some effects look their age even as the boulder still lands. A few critics mention the theme-park pacing without minding it, and one or two read the film as a knowing parody of old serials rather than a straight adventure, which is as close to disagreement as the reviews get.

## Straight answers

**Is Raiders of the Lost Ark worth watching?**

*Raiders of the Lost Ark* is worth watching for almost anyone who wants an adventure that keeps its danger clear and its hero likeable, and we scored it 93. Harrison Ford lets the effort show, and Spielberg makes sure we always know where everyone is before the chase resumes. The violence is rougher than the jokes suggest, so the youngest viewers may find it less playful than the adults do.

**How long is Raiders of the Lost Ark, and what is it rated?**

*Raiders of the Lost Ark* runs 1h 55m and is rated PG by the CHVRS in Canada. It is an adventure and action film.

**Where can I watch Raiders of the Lost Ark in Canada?**

*Raiders of the Lost Ark* is streaming on Crave and Amazon Prime Video in Canada, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from CA$4.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How does Raiders of the Lost Ark compare to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom?**

*Raiders of the Lost Ark* is the better film of the two, and by some distance. [*Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom*](https://film.one/film/indiana-jones-and-the-temple-of-doom) has set pieces as well built as anything Spielberg has made, but its heroine only screams and its view of India should have embarrassed everyone involved. The earlier film gives Karen Allen a real part and keeps its sense of humour without the ugliness.

**Do you need to have seen the other Indiana Jones films before Raiders of the Lost Ark?**

*Raiders of the Lost Ark* needs no prior knowledge of the Indiana Jones series and is the natural place to start. It is a complete adventure on its own, moving Jones from one narrow escape to the next with everything you need to know supplied as it goes. Nothing in the later titles is required to follow or enjoy it.

**What should I watch after Raiders of the Lost Ark?**

After *Raiders of the Lost Ark*, try [*The Adventures of Robin Hood*](https://film.one/film/the-adventures-of-robin-hood) (1938, Fi1m 90): Swordplay, brisk romance and a hero who makes danger look inviting. Then [*The Mummy*](https://film.one/film/the-mummy) (1999, Fi1m 71): Ancient dangers and combative leads, with a similarly cheerful tolerance for nonsense; and [*The Adventures of Tintin*](https://film.one/film/the-adventures-of-tintin) (2011, Fi1m 77): Impossible chases with complications that remain easy to follow at speed.

**What order should I watch the Indiana Jones films in?**

Release order is the safe choice for Indiana Jones, and it is the order [our collection page](https://film.one/collections/indiana-jones) lists them in. *Raiders of the Lost Ark* is the first of the 5 Indiana Jones titles on Fi1m; after it [*Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom*](https://film.one/film/indiana-jones-and-the-temple-of-doom). [The full order.](https://film.one/collections/indiana-jones.md)

### Reviews we read (19)

- **Evening Standard**, William Mata (5/5): The critic ranks it the best in the Indiana Jones series and calls it the most even and complete film, possibly the best-executed Lucasfilm release. They single out the opening temple scene, classic moments like the propeller death and fedora save, and the genuinely scary Nazi villains. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/indiana-jones-films-ranked-harrison-ford-b1091051.html)
- **Radio Times**, Alan Jones (5/5): The critic calls it a definitive action masterpiece and breathless fantasy extravaganza. They praise the witty invention, raw spirit of adventure, and Spielberg at the height of his powers, especially the spine-tingling climactic effects. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-b9cwoi/raiders-of-the-lost-ark/)
- **Time Out**, Tom Huddleston (5/5): The critic hails it as the greatest adventure movie ever made. They single out Harrison Ford's wry, world-weary performance and the bone-crunching intensity of the central desert chase sequence. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/raiders-of-the-lost-ark)
- **The AV Club**, Tom Breihan (95/100, inferred): The review celebrates Raiders as a perfect distillation of cliffhanging adventure serials into pure cinema and the ultimate Disneyland-style thrill ride. It praises the virtuoso staging of action set pieces, the self-conscious silliness, and the way it transforms spectacle into something enduringly entertaining. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/indiana-jones-made-his-nazi-punching-debut-in-the-ultim-1841917523)
- **Empire**, Danny Eccleston (90/100, inferred): Spielberg delivers a note-perfect adventure movie and the start of a great franchise after the disappointment of 1941. The film excels through its spectacular set-pieces, brisk storytelling, and iconic moments like the improvised gun-vs-sword scene. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/empire-essay-indiana-jones-raiders-lost-ark-review/)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (90/100, inferred): The film is a technical exercise and exuberant serial that succeeds as great entertainment while embedding Spielberg's anti-Nazi and religious themes. Harrison Ford embodies the indestructible hero at the center of nonstop action and fun. [Read](https://rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-1981)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Arthur Knight (90/100, inferred): The critic hails the film as terrific entertainment and a solid achievement in every department. He singles out the stunt work, lavish sets, and pulse-pounding score for particular praise. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/raiders-lost-ark-review-1981-movie-1011481)
- **The New York Times**, Vincent Canby (90/100, inferred): From the opening moments, the film races at a breakneck pace as one of the most deliriously funny, ingenious and stylish American adventure movies ever made. It refines tacky serial sources into a work with its own rare sensibility, full of humor and style without being a sendup. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/12/movies/moviesspecial/raiders-of-the-lost-ark.html)
- **The Times**, Wendy Ide (90/100, inferred): Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark is rereleased and you are strongly advised to catch it on an IMAX screen. It is easy to forget just how breathlessly exciting was this original ripping yarn, with playful humour and special effects that hold up remarkably well, and Harrison Ford has never been better as the dashing archaeologist. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-pzdb0f7k3mc)
- **Variety**, Stephen Klain (90/100, inferred): The film is a crackerjack fantasy-adventure that turns pulp serial origins into exhilarating escapist entertainment with broad appeal. Spielberg balances escapist fun and hard-edged action with mystical wonder, strong characterizations from Ford and Allen, and top technical craft. [Read](https://variety.com/1981/film/reviews/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-1200425049/)
- **Vulture** (90/100, inferred): The piece declares Raiders the only truly great Indiana Jones film and one of the greatest adventure movies ever made. It singles out the unbroken chain of great set pieces and the perfect pairing of Spielberg’s direction with Ford’s star turn for praise. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2023/07/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-is-the-only-great-indiana-jones-film.html)
- **Slant Magazine**, Jake Cole (85/100, inferred): The critic praises Raiders as a remarkable achievement in action cinema, highlighting its stunt choreography, production design, and enduring special effects. He notes it as a pulp epic rooted in serial traditions. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/indiana-jones-4-movie-collection-4k-review-steven-spielberg/)
- **The Guardian** (85/100, inferred): Spielberg's rollicking adventure yarn still looks buoyant and dashing after 30 years. The film is crammed with great stuff like creepy spiders and skulls, and rays of sunlight that open granite doors, and remains a treat. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/sep/20/raiders-of-lost-ark-review)
- **The New Yorker**, David Denby (85/100, inferred): The critic highlights the original film's romping confidence and electrifying energy as both an action-adventure and an exuberant parody of old serials. He singles out the inventive physical action sequences, the chemistry between Harrison Ford and Karen Allen, and the formula's blend of formula and surprise for particular praise. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/06/02/indy-charts)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Dennis Lim (80/100, inferred): The piece positions Raiders as the template for the modern blockbuster with its relentless pace and theme-park aesthetic. It singles out the unvarying momentum, John Williams' score, and the strong spark between Harrison Ford and Karen Allen as reasons it has held up best among the early films. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-may-11-ca-secondlook11-story.html)
- **Total Film**, Neil Smith (70/100, inferred): The IMAX re-release of the 1981 classic is worth seeing for its enhanced sound mix and newly visible details in the visuals. Some effects look dated on the big screen, but the boulder chase and whip cracks remain thrilling. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/indiana-jones-and-the-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-review/)
- **Collider**, Chase Hutchinson (A-): The critic calls it a near-perfect work and the undisputed high mark of the series. They praise Harrison Ford's vulnerable yet charming performance as Indiana Jones, the film's kinetic action sequences, and Spielberg's direction that balances thrills with emotional investment. [Read](https://collider.com/indiana-jones-and-the-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-review/)
- **Film Stories**, A J Black (90/100, inferred): The critic highlights the film's enduring appeal, its blend of humor, thrills, and darker elements, and praises its set pieces, character depth, and status as the gold standard of adventure films. [Read](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/indiana-jones-revisited-heading-back-to-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-1981/)
- **HeyUGuys**, Dave Roper (*****): Praises the iconic set pieces, Harrison Ford's perfect casting, Spielberg's direction, and declares it the finest action adventure film and one of Spielberg's best. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/video-vault-raiders-of-the-lost-ark/)

## Details

- **Director:** Steven Spielberg
- **Director:** Steven Spielberg
- **Screenplay:** Lawrence Kasdan
- **Story:** Philip Kaufman, George Lucas
- **Cinematography:** Douglas Slocombe
- **Editor:** Michael Kahn
- **Music:** John Williams, London Symphony Orchestra
- **Production design:** Norman Reynolds
- **Costume design:** Deborah Nadoolman Landis
- **Producer:** Frank Marshall
- **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
- **Runtime:** 1h 55m
- **Certificate (CHVRS):** PG
- **Release (Canada):** 12 June 1981
- **Genres:** Adventure, Action
- **Part of:** [Indiana Jones](https://film.one/collections/indiana-jones.md) · 1 of 5
- **Also in:** [Best Picture winners](https://film.one/collections/oscar-best-picture.md) (Nominee, 1981); [BAFTA Best Film winners](https://film.one/collections/bafta-best-film.md) (Nominee, 1981)
- **Budget:** $18 million
- **Box office:** $390 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xQSIdSRlAk

## Where to watch in Canada

- Crave: streaming
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on
- Amazon Prime Video: rent CA$4.99, uhd
- Apple TV: rent CA$4.99, hd
- Apple TV: buy CA$14.99, sd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy CA$19.99, uhd

*Checked 2026-09-15.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 1982: Best Cinematography (nominated); Best Director (nominated); Best Original Score (nominated); Best Picture (nominated); Best Film Editing (won); Best Production Design (won); Best Sound (won); Best Visual Effects (won)
- Hugo Awards 1982: Best Dramatic Presentation (won)

## If you liked this

- *The Adventures of Robin Hood* (1938), Fi1m 90: Swordplay, brisk romance and a hero who makes danger look inviting — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-adventures-of-robin-hood.md)
- *That Man from Rio* (1964): A chase comedy with enough charm to make its recklessness forgivable
- *Police Story* (1985): Physical comedy and punishing stunts, with every awkward landing made to matter
- *The Mummy* (1999), Fi1m 71: Ancient dangers and combative leads, with a similarly cheerful tolerance for nonsense — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-mummy.md)
- *The Adventures of Tintin* (2011), Fi1m 77: Impossible chases with complications that remain easy to follow at speed — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-adventures-of-tintin.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/raiders-of-the-lost-ark