Jun 8th  
Raiders of the Lost Ark*     
(US 1981)                                           
Paramount/Lucasfilm. 115m. Panavision

In 1936 an intrepid archaeologist and the Nazis race to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant which contains dangerous supernatural powers.
The first of the Indiana Jones series, regarded by most fans as the best of them, with the same prescient timing for action and adventure that made Star Wars such a success. The makers slightly overdo the thrills and spills here however, and the story runs aground by the end to make way for a gruesome climax, with characterisation giving way to the exciting set pieces.

Written by: Lawrence Kasdan, from a story by Philip Kaufman, George Lucas.
Producer: Frank Marshall.
Director: Steven Spielberg.
Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliott, Alfred Molina, Wolf Kahler.
Photography: Douglas Slocombe.
Music: John Williams.
Production Design: Norman Reynolds.

100 Favourite Films: Indiana Jones

Preceded by:
Black Angel**
(GB 1980. 27m.; A knight returns to his plague-ridden homeland and duels the Black Angel that has brought this about. Strikingly visual sword-and-sorcery short planned as an accompaniment to The Empire Strikes Back in British cinemas.; w, d: Roger Christian; p: Roger Christian, Leslie Dilley; s: Tony Vogel, Patricia Christian; ph: Roger Pratt; m: Trevor Jones.)