IGN.com|AskMen.com|Rotten Tomatoes|GameSpy|FilePlanet|TeamXbox|CheatsCodesGuides|GameStats|Direct2Drive
RottenTomatoes.com
Register | Log In | What is RT?
Home Movies DVD Celebrities News Critics Trailers & Pictures The Vine Forums
Box Office | Best Of | Certified Fresh | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches by subscribing to our Google Subscribed Links profile.
 
Movies / On DVD / Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Email to a Friend
  • Add to List
  • Bookmark and Share
  • Buy Poster External Icon

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
94 %
Tomatometer

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted: 47

Fresh: 44

Rotten:3

Average Rating: 8.8/10

Consensus: Featuring bravura set pieces, sly humor, and white-knuckle action, Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the most consummately entertaining adventure pictures of all time.

Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Synopsis: Action-packed and adventure-filled, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is director Steven Spielberg's loving homage to the Saturday matinee cliffhanger serials of his childhood. When the Allies discover the Nazis are planning to use the Lost Ark... Action-packed and adventure-filled, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is director Steven Spielberg's loving homage to the Saturday matinee cliffhanger serials of his childhood. When the Allies discover the Nazis are planning to use the Lost Ark of the Covenant as a weapon, the U.S. government enlists archaeologist-adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) to locate the biblical treasure chest where the remains of the broken tablets of the Ten Commandments were placed. En route, Jones and his feisty ex-girlfriend, Marion (Karen Allen), must escape the clutches of evil Nazis, duplicitous "natives," and a nest of venomous snakes--not to mention the wrath of God. The groundbreaking special effects and furious, never-ending pace make for a stylish whirlwind of a movie, topped off with a fabulous sense of humor. This bare-knuckled, barnstorming, pot-boiling, eye-popping bucket of Technicolor popcorn became Paramount Pictures' highest-grossing film, and deservedly so--RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is quite simple one of the most enjoyable movies ever made. [More]

Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey

Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliott, Alfred Molina

Director: Steven Spielberg

Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriter: Lawrence Kasdan
Story: George Lucas, Philip Kaufman
Producer: Frank Marshall
Composer: John Williams
Studio: Paramount Pictures

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
1 - 5 of 21

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for Raiders of the Lost Ark

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
Ratings Image

Splendid.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
03/04/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Whether you swallow it or not, see it for a handful of totally unexpected visual jokes, worth the price of admission alone.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

The stunts are incredible and the effects astonishing, but it's Harrison Ford's effortlessly charming performance as the original tomb raider that makes his globetrotting quest for the Ark of the Covenant so appealing.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
01/10/02
Neil Smith
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Ford, in a career-minting performance, plays what would've been a cardboard cut-out in the 1930s as grubby, coy, impertinent, imperfect, phobic of snakes and agnostic (describing the Ark's magic as "the power of God or something").

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Andrew Collins
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

The thrills are fully consumed while you’re seeing this movie, and it’s totally over when it’s over. It’s a workout. You feel as if you’d been to the desert digs: at the end your mind is blank, yet you’re parched, you’re puffing hard -- you want relief.

Full Review Source: New Yorker | comment 7 Comments
05/27/08
Pauline Kael
New Yorker
Ratings Image

Justifiably one of the most indelible adventure films in cinematic history...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
05/26/08
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Ratings Image

It's the perfect vacation-time movie: not a serious moment in its whole two hours but so crammed with laughter, thrills and cinematic sleight of hand that audiences will be sorry when it's over.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
05/22/08
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star
Ratings Image

Lost Ark holds up for many reasons, not least of which is because of Spielberg's consummate skill as a visual storyteller and his ability to draw charged performances from his actors.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
05/21/08
Jeremiah Kipp
Slant Magazine
Ratings Image

The postmodern heir to North By Northwest...Like any deathless classic, Raiders is a perfect marriage of star and material.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
05/14/08
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews
Ratings Image

...despite the fast pace, the movie is never frenetic or tiring, just pure, unadulterated fun throughout.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
05/07/08
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
Ratings Image

The most purely fun movie ever made.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
05/06/08
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image

...lets us indulge in childish thrills without feeling silly about it.

Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | comment Comment
05/06/08
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm
Ratings Image

Vastly entertaining, Spielberg's adventure herladed a new breed of Hollywood blockbuster (and event film), a tale that combines classic Hollywood story-telling, playful postmodern sensibility and spectacular stunts presented in rapid-fire pacing.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
03/08/08
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image

perhaps the greatest adventure movie of all time

Full Review Source: sbs.is | comment Comment
02/15/08
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
sbs.is
Ratings Image

...a crackerjack fantasy-adventure that shapes its pulp sensibilities and cliff-hanging serial origins into an exhilarating escapist entertainment that will have broad-cased summer audiences in the palm of its hand.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
06/28/07
Stephen Klain
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

One would think that a collaboration between Steven Spielberg and George Lucas would produce something better than this giggly pastiche of a Republic serial...

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 29 Comments
06/28/07
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Ratings Image

New Hollywood moguls Spielberg and Lucas teamed up to create the first -- and best -- of their extremely popular plunderings of old adventure serials ... In retrospect, it also appears as a precise pop-culture inauguration of Reagan-era retro Americanism.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment Comment
08/07/06
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly
Ratings Image

Classic action set pieces, Harrison Ford at his swashbuckling best, Old Testament spirituality, and a satiric jab at Nazi anti-Semitism.

Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment Comment
11/07/03
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films Guide
Ratings Image

This is the kind of movie that, even today, audiences immediately fall in love with. It has all the right ingredients: a smart script, a likable hero, a dash of romance, more than a touch of comedy, and a lot of fast-paced action.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
11/06/03
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Ratings Image

Throughout the film, Spielberg evokes the kind of armchair-clutching action sequences that remind us why they're called motion pictures.

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
10/27/03
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for Raiders of the Lost Ark

July 28, 2008: Lucas Considers a Fifth Indiana Jones Opens in new window
George Lucas is bringing Clone Wars to a theater near you, getting down to work on the Tuskegee Airmen-inspired Red Tails, and -- oh yeah -- contemplating a fifth Indiana Jones... More...

July 16, 2008: Exclusive: The World of WALL-E
The artists behind this year's freshest film share their story with RT, with exclusive contributions from Andrew Stanton, Ben Burtt, Jim Morris, Lindsay Collins, Angus MacLane,... More...

May 21, 2008: Indiana Jonesin': How Does the Latest Chapter Measure Up?
Everyone has their favorite Indiana Jones movie -- and their own thoughts on if Raiders of the Ark is better than Last Crusade. (Sorry, Temple of Doom -- there's no contest). ... More...

May 12, 2008: RT on DVD: Indiana Jones Box Set, Narnia in Blu-ray, and a Porn Virus Epidemic?
Spaced, the UK cult hit series, is finally headed to the States this summer - but guess what's here now? A 3-disc Indiana Jones DVD collection and Narnia in Blu-ray! (Plus, we... More...

See More Topics...

Related Forums for Raiders of the Lost Ark

check out deleted scene from Raiders of Lost Ark
by: okmanraul 6/24


hype
by: joescannura 5/23


sguy78
The best of the series...
by: sguy78 10/6/07


sguy78
The best of the series...
by: sguy78 10/6/07


...
by: Aapox 4/15/07
See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
ROTTEN: 1 18% The Happening
ROTTEN: 2 35% You Don't Mess with th…
FRESH: 3 93% Iron Man
FRESH: 4 85% Forgetting Sarah Marshall
ROTTEN: 5 50% Sex and the City - The…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
FRESH: 77 77% Indiana Jones and the …
FRESH: 97 97% 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
FRESH: 88 88% Mongol
FRESH: 78 78% Standard Operating Procedure
ROTTEN: 30 30% War, Inc.

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Mirrors

Mirrors

Alexandre Aja talks exclusively to RT!

Best Animated Movies

Best Animated Movies

Which films top RT's list of the greats?

RT's Costume Guide

RT's Costume Guide

Dress to impress this Halloween!

The Brothers Bloom

The Brothers Bloom

New pics of Rachel Weisz' latest!

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Cheadle Replaces Howard for Iron Man 2 Source: Hollywood Reporter
106
  • Weekly Ketchup: Steve Carell to Get Smart again.
66
  • Goyer Debunks Every Single TDK Sequel Rumor Source: MTV
42
  • Weekly Ketchup: Branagh directs Thor, Seagal vs. aliens?
92
  • The Net Reacts to 25 Minutes of Watchmen Footage
50
  • Brett Ratner Is Your God of War Source: UGO
24
  • Kenneth Branagh Directing Thor? Source: Variety
36
  • First Shots of Mia Wasikowska as Burton's Alice Surface Source: Slashfilm
2
  • Bill Murray Talks Ghostbusters 3 Source: Ain't It Cool News
19
  • Weekly Ketchup: Johnny Depp to play Tonto in The Lone Ranger
47
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" Not a Typo
53
  • RT on DVD: Exclusive Indiana Jones Concept Art, Quantum of Solace DVD News
38
  • Critics Consensus: Express Scores, Body of Lies Falls Flat
35
  • Weekly Ketchup: Steve Carell to Get Smart again.
33
  • Box Office Wrapup: The Dogs Rule Once Again