A movie that has aged incredibly well, in part because it was envisioned as a period piece - stunning production design take us back to a never never land of 1936, when Nazis roamed the globe and Americans could still be described as innocent, when all Arab extras gibbered wildly (actually that hasn't changed much in Hollywood) and bars in Nepal were run by tough talking dames who could drink men under the table, and saloons in the third world had ventian blinds.
It's a world of Charlie Chan, Mr Moto, Howard Hawks, Casablanca, Charlton Heston in Secret of the Incas, Tarzan, Only Angels Have Wings, Torrid Zone, His Girl Friday, 30s serials, Zorro, Stagecoach, Gunga Din, Valley of the Kings, Lawrence of Arabia, Alan Ladd in China. A brilliant, beautiful pastiche, even more effective than Star Wars, made with love, humour and passion, and perhaps the best ever adventure script courtesy of Lawrence Kasdan.
Gripe time - it's annoying we never saw how Indy survived the submerging submarine, or Marian survive the explosion, and once or twice when rewatching this it dragged (particularly the jeep chasing scene). It is extremely violent even by today's standards.
But Harrison Ford is a perfect hero, handsome and stressed out (and a lot more of a prick than I remembered), Karen Allen a feisty, likeable heroine in the Ann Sheridan mode (although how young is she when Indy had her way with her? She says she was a child!), John Rhys Davis and Denholm Elliot perfect sidekicks, Paul Freeman a wonderful villain. It is wonderful fun.
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