Movie Review: Raiders of the Lost Ark

So…memories can be faulty, but here’s my memory of the film and the impact it had on me.

My recollection is that my twin brother and I saw in in the theaters on our birthday. Now, our birthday is in February and this came out on June 12, 1981. That would mean we saw it on our 14th birthday in February 1982, about nine months after it was released. Maybe it was in the theaters that long – it was the biggest box office success of the year, and remains in the top 25 (adjusted for inflation) of all time. Or maybe it had been re-released in theaters since it had just been nominated for several Oscars, including Best Picture.

In any event, we didn’t see a lot of movies in our small town because our theater was closed. But for our birthday (if memory serves), my parents drove us to Santa Rosa for dinner (the Big Yellow House, maybe?), and then Dennis and I saw this in the theater while my parents did something else.

It was the first “action/adventure” movie that had a big impact on me. I was into sci-fi/fantasy, but while there’s a supernatural element at the end of the film, mostly it’s just action and adventure – and remains the best of the genre of all time.

Also, if my memory of the birthday is correct, I think that would make it the last birthday my twin and I spent together until our 50th birthday in 2018.

It’s possible that I’m totally wrong about it being over our birthday. February 1982 is pushing up against my brother living in Ukiah (but he may have come down for the weekend), and my parents separating and eventually divorcing. Another possibility: it might have been over my parents’ wedding anniversary (September 1981) and we were left at the movies so they could have a date night?

Cosmo Awards

Awards Won

• Best Action/Adventure Movie of All Time (Lifetime Achievement)
• Best Action or Chase Sequence in Movie History (Lifetime Achievement) (Indiana Jones and Nazi chase under the truck)