Steven Spielberg‘s Raiders of the Lost Ark was an arc of cinematic history. When the creator of Star Wars teams up with the director of Jaws to make an all-out, Bond-style adventure, it’s hard to go wrong. The film stars Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman and John Rhys-Davies. The film is centred around Professor Indiana Jones, a fearless archaeologist, who is tasked by the US government to locate an ark rumoured to hold immense power before the Nazis get their first.

George Lucas conceived the idea for Raiders of the Lost Ark in the early 1970s, in a bid to modernise filmmaking from the early 20th century. Alongside Kaufman, who suggested the Ark as the film’s goal, Lucas eventually focused on developing the movie after he shared the idea with Spielberg, who joined the project months later. 

With its everlasting impact on popular culture, critics have deemed the film to be one of the greatest of all time. With a near-perfect rating of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, the critics’ consensus states: “Featuring bravura set pieces, sly humour, and white-knuckle action, Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the most consummately entertaining adventure pictures of all time.”

An audience reviewer described the movie as the “greatest movie of all time”, while another said “one of the best”.

Another viewer said: “True breakthrough in the world of action and adventure. Still holds up today. Five stars.”

“Great movie, definitely an instant classic,” added a fourth.

Another expressed: “One of my favourite movies of all time. I’ve watched this at least a hundred times in my life and still watch it at least once a year.”

One watcher said: “The gold standard of the action-adventure genre, calling ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) a masterpiece is a massive understatement. This movie has aged insanely well! Every time I watch it, I’m blown away. I’m flabbergasted by how many iconic scenes came from this one movie!”

Raiders of the Lost Ark is now streaming on Sky.