Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Sign in with Plex to see what you can watch and keep a watchlist.

Wikidata Q174284, film, IMDb tt0082971, TMDB 85: matched by corpus:resolve, told apart by the only film by that title; 10 more episodes agree.

What a model would be handed about it, for corpus:ask.

In the store as #133, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

The Rewatchables' awards

From ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey (2021-06-08):

Most rewatchable scene

  1. pick The opening Peruvian temple sequence
    “it's in the running for best opening scene of all times.”
    unknown · 0:39:56
  2. pick The Cairo sequence, Indy shooting the swordsman
    “We had the Egypt fight scene.”
    Bill Simmons · 0:44:03
  3. pick Indy finding the Ark in the map room
    “Indie finding the arc.”
    Bill Simmons · 0:45:55
  4. floated The snake pit in the Well of Souls
    “The snake pit scene had that as well.”
    unknown · 0:46:29
  5. floated The airplane fight into the truck chase
    “the airplane fight right into the truck chase.”
    unknown · 0:47:51
  6. pick The face melting at the end
    “the last one I have is face melted palooza.”
    Bill Simmons · 0:49:04
  7. pick The exposition scene where the agents visit Marcus and Indy at college
    “So as exposition scenes go?”
    unknown · 0:49:33
  8. pick The opening scene, with the airplane fight into the truck chase second
    “I have the opening scene as my most rewatchable scene”
    unknown · 0:51:45

Ebert's review · Reading of Roger Ebert's review of the film.

  1. pick Raiders of the Lost Ark: Four stars; he called it a series of breathless and incredible adventures.
    “Roger Ebert, our guy, 4 stars.”
    unknown · 0:37:51

Oscar redo · Who would win the 1981 best director Oscar in a redo.

  1. pick Reds: Warren Beatty would still beat Spielberg for Reds; Raiders and Reds both better than Chariots of Fire.
    “I think Beatty still wins.”
    unknown · 0:35:13

What aged the best · What about the movie has held up best.

  1. pick John Williams's score
    “I think we've neglected to like nominate the score in a couple of more recent ones and I just want to say that this is probably my favorite.”
    unknown · 0:54:46
  2. pick The sub-two-hour running time
    “Less than 2 hours.”
    unknown · 0:55:36
  3. pick Indy's fedora
    “Harrison Ford's hat is great.”
    unknown · 0:55:49
  4. pick Alfred Molina as Satipo
    “Really young Alfred Molina?”
    unknown · 0:56:19
  5. pick Paramount's cheap VHS release of Raiders: Best-selling VHS of the 80s.
    “Paramount releases 500,000 home video copies of Raiders priced at 3995.”
    Bill Simmons · 0:57:26
  6. pick Paul Freeman as Belloc: The fly going into his mouth while Indy threatens him.
    “So another what stage the best, Paul Freeman”
    Bill Simmons · 0:58:12
  7. pick Indy aiming the rocket launcher at Belloc
    “It's the moment when Indy has the rocket launcher”
    unknown · 0:58:36
  8. pick Nazis as movie villains
    “Nazis as villains, all those great things.”
    unknown · 0:58:47
  9. pick The student who leaves Indy an apple, which Marcus eats
    “the one male student in his class who leaves him at Apple”
    unknown · 0:59:04
  10. pick Karen Allen going to Cruising, followed by Raiders
    “Karen Allen going cruising, followed by Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
    Bill Simmons · 0:59:36
  11. pick The flashback bar in Airplane, the bar in the middle of nowhere
    “I had one more would say the best, because airplanes the year before this.”
    Bill Simmons · 1:00:08

What aged the worst · What about the movie has held up worst.

  1. pick The Indy and Marion chemistry: Never buys them as a couple; calls it the biggest flaw of the movie.
    “The Indiana Jones marrying chemistry.”
    Bill Simmons · 1:01:17
  2. pick The original name Indiana Smith
    “I can't believe the original name for Indiana Jones was Indiana Smith”
    unknown · 1:03:10
  3. pick Karen Allen: Complained that her backstory ideas were cut.
    “Karen Allen did a lot of bitching about this movie”
    Bill Simmons · 1:03:31
  4. pick The ghost special effects and red-line travel map
    “The ghost are pretty rough.”
    Bill Simmons · 1:04:35
  5. pick Casting British actors as non-British characters
    “anytime there's a character who is not English or American, they're like, let's cast a British guy.”
    unknown · 1:07:50
  6. pick Paul Freeman as Belloc: Should have gone to a better-known actor.
    “I had Paul Freeman in what stage the worst.”
    unknown · 1:08:13
  7. pick Marcel the monkey from Friends
    “Up there with Marcel and Friends is my least favorite.”
    unknown · 1:09:16
  8. pick Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
    “The sequel.”
    Bill Simmons · 1:09:40
  9. pick Pauline Kael's review: She missed the point of what was changing, though it is an incredible review.
    “I would put it more in the what's age the worst”
    unknown · 1:10:56
  10. pick Cutting the Playboy intro for Indy
    “I don't know why they cut the Playboy stuff”
    unknown · 1:11:14
  11. pick Indiana Jones as archaeologist or looter
    “one of the things that's aged the worst is like, you know, they got the British Museum returning artifacts.”
    unknown · 1:47:28

Casting What Ifs · Who was almost cast or considered.

  1. pick Philip Kaufman: Kaufman was to direct but left for The Outlaw Josey Wales.
    “So Coffin was supposed to direct this film.”
    Bill Simmons · 1:13:22
  2. pick Debra Winger as Marion
    “Lucas wanted Deborah Winger wasn't interested.”
    Bill Simmons · 1:13:35
  3. pick Sean Young: Screen-tested opposite Ford, which led to Blade Runner.
    “They use Sean Young for the screen test for all the India auditions”
    Bill Simmons · 1:13:50
  4. pick Jeff Bridges as Indiana Jones
    “Jeff Bridges would have been good.”
    unknown · 1:14:15
  5. pick Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones: Fit for the costume, but tied to Magnum P.I.
    “Lucas's wife preferred Tom Selleck, planted that bug.”
    Bill Simmons · 1:15:53
  6. pick Danny DeVito as Sallah
    “DeVito was supposed to play Sala.”
    Bill Simmons · 1:19:31
  7. pick Klaus Kinski as Toht
    “Klaus Kinsky. Was offered the role of, of Tot”
    Bill Simmons · 1:19:51
  8. pick Jonathan Pryce as Belloc
    “Jonathan Price was considered for Bellac”
    Bill Simmons · 1:21:13

Joey Pants Award · Best that guy.

  1. winner Paul Freeman as Belloc
    “So Paul Freeman probably wins for Belloc”
    unknown · 1:22:53
  2. nominee Ronald Lacy as Toht
    “And Ronald Lacy was taught.”
    unknown · 1:23:00
  3. nominee John Rhys-Davies as Sallah
    “So John Reece Davis is too big for”
    unknown · 1:23:07

Vincent Hanna Award · Best overacting.

  1. winner Alfred Molina as Satipo
    “I have Molina and Carrot Allen.”
    unknown · 1:23:20
  2. winner Karen Allen as Marion
    “I have Molina and Carrot Allen.”
    unknown · 1:23:20
  3. nominee Denholm Elliott as Marcus Brody
    “Denham Elliott has a little bit of, like, stop trying to interrupt indie energy”
    unknown · 1:23:34

Jed Nelson Award · The character who seems to be in a completely different movie.

  1. winner The Sherpa
    “The Sherpa, the Sherpa is like in, you know, yeah, maybe the Sherpa.”
    unknown · 1:24:06
  2. nominee Katanga as Katanga: Seems to be in a James Bond movie.
    “What about Katanga?”
    Bill Simmons · 1:24:10

Dion Waiters Award · Small role, big impact.

  1. nominee The eyelid student
    “The nominees are the eyelid student.”
    Bill Simmons · 1:24:19
  2. nominee Pat Roach as Bald Nazi mechanic and giant Sherpa: Killed twice.
    “His name was Pat Roach, Burly British wrestler.”
    Bill Simmons · 1:24:30
  3. winner Katanga
    “I have Mr. Katanga for this.”
    unknown · 1:24:40

Reverse Dion Waiters · The one who does the least with the most.

  1. winner The Cairo swordsman: Has the drop on Indy, talks a lot, and gets shot.
    “reverse Dion Waiters for the guy who does the least with the most”
    unknown · 1:24:50

Apex Mountain · Where a star's career or a thing sits on the mountain.

  1. winner Harrison Ford: At the summit with Star Wars, Raiders and Blade Runner.
    “Ford.”
    unknown · 1:34:53
  2. winner Karen Allen
    “Karen now in Apex Mountain, yes.”
    unknown · 1:35:46
  3. winner Denholm Elliott
    “Denholm Elliott had trading places the following year.”
    unknown · 1:35:49
  4. winner Nazis as movie villains
    “Nazis is movie villains.”
    unknown · 1:36:17
  5. winner Monkeys in comedy movies
    “Monkeys as, uh, comedy movie things that go badly.”
    unknown · 1:36:50
  6. winner John Williams: The apex is a 50-year plateau; Jurassic Park and Indy sit near the top.
    “And it seems like his apex just lasted for 50 years.”
    unknown · 1:38:45
  7. winner Fedoras
    “I think, like, being an American man in the 1940s and 50s is Apex Mountain for Fedorus.”
    unknown · 1:39:39

Picking Nits · Nitpicks of a film they love.

  1. pick The dead Molina dummy
    “The dead Melina dummy is tough.”
    Bill Simmons · 1:39:50
  2. pick Indy taking punches from the bald Nazi
    “Indie taking 15 straight to the face punches”
    Bill Simmons · 1:39:56
  3. pick Why they never just kill Indy
    “Why didn't they just kill Indie 7 points during the movie?”
    Bill Simmons · 1:40:04
  4. pick Marion's drinking as Marion
    “Was Marion like John Paul Bonham?”
    Bill Simmons · 1:40:10
  5. pick Nobody reacts enough to finding the Ark
    “I just feel like everybody is underreacting to the fact that they found the Ark of the Covenant.”
    Chris Ryan · 1:41:36
  6. pick How Indy knows closing your eyes works
    “how does Indy know that closing your eyes spares you from the ghosts coming out?”
    Chris Ryan · 1:42:03
  7. pick Who maintains the snakes in the tomb
    “who's handling snake maintenance in that tomb?”
    unknown · 1:42:35
  8. pick Whether Hitler really loved the occult
    “Did Hitler really love the occult this much or did they just shoehorn that in?”
    unknown · 1:43:03

Unanswerable questions · Questions the movie leaves open.

  1. pick Was Marion's bar breaking even
    “You think she was breaking even on that thing?”
    unknown · 1:45:02
  2. pick Why Belloc's head exploding isn't the go-to reference over Scanners
    “Why didn't Bellox head exploding become the go-to exploding head reference and not scanners?”
    unknown · 1:45:18
  3. pick Is the movie worse with Tom Selleck: Would it still be a $330 million movie.
    “This movie's worse with Tom Selleck.”
    Bill Simmons · 1:46:04
  4. pick Does E.T. happen without this movie
    “Does ZT happen without this movie?”
    unknown · 1:46:31
  5. pick Satchel or man purse
    “Would you call it a man purse, that indie hat or would you call it a satchel?”
    unknown · 1:46:57
  6. pick Archaeologist or just looter
    “Archaeologist or just looter?”
    unknown · 1:47:25
  7. pick Why Marion keeps changing outfits
    “everybody wants to give Marian a different outfit to wear in this movie.”
    unknown · 1:48:29
  8. pick What actually motivates Indiana Jones
    “what is actually motivating Indiana Jones?”
    unknown · 1:49:20

Memorabilia · A prop they would own.

  1. pick Katanga's white turtleneck
    “I love Katanka's turtleneck.”
    unknown · 1:51:08
  2. pick The medallion
    “I thought the medallion would be good.”
    unknown · 1:51:38
  3. pick Indy's satchel
    “Indies satchel would be cool.”
    unknown · 1:51:46
  4. pick The bullwhip
    “I thought the bull whip would be cool.”
    unknown · 1:51:49
  5. pick The fedora
    “But I think the fedora is the answer.”
    unknown · 1:51:50
  6. pick The boulder
    “I'd like to park that boulder right in my driveway.”
    unknown · 1:51:53

Who Won the Movie · Who came out ahead from the movie.

  1. nominee Harrison Ford
    “Ford.”
    unknown · 1:52:20
  2. winner Steven Spielberg
    “I think it has to be Spielberg”
    unknown · 1:52:56
  3. winner Harrison Ford
    “Ford.”
    Craig Horlbeck · 1:54:54

Picked in other episodes

Who talked about it

Blank Check with Griffin & David

Blank Check — Patreon

The Big Picture

The Rewatchables

Came from

What the speakers say it drew on. Each is a speaker's account: “the maker said so” when they report the maker's own words, “the host's read” when the read is theirs.

James Bond films (the franchise): 3 lines the maker said so ×1 the host's read ×2

  1. lineage (lineage): James Bond films (the franchise) ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the maker said so: Spielberg's account of the Hawaii conversation with Lucas). Lucas pitched Raiders to Spielberg as a better, American take on the Bond idea Spielberg had been wanting to do.
    “I have the I have the same basic idea, but better, and it's this Raiders of the Lost Ark idea.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:49:39 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Chuck Jones: 2 lines the host's read ×2

  1. craft (craft): Chuck Jones ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the host's read). Spielberg's staging has a Chuck Jones element, going back to Chuck Jones as a cartoon influence.
    “how important Chuck Jones was to Steven Spielberg at the time”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:36:15 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.60 sure it was them)

The Fabelmans: 2 lines the host's read ×2

  1. theme (theme): The Fabelmans ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the host's read). Marion's monkey scenes mirror Spielberg's mother's relationship with the monkey shown in The Fabelmans.
    “the relationship Marion has with the monkey, in that brief amount of screen time, feels so mirrored to his mother's relationship with the monkey”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:28:09 · unknown (0.50 sure it was them)

Flash Gordon (Republic serial): 1 line the host's read ×1

  1. lineage (lineage): Flash Gordon (Republic serial) ⇒ Raiders of the Lost Ark (the host's read). Lucas conceived Indiana Jones as a B-picture at A-picture scale, like the old Republic serials.
    “let's make a sort of B picture at an A picture scale, right?”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:46:47 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Led to

What the speakers say drew on it, marked the same way.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: 2 lines the host's read ×2

  1. contrast (contrast): Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (the host's read). Willie Scott was built as the anti-Marion, which means doing the opposite of what works.
    “the anti-Marian means you're doing the opposite of what works.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:53:35 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.50 sure it was them)

Chris Pratt: 1 line the host's read ×1

  1. lineage (lineage): Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Chris Pratt (the host's read). The wrong lessons from Indiana Jones were taken by later action heroes like Pratt.
    “the lessons that we took from that character that like Chris Pratt took maybe from that character are not the ones that I think we should have been taking”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:09:40 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)

Empire of the Sun: 1 line the host's read ×1

  1. craft (shot design): Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Empire of the Sun (the host's read). Same slow reveal as Indiana Jones in pieces before the hero shot.
    “which similarly has the like Spielberg taking 5 minutes to show you Indiana Jones in pieces before you really get the hero shot”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:38:17 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Soderbergh's silent Raiders remix: 1 line the host's read ×1

  1. lineage (lineage): Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Soderbergh's silent Raiders remix (the host's read). Soderbergh re-cut Raiders silent, black and white, over The Social Network score.
    “It's basically his silent film remix of Raiders, black and white film with the social network score playing over it”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:10:25 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)

The Color of Money: 1 line the host's read ×1

  1. craft (camera-movement coverage): Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ The Color of Money (the host's read). Scorsese covers scenes with morphing moving master shots, like Spielberg's quick efficient coverage, to stay under schedule.
    “But he's doing like all this Spielberg, like coverage with camera movement.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Color of Money with Chris Ryan · 1:21:44 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

The Horizon Experiment (comic): 1 line the host's read ×1

  1. contrast (contrast): Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ The Horizon Experiment (comic) (the host's read). A current comic flips Indiana Jones into someone taking things out of museums back to adventure.
    “a comic book out right now called the Horizon experiment by the guys that did the good Asian”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:24:12 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.80 sure it was them)

Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl: 1 line the host's read ×1

  1. craft (plot structure): Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (the host's read). The film fails to tie its Indiana-Jones-style MacGuffin to the Wallace-Gromit relationship.
    “They fail to make the, um, the plot, the sort of like Indiana Jones-S McGuffin of what they're up against directly relate to Wallace and Gromit's relationship.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 2:11:21 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Connected to

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: 5 lines contrast ×2 craft ×2 theme ×1

  1. theme (theme): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Each early film is a different religion: Jewish, Hindu, Christian folk mysticism.
    “this is about Jewish mysticism, temple doom is about Hindu mysticism.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:14:29 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Harrison Ford: 4 lines career ×2 verdict ×1 people ×1

  1. people (people): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Harrison Ford. Ford's nerd-professor-turned-hero is called the best action hero star performance ever.
    “And it is the best action hero star performance.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:09:22 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)

Chuck Jones: 3 lines craft ×3

  1. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Chuck Jones. Spielberg's staging has a Chuck Jones element, going back to Chuck Jones as a cartoon influence.
    “how important Chuck Jones was to Steven Spielberg at the time”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:36:15 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.60 sure it was them)

James Bond films (the franchise): 3 lines craft ×2 lineage ×1

  1. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → James Bond films (the franchise). The Cairo plane fight with the burly Nazi is called a straight James Bond henchman scene.
    “that's that's a flat out James Bond jaw scene.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:50:56 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.50 sure it was them)

Jaws: 3 lines programming ×1 people ×1 verdict ×1

  1. programming (programming): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Jaws. Bendis lives in Portland, where Raiders and Jaws play theaters every summer; his kids found both still work.
    “I'm here in Portland where Raiders and Jaws plays on theaters, at least once a summer.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 3:01:39 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.90 sure it was them)

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope: 3 lines lineage ×1 unmapped ×1 contrast ×1

  1. lineage (lineage): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Bendis says his childhood pop culture was Lucas and Spielberg magic tricks, not Marvel.
    “At this stage that wasn't Marvel was Lucas and Spielberg.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:12:58 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.90 sure it was them)

The Fabelmans: 3 lines theme ×3

  1. theme (theme): Raiders of the Lost Ark → The Fabelmans. Bendis says he sees the movie differently after The Fabelmans.
    “I honestly don't think I've heard a serious conversation about this movie Post Fabelman's”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:36:23 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.80 sure it was them)

Chariots of Fire: 2 lines verdict ×1 industry ×1

  1. industry (industry): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Chariots of Fire. The Oscars reward serious New Hollywood-style movies, not Spielberg's fun gumball-rally movies.
    “Those are serious movies about serious things coming out of a 70s where New Hollywood was like, we got to fucking engage with shit politically.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 3:06:04 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind: 2 lines craft ×1 industry ×1

  1. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The novelization written by Spielberg internalized the story, which Bendis loved.
    “it internalizes the story for a young person who's only seeing externalizing it.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:25:05 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.70 sure it was them)

George Lucas: 2 lines craft ×1 lineage ×1

  1. lineage (lineage): Raiders of the Lost Ark → George Lucas. Raiders fuses Spielberg's and Lucas's love of 30s-50s serialized hero comic strips.
    “it is a neat fusion of his point of view and George Lucas's point of view and their fascination with the serialized hero comic strip stories of the 30s and 40s and 50s”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:09:02 · Sean Fennessey (0.70 sure it was them)

Hook: 2 lines contrast ×1 programming ×1

  1. programming (programming): Hook → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Hook is a movie they will cover and a defender will join that episode.
    “We will have a defender on the episode.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:34:57 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: 2 lines contrast ×1 programming ×1

  1. contrast (contrast): Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Crystal Skull drops the mysticism and goes to 1950s sci-fi aliens.
    “it's sort of annoying that Crystal Skull doesn't have any of that”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:14:33 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: 2 lines craft ×2

  1. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Last Crusade shows that silent comedy, especially Buster Keaton, is part of the DNA of these movies.
    “that's the huge part of the DNA of these movies is silent comedy and not just the adventure serials.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:14:01 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)

Sorcerer: 2 lines programming ×1 contrast ×1

  1. contrast (contrast): Sorcerer → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Sorcerer, The Abyss and The Thing feel as difficult as they were to make; Raiders feels light despite a brutal shoot.
    “It is wild to me that Raiders in particular does not have that kind of weight to it.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:33:25 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

The Color of Money: 2 lines career ×1 craft ×1

  1. career (career-arc analogue): The Color of Money → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Raiders is cited as a comeback after the flop 1941; Color of Money is instead a stabilizer rather than a comeback.
    “Like Raiders of the Lost Arc as a comeback post-1941 is a pure like he bottomed out and then he struck gold as hard as you possibly could.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Color of Money with Chris Ryan · 0:20:06 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Billy Wilder: 1 line craft ×1

  1. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Billy Wilder. Brody's 'wrath of God' warning is a promise to the audience of a payoff by Billy Wilder's rules.
    “by Billy Wilder rules, you are promising that we're going to see some wrath of God at the end of this movie”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:18:08 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.50 sure it was them)

Burt Reynolds: 1 line contrast ×1

  1. contrast (contrast): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Burt Reynolds. Seventies action stars like Burt Reynolds and Dirty Harry never showed vulnerability; Indy licks his wounds on camera.
    “Dirty Harry's never going to show fucking vulnerability.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:56:38 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Chris Pratt: 1 line lineage ×1

  1. lineage (lineage): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Chris Pratt. The wrong lessons from Indiana Jones were taken by later action heroes like Pratt.
    “the lessons that we took from that character that like Chris Pratt took maybe from that character are not the ones that I think we should have been taking”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:09:40 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)

Clash of the Titans: 1 line industry ×1

  1. industry (industry): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Clash of the Titans. Raiders opened the same weekend as Clash of the Titans and History of the World Part I.
    “Very weird that Raiders didn't Clash of the Titans, like those feel like way too much overlap there”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 3:11:14 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Danny DeVito: 1 line what-if ×1

  1. what-if (what-if): Danny DeVito → Raiders of the Lost Ark. DeVito was supposed to play Sallah; they doubt more comedy would help.
    “Danny DeVito.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:09:28 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Denholm Elliott: 1 line people ×1

  1. people (people): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Denholm Elliott. Elliott is a great character actor in Raiders.
    “I feel like Denholm Elliott, your dad would dig dig his work.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:24:40 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)

Die Hard: 1 line craft ×1

  1. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Die Hard. The hero who is capable but visibly working it out is what the imitators miss; same as John McClane.
    “it's the same thing that works about John McLean in the 1st Die Hard.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:45:06 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: 1 line programming ×1

  1. programming (programming): E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Next week's episode is E.T.; next the Patreon bonus covers Something Evil and Savage.
    “I believe it's a movie called ET the Extra Terrestrial.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 3:27:19 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Edge of Tomorrow: 1 line craft ×1

  1. craft (craft): Edge of Tomorrow → Raiders of the Lost Ark. The black blood burning through Cage's face in his first death is 'end of Raiders shit'.
    “like end of Raiders shit.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 0:50:43 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

Empire of the Sun: 1 line craft ×1

  1. craft (shot design): Empire of the Sun → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Same slow reveal as Indiana Jones in pieces before the hero shot.
    “which similarly has the like Spielberg taking 5 minutes to show you Indiana Jones in pieces before you really get the hero shot”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:38:17 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Flash Gordon (Republic serial): 1 line lineage ×1

  1. lineage (lineage): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Flash Gordon (Republic serial). Lucas conceived Indiana Jones as a B-picture at A-picture scale, like the old Republic serials.
    “let's make a sort of B picture at an A picture scale, right?”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:46:47 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Gene Siskel: 1 line verdict ×1

  1. verdict (verdict): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Gene Siskel. Siskel and Ebert were giddy over Raiders and asked if it was a bad year or a truly great movie.
    “they are just giddy with excitement over this movie”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 3:04:25 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.70 sure it was them)

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: 1 line theme ×1

  1. theme (theme): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The 'it belongs in a museum' line is questioned; in most of the films he keeps the object from bad guys.
    “But in most of these movies, he is keeping it from bad guys who are taking it.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:23:08 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.40 sure it was them)

Inglourious Basterds: 1 line theme ×1

  1. theme (theme): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Inglourious Basterds. The Ark ending is a mini alternate-history course correction, like Inglourious Basterds.
    “this is me creating an alternate history where there is like some modicum of like a microcosm representation of a course correction”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:20:35 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Jacques Dutronc: 1 line what-if ×1

  1. what-if (what-if): Jacques Dutronc → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Spielberg wanted a Frenchman, Jacques Dutronc, for Belloc.
    “Spielberg wanted Jacques Dutronck, who's a French actor.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:46:06 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

John Rhys-Davies: 1 line career ×1

  1. career (career): John Rhys-Davies → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Spielberg cast Rhys-Davies as Sallah because of his drunk Portuguese role in Shogun.
    “I loved you in Shogun.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:10:45 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

John Williams: 1 line craft ×1

  1. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → John Williams. Williams' Raiders score is lighter and jauntier than expected, with ten perfect alternating themes, Marion's theme only the fifth most important.
    “I also think like John Williams score is so much lighter than you would think.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:35:58 · Griffin Newman or David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Jurassic Park: 1 line craft ×1

  1. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Jurassic Park. Both are told perfectly and are tighter than people remember.
    “I think also just it's very similar to Jurassic Park in so far as it's told perfectly.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:09:51 · Sean Fennessey (0.70 sure it was them)

Karen Allen: 1 line unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (archetype): Karen Allen → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Marion Ravenwood became the ideal everyone emulated; Allen felt overshadowed and said this role was as good.
    “everyone was like, oh, Marion Ravenwood is now the ideal.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 1:05:57 · Katey Rich (0.45 sure it was them)

Klaus Janson: 1 line craft ×1

  1. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Klaus Janson. The two-issue Raiders comic adaptation by top artists left out the Well of Souls and enraged young Bendis.
    “I remember the Raiders Lost Ark tube issue cliff notes came out and I was I was livid.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:27:05 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.70 sure it was them)

Klaus Kinski: 1 line what-if ×1

  1. what-if (what-if): Klaus Kinski → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Spielberg wanted Klaus Kinski for Toht, who would have unbalanced the film.
    “Spielberg infamously wanted Klaus Kinsky and couldn't get him to agree.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:08:00 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Lawrence Kasdan: 1 line career ×1

  1. career (career): Lawrence Kasdan → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Kasdan's run: Empire, Raiders, Body Heat, Continental Divide, Jedi, Big Chill.
    “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Big Chill’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 1:22:10 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Michael Kahn: 1 line craft ×1

  1. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Michael Kahn. Michael Kahn gets credit for making Raiders look effortless despite its grit and dust, in contrast to Hook, which shows its effort.
    “I think you're right about Michael Khan deserving a lot of credit.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:35:55 · Griffin Newman or David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)

Nevada Smith: 1 line lineage ×1

  1. lineage (lineage): Nevada Smith → Raiders of the Lost Ark. The hero was Indiana Smith until Nevada Smith made Spielberg object, so he became Indiana Jones.
    “there's a Steve McQueen movie called Nevada Smith.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:55:15 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Paul Freeman: 1 line people ×1

  1. people (people): Paul Freeman → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Freeman was cast for his eyes and a champagne villain film-noir vibe.
    “Spielberg just liked his eyes, said he has the champagne villain from a film noir vibe.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:46:50 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Philip Kaufman: 1 line people ×1

  1. people (people): Philip Kaufman → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Kaufman was brought in to flesh out the story, was nominally the first director choice, and lost interest.
    “Phil Kaufman loses interest, so Lucas brings it back to Spielberg”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:51:37 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Pulp Fiction: 1 line theme ×1

  1. theme (theme): Pulp Fiction → Raiders of the Lost Ark. The Ark of the Covenant is called the greatest McGuffin.
    “The Ark of the Covenant is like the greatest McGuffin.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 2:00:45 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

Quantum of Solace: 1 line contrast ×1

  1. contrast (contrast): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Quantum of Solace. Modern movies make the main villain also the best fighter; Raiders keeps those as two separate guys, unlike Quantum of Solace's finale.
    “they want the Belloc to also be the best fighter in the world.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:49:53 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Reds: 1 line verdict ×1

  1. verdict (verdict): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Reds. Raiders lost the directing Oscar to Reds; Bendis loves Reds.
    “I love that movie dearly.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 3:05:41 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.60 sure it was them)

Satantango: 1 line contrast ×1

  1. contrast (contrast): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Satantango. Next to modern action movies Raiders now plays like an art movie, jokingly like Satantango.
    “Rears of the Lost Ark plays like San Antango.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Jedi · 1:01:24 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Soderbergh's silent Raiders remix: 1 line lineage ×1

  1. lineage (lineage): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Soderbergh's silent Raiders remix. Soderbergh re-cut Raiders silent, black and white, over The Social Network score.
    “It's basically his silent film remix of Raiders, black and white film with the social network score playing over it”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:10:25 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)

Spider-Man: 1 line industry ×1

  1. industry (industry): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Spider-Man. The big 2002 superhero films were limited by effects budgets in action; Raiders felt like it exceeded what was possible.
    “this is more movie than you thought was previously possible.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:41:04 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)

Spider-Man 2: 1 line unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (experience): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Spider-Man 2. Seeing Spider-Man 2's subway chase felt to him like watching Raiders' escalating set pieces in 1981.
    “I imagine this is what it would have felt like to watch Raiders in the theater at the time, but seeing Spider-Man 2 opening nights”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:43:59 · Griffin Newman (0.70 sure it was them)

Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi: 1 line lineage ×1

  1. lineage (lineage): Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Jedi is the first Star Wars after Indiana Jones, whose pitch was a movie of only the exciting parts; Jedi chases theme-park set pieces.
    “Indiana Jones, he was like, my pitch is, what if you make a movie that's only the exciting parts?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Jedi · 1:00:59 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Starman: 1 line people ×1

  1. people (cast / career): Starman → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Karen Allen came off Raiders into Starman, two years later.
    “this is 2 years after Raiders”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 1:01:38 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

Superman II: 1 line industry ×1

  1. industry (industry): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Superman II. Raiders was not tracking well before release; Superman II was far ahead in tracking.
    “There was there was a Superman 2 without tracking it by a mile.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 3:09:19 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day: 1 line theme ×1

  1. theme (theme): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Today's body standard: Ford's buff Temple of Doom prep, Schwarzenegger in T2, now like Paul Rudd in Ant-Man.
    “he is the exact same shape.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:52:06 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.70 sure it was them)

The Frisco Kid: 1 line theme ×1

  1. theme (theme): Raiders of the Lost Ark → The Frisco Kid. Indiana Jones and Marion both code as Jewish, to Bendis.
    “Indiana Jones absolutely does code as a Jewish action hero”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:10:55 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.80 sure it was them)

The Horizon Experiment (comic): 1 line contrast ×1

  1. contrast (contrast): Raiders of the Lost Ark → The Horizon Experiment (comic). A current comic flips Indiana Jones into someone taking things out of museums back to adventure.
    “a comic book out right now called the Horizon experiment by the guys that did the good Asian”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:24:12 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.80 sure it was them)

The Truman Show: 1 line craft ×1

  1. craft (craft): The Truman Show → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Truman Show has a major plot beat every ten minutes, passing an invented Raiders-style screenplay test.
    “This movie passes the Raiders of the Lost Arc screenplay test that I'm inventing”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ With Bill Simmons, Glen Powell, and Chris Ryan · 0:48:57 · Bill Simmons (0.60 sure it was them)

Tim Matheson: 1 line what-if ×1

  1. what-if (what-if): Tim Matheson → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Tim Matheson was the closest in the screen test, but not Harrison Ford.
    “Tim Matheson is Interesting, but not Harrison Ford.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:06:46 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.60 sure it was them)

Tom Selleck: 1 line what-if ×1

  1. what-if (what-if): Tom Selleck → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Selleck was the famous first choice but was committed to Magnum PI.
    “he was committed to a TV, to Magnum PI.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:02:41 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

True Grit: 1 line theme ×1

  1. theme (theme): Raiders of the Lost Ark → True Grit. Marion is like Mattie from True Grit, a tough girl who never gets over a youthful romance.
    “I think about the end of true grit.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:00:05 · unknown (0.50 sure it was them)

Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl: 1 line craft ×1

  1. craft (plot structure): Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl → Raiders of the Lost Ark. The film fails to tie its Indiana-Jones-style MacGuffin to the Wallace-Gromit relationship.
    “They fail to make the, um, the plot, the sort of like Indiana Jones-S McGuffin of what they're up against directly relate to Wallace and Gromit's relationship.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 2:11:21 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Where it came up

What was said about it, by kind

career (5)

  1. career (career-arc analogue): The Color of Money → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Raiders is cited as a comeback after the flop 1941; Color of Money is instead a stabilizer rather than a comeback.
    “Like Raiders of the Lost Arc as a comeback post-1941 is a pure like he bottomed out and then he struck gold as hard as you possibly could.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Color of Money with Chris Ryan · 0:20:06 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. career (career): John Rhys-Davies → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Spielberg cast Rhys-Davies as Sallah because of his drunk Portuguese role in Shogun.
    “I loved you in Shogun.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:10:45 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. career (career): Harrison Ford → Raiders of the Lost Ark. It may have been a big deal that Indiana Jones was doing a romantic comedy; this is his first rom-com.
    “I wonder if it was a big deal that Indiana Jones was doing sort of like a romantic comedy.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Working Girl’ With Bill Simmons, Amanda Dobbins, and Joanna Robinson · 0:12:02 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)
  4. career (career): Lawrence Kasdan → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Kasdan's run: Empire, Raiders, Body Heat, Continental Divide, Jedi, Big Chill.
    “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Big Chill’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 1:22:10 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  5. career (career): Harrison Ford → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Ford made Raiders and Blade Runner after being frozen in Empire.
    “after Empire, he made Raiders of the Lost Ark at Blade Runner.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Jedi · 0:21:43 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

contrast (10)

  1. contrast (contrast): Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Crystal Skull drops the mysticism and goes to 1950s sci-fi aliens.
    “it's sort of annoying that Crystal Skull doesn't have any of that”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:14:33 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. contrast (contrast): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Temple of Doom is nastier and mean-spirited; Raiders is haunted and scary but not mean.
    “it's a mean-spirited movie in a way this isn't.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:14:58 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. contrast (contrast): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Quantum of Solace. Modern movies make the main villain also the best fighter; Raiders keeps those as two separate guys, unlike Quantum of Solace's finale.
    “they want the Belloc to also be the best fighter in the world.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:49:53 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. contrast (contrast): Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Willie Scott was built as the anti-Marion, which means doing the opposite of what works.
    “the anti-Marian means you're doing the opposite of what works.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:53:35 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.50 sure it was them)
  5. contrast (contrast): Raiders of the Lost Ark → The Horizon Experiment (comic). A current comic flips Indiana Jones into someone taking things out of museums back to adventure.
    “a comic book out right now called the Horizon experiment by the guys that did the good Asian”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:24:12 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.80 sure it was them)
  6. contrast (contrast): Sorcerer → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Sorcerer, The Abyss and The Thing feel as difficult as they were to make; Raiders feels light despite a brutal shoot.
    “It is wild to me that Raiders in particular does not have that kind of weight to it.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:33:25 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  7. contrast (contrast): Hook → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Hook has no sense of struggle on air-conditioned sets; Raiders feels like a military operation.
    “Hook, there's like no tension, right?”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:34:49 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  8. contrast (contrast): Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Star Wars merch got canonical names for every background character; Indiana Jones toys never do.
    “None of these characters are ever named.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:47:27 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  9. contrast (contrast): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Burt Reynolds. Seventies action stars like Burt Reynolds and Dirty Harry never showed vulnerability; Indy licks his wounds on camera.
    “Dirty Harry's never going to show fucking vulnerability.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:56:38 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  10. contrast (contrast): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Satantango. Next to modern action movies Raiders now plays like an art movie, jokingly like Satantango.
    “Rears of the Lost Ark plays like San Antango.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Jedi · 1:01:24 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

craft (24)

  1. craft (camera-movement coverage): The Color of Money → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Scorsese covers scenes with morphing moving master shots, like Spielberg's quick efficient coverage, to stay under schedule.
    “But he's doing like all this Spielberg, like coverage with camera movement.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Color of Money with Chris Ryan · 1:21:44 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  2. craft (shot design): Empire of the Sun → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Same slow reveal as Indiana Jones in pieces before the hero shot.
    “which similarly has the like Spielberg taking 5 minutes to show you Indiana Jones in pieces before you really get the hero shot”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:38:17 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. craft (plot structure): Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl → Raiders of the Lost Ark. The film fails to tie its Indiana-Jones-style MacGuffin to the Wallace-Gromit relationship.
    “They fail to make the, um, the plot, the sort of like Indiana Jones-S McGuffin of what they're up against directly relate to Wallace and Gromit's relationship.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 2:11:21 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  4. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The novelization written by Spielberg internalized the story, which Bendis loved.
    “it internalizes the story for a young person who's only seeing externalizing it.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:25:05 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.70 sure it was them)
  5. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Klaus Janson. The two-issue Raiders comic adaptation by top artists left out the Well of Souls and enraged young Bendis.
    “I remember the Raiders Lost Ark tube issue cliff notes came out and I was I was livid.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:27:05 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.70 sure it was them)
  6. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Last Crusade shows that silent comedy, especially Buster Keaton, is part of the DNA of these movies.
    “that's the huge part of the DNA of these movies is silent comedy and not just the adventure serials.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:14:01 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
  7. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Chuck Jones. Spielberg's staging has a Chuck Jones element, going back to Chuck Jones as a cartoon influence.
    “how important Chuck Jones was to Steven Spielberg at the time”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:36:15 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.60 sure it was them)
  8. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Chuck Jones. The wordless anticipation and subversion of Wile E. Coyote shows up in Indy's silent action beats.
    “the importance of anticipation, and how to visually, uh, sort of indicate to the audience, what the character thinks is going to happen”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:39:05 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  9. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → James Bond films (the franchise). The Cairo plane fight with the burly Nazi is called a straight James Bond henchman scene.
    “that's that's a flat out James Bond jaw scene.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:50:56 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.50 sure it was them)
  10. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → James Bond films (the franchise). Raiders borrowed the Bond villain structure: a refined man in a lair with separate gimmicky henchmen to fight.
    “that's a clear thing they lifted from James Bond very wisely, right?”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:50:59 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  11. craft (craft): Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Last Crusade avoids a third love interest by giving Indy a sparring partner in his dad.
    “Indiana Jones needs a sparring partner, they just make it his dad instead of a love interest”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:04:11 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  12. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Billy Wilder. Brody's 'wrath of God' warning is a promise to the audience of a payoff by Billy Wilder's rules.
    “by Billy Wilder rules, you are promising that we're going to see some wrath of God at the end of this movie”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:18:08 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.50 sure it was them)
  13. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Lucas's rule that the MacGuffin goes back where it was or disappears applies to Raiders, Temple of Doom's village and the Grail.
    “The McGuffin always has to go back where it was or disappear.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:23:39 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.50 sure it was them)
  14. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Chuck Jones. Marion hiding in barrels is like Bugs Bunny dodging Elmer Fudd.
    “Feels like a thing that Bugs Bunny does to like avoid Elmar Fudd.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:27:49 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  15. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Michael Kahn. Michael Kahn gets credit for making Raiders look effortless despite its grit and dust, in contrast to Hook, which shows its effort.
    “I think you're right about Michael Khan deserving a lot of credit.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:35:55 · Griffin Newman or David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  16. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → John Williams. Williams' Raiders score is lighter and jauntier than expected, with ten perfect alternating themes, Marion's theme only the fifth most important.
    “I also think like John Williams score is so much lighter than you would think.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:35:58 · Griffin Newman or David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  17. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Die Hard. The hero who is capable but visibly working it out is what the imitators miss; same as John McClane.
    “it's the same thing that works about John McLean in the 1st Die Hard.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:45:06 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  18. craft (craft): George Lucas → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Lucas directed much of the second unit, taking over a lot of the stunt-heavy truck chase work to get the movie finished.
    “George Lucas also did a lot of the 2nd unit.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:46:12 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  19. craft (craft): Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Temple of Doom was a prequel partly to avoid doing the Nazis again.
    “part of the calculation of making a Temple of Doom, a prequel was that he didn't want to just do the Nazis again.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:59:23 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  20. craft (craft): The Truman Show → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Truman Show has a major plot beat every ten minutes, passing an invented Raiders-style screenplay test.
    “This movie passes the Raiders of the Lost Arc screenplay test that I'm inventing”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Truman Show’ With Bill Simmons, Glen Powell, and Chris Ryan · 0:48:57 · Bill Simmons (0.60 sure it was them)
  21. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Jurassic Park. Both are told perfectly and are tighter than people remember.
    “I think also just it's very similar to Jurassic Park in so far as it's told perfectly.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:09:51 · Sean Fennessey (0.70 sure it was them)
  22. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Raiders of the Lost Ark. The opening is languorous; Karen Allen doesn't show up for 35 minutes.
    “he does not get to Karen Allen for about 35 minutes, right?”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:24:12 · Chris Ryan (0.70 sure it was them)
  23. craft (craft): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Raiders invented a whole kind of movie.
    “It's just like it invented a whole kind of movie.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:44:00 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)
  24. craft (craft): Edge of Tomorrow → Raiders of the Lost Ark. The black blood burning through Cage's face in his first death is 'end of Raiders shit'.
    “like end of Raiders shit.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Edge of Tomorrow · 0:50:43 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

industry (5)

  1. industry (industry): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Before release Lucas and Spielberg considered swapping profit participation on Star Wars and Close Encounters.
    “And they consider making a deal to swap profit participation.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:51:00 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. industry (industry): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Spider-Man. The big 2002 superhero films were limited by effects budgets in action; Raiders felt like it exceeded what was possible.
    “this is more movie than you thought was previously possible.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:41:04 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)
  3. industry (industry): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Chariots of Fire. The Oscars reward serious New Hollywood-style movies, not Spielberg's fun gumball-rally movies.
    “Those are serious movies about serious things coming out of a 70s where New Hollywood was like, we got to fucking engage with shit politically.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 3:06:04 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. industry (industry): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Superman II. Raiders was not tracking well before release; Superman II was far ahead in tracking.
    “There was there was a Superman 2 without tracking it by a mile.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 3:09:19 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  5. industry (industry): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Clash of the Titans. Raiders opened the same weekend as Clash of the Titans and History of the World Part I.
    “Very weird that Raiders didn't Clash of the Titans, like those feel like way too much overlap there”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 3:11:14 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

lineage (8)

  1. lineage (lineage): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Bendis says his childhood pop culture was Lucas and Spielberg magic tricks, not Marvel.
    “At this stage that wasn't Marvel was Lucas and Spielberg.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:12:58 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.90 sure it was them)
  2. lineage (lineage): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Flash Gordon (Republic serial). Lucas conceived Indiana Jones as a B-picture at A-picture scale, like the old Republic serials.
    “let's make a sort of B picture at an A picture scale, right?”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:46:47 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. lineage (lineage): Raiders of the Lost Ark → James Bond films (the franchise). Lucas pitched Raiders to Spielberg as a better, American take on the Bond idea Spielberg had been wanting to do.
    “I have the I have the same basic idea, but better, and it's this Raiders of the Lost Ark idea.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:49:39 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. lineage (lineage): Nevada Smith → Raiders of the Lost Ark. The hero was Indiana Smith until Nevada Smith made Spielberg object, so he became Indiana Jones.
    “there's a Steve McQueen movie called Nevada Smith.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:55:15 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  5. lineage (lineage): Raiders of the Lost Ark → George Lucas. Raiders fuses Spielberg's and Lucas's love of 30s-50s serialized hero comic strips.
    “it is a neat fusion of his point of view and George Lucas's point of view and their fascination with the serialized hero comic strip stories of the 30s and 40s and 50s”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:09:02 · Sean Fennessey (0.70 sure it was them)
  6. lineage (lineage): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Chris Pratt. The wrong lessons from Indiana Jones were taken by later action heroes like Pratt.
    “the lessons that we took from that character that like Chris Pratt took maybe from that character are not the ones that I think we should have been taking”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:09:40 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)
  7. lineage (lineage): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Soderbergh's silent Raiders remix. Soderbergh re-cut Raiders silent, black and white, over The Social Network score.
    “It's basically his silent film remix of Raiders, black and white film with the social network score playing over it”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:10:25 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)
  8. lineage (lineage): Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Jedi is the first Star Wars after Indiana Jones, whose pitch was a movie of only the exciting parts; Jedi chases theme-park set pieces.
    “Indiana Jones, he was like, my pitch is, what if you make a movie that's only the exciting parts?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Return of the Jedi · 1:00:59 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

people (6)

  1. people (people): Philip Kaufman → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Kaufman was brought in to flesh out the story, was nominally the first director choice, and lost interest.
    “Phil Kaufman loses interest, so Lucas brings it back to Spielberg”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:51:37 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. people (people): Paul Freeman → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Freeman was cast for his eyes and a champagne villain film-noir vibe.
    “Spielberg just liked his eyes, said he has the champagne villain from a film noir vibe.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:46:50 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. people (cast / career): Starman → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Karen Allen came off Raiders into Starman, two years later.
    “this is 2 years after Raiders”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 1:01:38 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. people (people): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Harrison Ford. Ford's nerd-professor-turned-hero is called the best action hero star performance ever.
    “And it is the best action hero star performance.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:09:22 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)
  5. people (people): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Denholm Elliott. Elliott is a great character actor in Raiders.
    “I feel like Denholm Elliott, your dad would dig dig his work.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:24:40 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
  6. people (people): Jaws → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Roy Scheider's late-70s run is called as important as Harrison Ford's iconic status.
    “I think that run of Roy Schider movies in the late 70s is pretty important.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:38:21 · Chris Ryan (0.70 sure it was them)

programming (5)

  1. programming (programming): Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull → Raiders of the Lost Ark. They devoted a whole episode to Crystal Skull.
    “We devoted whole episode to it.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:14:54 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. programming (programming): Sorcerer → Raiders of the Lost Ark. They will do Sorcerer one day.
    “Source will probably do one day.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:32:51 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. programming (programming): Hook → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Hook is a movie they will cover and a defender will join that episode.
    “We will have a defender on the episode.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:34:57 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. programming (programming): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Jaws. Bendis lives in Portland, where Raiders and Jaws play theaters every summer; his kids found both still work.
    “I'm here in Portland where Raiders and Jaws plays on theaters, at least once a summer.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 3:01:39 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.90 sure it was them)
  5. programming (programming): E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Next week's episode is E.T.; next the Patreon bonus covers Something Evil and Savage.
    “I believe it's a movie called ET the Extra Terrestrial.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 3:27:19 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

theme (10)

  1. theme (theme): Raiders of the Lost Ark → The Fabelmans. Bendis says he sees the movie differently after The Fabelmans.
    “I honestly don't think I've heard a serious conversation about this movie Post Fabelman's”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:36:23 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.80 sure it was them)
  2. theme (theme): Raiders of the Lost Ark → The Frisco Kid. Indiana Jones and Marion both code as Jewish, to Bendis.
    “Indiana Jones absolutely does code as a Jewish action hero”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:10:55 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.80 sure it was them)
  3. theme (theme): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Each early film is a different religion: Jewish, Hindu, Christian folk mysticism.
    “this is about Jewish mysticism, temple doom is about Hindu mysticism.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:14:29 · David Sims (0.50 sure it was them)
  4. theme (theme): Raiders of the Lost Ark → True Grit. Marion is like Mattie from True Grit, a tough girl who never gets over a youthful romance.
    “I think about the end of true grit.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:00:05 · unknown (0.50 sure it was them)
  5. theme (theme): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Inglourious Basterds. The Ark ending is a mini alternate-history course correction, like Inglourious Basterds.
    “this is me creating an alternate history where there is like some modicum of like a microcosm representation of a course correction”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:20:35 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  6. theme (theme): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The 'it belongs in a museum' line is questioned; in most of the films he keeps the object from bad guys.
    “But in most of these movies, he is keeping it from bad guys who are taking it.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:23:08 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.40 sure it was them)
  7. theme (theme): Raiders of the Lost Ark → The Fabelmans. Marion's monkey scenes mirror Spielberg's mother's relationship with the monkey shown in The Fabelmans.
    “the relationship Marion has with the monkey, in that brief amount of screen time, feels so mirrored to his mother's relationship with the monkey”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:28:09 · unknown (0.50 sure it was them)
  8. theme (theme): Raiders of the Lost Ark → The Fabelmans. Marion is partly Spielberg's mother, which keeps her from being an idealized tough-girl fantasy.
    “it does feel like to some degree she's like his mom.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:28:40 · unknown (0.50 sure it was them)
  9. theme (theme): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Today's body standard: Ford's buff Temple of Doom prep, Schwarzenegger in T2, now like Paul Rudd in Ant-Man.
    “he is the exact same shape.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:52:06 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.70 sure it was them)
  10. theme (theme): Pulp Fiction → Raiders of the Lost Ark. The Ark of the Covenant is called the greatest McGuffin.
    “The Ark of the Covenant is like the greatest McGuffin.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Part 2) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 2:00:45 · unknown (0.00 sure it was them)

unmapped (3)

  1. unmapped (experience): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Star Wars and Raiders as film-and-merch: the movie stays alive through soundtracks, cards and comics.
    “in lieu of DVD and VHS, we have a soundtrack to just sit in our room, stare at the ceiling, and relive the movie in our mind's eye”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 0:24:26 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.80 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (experience): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Spider-Man 2. Seeing Spider-Man 2's subway chase felt to him like watching Raiders' escalating set pieces in 1981.
    “I imagine this is what it would have felt like to watch Raiders in the theater at the time, but seeing Spider-Man 2 opening nights”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:43:59 · Griffin Newman (0.70 sure it was them)
  3. unmapped (archetype): Karen Allen → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Marion Ravenwood became the ideal everyone emulated; Allen felt overshadowed and said this role was as good.
    “everyone was like, oh, Marion Ravenwood is now the ideal.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Starman with Katey Rich · 1:05:57 · Katey Rich (0.45 sure it was them)

verdict (5)

  1. verdict (verdict): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Gene Siskel. Siskel and Ebert were giddy over Raiders and asked if it was a bad year or a truly great movie.
    “they are just giddy with excitement over this movie”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 3:04:25 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.70 sure it was them)
  2. verdict (verdict): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Chariots of Fire. Raiders lost Best Picture to Chariots of Fire; Denholm Elliott lost his BAFTA to Ian Holm for it, and the score lost too.
    “it loses to Chariots of Fire and Reds respectively for picture and director”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 3:05:28 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. verdict (verdict): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Reds. Raiders lost the directing Oscar to Reds; Bendis loves Reds.
    “I love that movie dearly.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 3:05:41 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.60 sure it was them)
  4. verdict (verdict): Harrison Ford → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Raiders is the distillation of what Ford is uniquely great at as a movie star, though Han Solo is the favorite.
    “I think it's his most important performance, and I think it's the greatest distillation of what he is uniquely great at as a movie star”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 3:21:38 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  5. verdict (verdict): Raiders of the Lost Ark → Jaws. Raiders is a little slow now and not as perfect as Jaws.
    “It's not as perfect as Jaws.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 1:00:18 · Bill Simmons (0.55 sure it was them)

what-if (5)

  1. what-if (what-if): Tom Selleck → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Selleck was the famous first choice but was committed to Magnum PI.
    “he was committed to a TV, to Magnum PI.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:02:41 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. what-if (what-if): Tim Matheson → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Tim Matheson was the closest in the screen test, but not Harrison Ford.
    “Tim Matheson is Interesting, but not Harrison Ford.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:06:46 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.60 sure it was them)
  3. what-if (what-if): Jacques Dutronc → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Spielberg wanted a Frenchman, Jacques Dutronc, for Belloc.
    “Spielberg wanted Jacques Dutronck, who's a French actor.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:46:06 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. what-if (what-if): Klaus Kinski → Raiders of the Lost Ark. Spielberg wanted Klaus Kinski for Toht, who would have unbalanced the film.
    “Spielberg infamously wanted Klaus Kinsky and couldn't get him to agree.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:08:00 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  5. what-if (what-if): Danny DeVito → Raiders of the Lost Ark. DeVito was supposed to play Sallah; they doubt more comedy would help.
    “Danny DeVito.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:09:28 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Fun items about it

  1. fun, about Raiders of the Lost Ark: The spider shot: the spiders would not move until a female spider was put in, which explains the crawling on Alfred Molina.
    “Just got to put a female spite around there and all the spikeles would start getting all excited.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 1:32:03 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. fun, about Raiders of the Lost Ark: In Cairo the producer had to remove every TV antenna from the rooftops so the setting looked timeless.
    “when I had to go down and yank every one of those TV antennas off of every rooftop”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raiders of the Lost Ark with Brian Michael Bendis · 2:24:43 · Brian Michael Bendis (0.60 sure it was them)
  3. fun, about Raiders of the Lost Ark: Bill saw it in 1982 and 'you almost didn't know what to do after'.
    “you almost didn't know what to do after.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 1:00:20 · Bill Simmons (0.65 sure it was them)

Who the speakers said made it

As said on the shows, not checked against the real credits.