Indiana Jones finds an ancient relic

Raider of the Lost Ark – Discovering that the Nazi’s are looking for the fabled ‘Ark of the Covenant’ in the hopes of making themselves invincible, archaeologist Dr ‘Indiana’ Jones goes out to attempt to beat them to it. Visiting an old flame who holds a vital piece of the puzzle, the two, along with friend, Sallah, join the race against time to find the Ark. With only three of them against a whole army, will they be able to get it and hold on to it to stop the Nazi’s from ruling the world?

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – Director: Steven Spielberg

Is Raider of the Lost Ark appropriate for kids

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25615967

Rating: PG

Running Length: 115 mins

Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, John Rhys-Davies

Genre: Action/Adventure

REVIEW: ‘RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK’

Thanks to this movie and its three sequels, Indiana Jones in now a household name and ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ is arguably the best of the lot (although The Last Crusade is on equal footing for this title). Archaeology may not be seen as the most exciting profession but this was never an issue due to Indiana Jones being more than a little ‘hands-on’ with his excavations. The initial nail-biting scene which is full of action, booby traps and treasure ensures that everyone watching knows exactly what their in for – thrills, light-hearted comedy and violence which is never too strong.

After his role as the swashbuckling Han Solo in the Star Wars movies, Harrison Ford took on the lead role of Indiana Jones; his charm, humour and serious-when-necessary persona fitting perfectly in the role. His tough former lover, Marion Ravenwood (played by Karen Allen) is a formidable ally, a woman with the intelligence, independence and gumption to be an equal to Jones. There isn’t a single antagonist, rather a small group of ambitious Nazi officers and Belloq (Paul Freeman), a French archaeologist with similar skills to Jones but with looser morals. This enables the movie to focus on the leads and the mission with enough time on the villains to show how desperate everyone is to get to the prize first.

‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ is a classic for a reason and, with it being a firm favourite in many households, it continues to draw in and entertain new fans with each generation.

CONTENT: IS ‘RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

Indiana Jones goes to an ancient tribal site in the hopes of obtaining a relic, it is full of booby traps, one is a number of spears that emerge from a wall and slide quickly across a path, the skeleton of an unfortunate victim is still attached to these victims, the skull is shown in close-up and is a little gory. A man screams in fear which adds to the scare.

A man is killed off-screen by a booby trap. Another man comes across his body, there is a graphic shot of a spike through the man’s forehead, throat and chest while his face is contorted with shock. There is some blood around the wounds and this is shown for around five seconds.

A character is threatened for information and, while they are defiant at first, one of their interrogators holds a hot poker just inches from their face. The character’s eyes open wide, unable to look away from the poker and they breathe heavily in fear.

A man forces a woman to change into a dress, she moves away from him and changes with her back to him. He positions a mirror to be able to watch her, the camera shows what he can see – she removes her bra so that her bare back can be seen.

A character walks around an underground room which is full of deadly snakes, they hiss and spit at him and his life is genuinely in danger. However, it may be a little upsetting for kids when some of these snakes are covered in a flammable liquid and set alight.

A woman walks into an area which is full of skeletons. Initially, one falls onto her which makes her panic, she then stumbles against a wall, making dozens of skeletons and skulls fall on top of her. Disembodied screeches are heard and her intense fear and inability to get away from the skeletons is likely to be very frightening for kids but, as this only lasts for around ten to twenty seconds, it shouldn’t be too intense, the woman quickly calms down and this moment isn’t dwelt upon.

A man is killed when he is hit with the moving propeller of an aircraft, they hold their hands up to the face and cry out but the camera cuts away before anything graphic is seen. Another man is run over by a truck, their body is obscured by a lump of Earth although it is clear that a wheel goes over them as their arms and legs jump into the air and a pained groan is heard.

In perhaps the most famous scene of the movie, numerous incidental characters are killed by electrocution and three established characters are killed brutally which is graphically shown on-screen. The head of one is crushed, another’s head explodes and by far the worst is the one whose face melts, skin and blood roll down their face and they scream hysterically.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?
VERDICT: IS ‘RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK’ FOR KIDS?

‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ is undoubtedly and deservedly a classic, one that has spawned sequels, imitations and, of course, plenty of parodies. Although Harrison Ford was already a household name thanks to Star Wars, his role of Indiana Jones helped to cement his superstar status which remains to this day.

Although there is some violence and graphic deaths, the light-hearted nature of the movie, the not-so-realistic blood and gore of the time and the brevity of those moments ensure that while they are unexpected and therefore potentially shocking, they are unlikely to be too distressing. We believe this movie should be appropriate for most kids aged eight and over.

  • Violence: 3/5
  • Emotional Distress: 0/5
  • Fear Factor: 2/5 (the scene where the Ark is opened is quite intense with seemingly beautiful spirits flying around that suddenly change and become demonic)
  • Sexual Content: (in order to stop a woman being kidnapped and taken by  someone who wishes to harm her, a man pretends to want to keep her for his own use and pleasure, he also threatens to sell her. The dialogue never explicitly says what any of this means so many kids will not understand that rape and sexual slavery is being implied)
  • Dialogue: 0/5
  • Other notes: Deals with themes of greed for money and power, archaeology, supernatural relics, facing your fears, abuse of power, lack of trust in authority, government secrets, friendship and putting superficial things ahead of the people you care about.
  • A man poisons some dates which are eaten by an animal, it is then seen lying dead on the ground.

Words by Laura Record

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