It's hard to know exactly what defines an "action movie" - is Raiders of the Lost Ark, which centres itself on far more than just extended sequences of action, really an action movie, or is it an adventure or fantasy flick with moments of action? Going the strength of its many wonderful and - let's face it - set-pieces, however, it seems unjust to leave it off of a list celebrating such things. So this picture, arguably Steven Spielberg's best and most technically accomplished film, features Harrison Ford in his best ever role as sardonic hero Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, who is hired by the US government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis. Raiders of the Lost Ark started life as idea from the mind of George Lucas, who wanted to created a "James Bond-like" series of movies featuring the kind of square-jawed heroes glimpsed in B-movie serials of the '30s and '40s. Jones was originally created as a pastiche of the sorts of protagonists featured in those movies, but the casting of Ford - and indeed, the direction by Spielberg and deft script by Lawrence Kasdan - allowed Raiders to transcend its origins. It's too good to play as simple homage, and the action scenes - the opening temple escape, the airplane fight - are expertly staged. And then there's the "truck chase," which is arguably the greatest and most impressive action sequence in movie history. Seriously.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
