30 Years of "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
Jun. 17th, 2011 08:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lazypadawanHard to believe, but the world was introduced to Indiana Jones 30 years ago this past Sunday (June 12, 1981). The film was THE hit of '81. It became an instant classic, Indy became an instant movie icon, and Harrison Ford became a movie star in his own right, going on to become one of the biggest box office draws of all time.
Back then, two people dominated blockbusters: Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Seeing them team up in a movie starring Han Solo was an '80s fanboy's dream come true. You probably think I couldn't wait to see this thing. You probably thought I went out opening weekend and saw that puppy a hundred times in the theater.
Well, you would be wrong!
I don't know why, but the movie looked kind of dumb to me. Maybe I just couldn't wrap my 11-year-old head around seeing ol' Han be another guy (he would totally love me for that). But I didn't care to see the movie. I saw other stuff that summer, including my first ever R-rated movie (the great Bo Derek comedy "Tarzan The Apeman") and the James Bond flick "For Your Eyes Only." But I avoided "Raiders" in June and July.
Then August rolled around and one Sunday my dad says, "Let's go see 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.'" I grumbled, "Aww, that movie looks stupid." My parents thought I was crazy and my brother made it three against one. Off we went to the Sunniland Theater near where I used to live in Miami.
Sunniland was a big old two-screen theater that looked every bit its age. The floors were always sticky and the curtains had probably been there since the 1950s. It was where they showed midnight movies like Rocky Horror, "The Song Remains The Same," and "Pink Floyd's The Wall," because the flying toast or the kids tripping on acid would cause minimal damage. Strangely enough, it still managed to book first-run movies even with a newer and better theater about five miles away. Even stranger, Sunniland managed to outlive the other theater by a few years.
While we were waiting for the movie to start, I saw a man come in with his kids. The kids sat down and the dad went to get popcorn. When he came back, he sat back down and the bottom of the seat collapsed from under him. Everybody laughed. Fortunately the guy wasn't hurt or anything.
After I saw the movie, I wondered what the hell I was thinking. The movie was great! It became my brother's all-time favorite (it still is). When the Nazis melted at the end, everybody was grossed out but I was laughing my head off. It was one time in life I couldn't have been happier to be wrong.
Back then, two people dominated blockbusters: Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Seeing them team up in a movie starring Han Solo was an '80s fanboy's dream come true. You probably think I couldn't wait to see this thing. You probably thought I went out opening weekend and saw that puppy a hundred times in the theater.
Well, you would be wrong!
I don't know why, but the movie looked kind of dumb to me. Maybe I just couldn't wrap my 11-year-old head around seeing ol' Han be another guy (he would totally love me for that). But I didn't care to see the movie. I saw other stuff that summer, including my first ever R-rated movie (the great Bo Derek comedy "Tarzan The Apeman") and the James Bond flick "For Your Eyes Only." But I avoided "Raiders" in June and July.
Then August rolled around and one Sunday my dad says, "Let's go see 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.'" I grumbled, "Aww, that movie looks stupid." My parents thought I was crazy and my brother made it three against one. Off we went to the Sunniland Theater near where I used to live in Miami.
Sunniland was a big old two-screen theater that looked every bit its age. The floors were always sticky and the curtains had probably been there since the 1950s. It was where they showed midnight movies like Rocky Horror, "The Song Remains The Same," and "Pink Floyd's The Wall," because the flying toast or the kids tripping on acid would cause minimal damage. Strangely enough, it still managed to book first-run movies even with a newer and better theater about five miles away. Even stranger, Sunniland managed to outlive the other theater by a few years.
While we were waiting for the movie to start, I saw a man come in with his kids. The kids sat down and the dad went to get popcorn. When he came back, he sat back down and the bottom of the seat collapsed from under him. Everybody laughed. Fortunately the guy wasn't hurt or anything.
After I saw the movie, I wondered what the hell I was thinking. The movie was great! It became my brother's all-time favorite (it still is). When the Nazis melted at the end, everybody was grossed out but I was laughing my head off. It was one time in life I couldn't have been happier to be wrong.
