History YMMV / RaidersOfTheLostArk

* OlderThanTheyThink: [[https://web.archive.org/web/20221011070222/https://www.cbr.com/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-133/ George Lucas has confirmed]] that the iconic boulder ChaseScene was borrowed from the climax of the Disney comic "The Seven Cities of Cibola" (1954) by Creator/CarlBarks, starring another famous AdventurerArchaeologist Scrooge [=McDuck=].

** The iconic [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aADExWV1bsM gold idol and boulder chase]] scene.
** The [[CombatPragmatist "shoot the swordsman"]] scene.
** The airplane brawl followed by the truck chase.
** The opening of the Ark, especially Toht's face melting.
** The [[NeedleInAStackOfNeedles warehouse]].

* FourthWallMyopia: The oft-heard nitpick that "Indy doesn't affect the plot!" and "should have just let the Nazis take the Ark back to Berlin!" is a classic example of this; it hinges on retroactive fourth-wall knowledge that the viewer who has already seen the entire movie at least once has (that the Ark will take exception to the blasphemy of Belloq and the Nazis and melt them) but that the characters have no idea about until, well, they reach the end of the story they're participating in. As far as Indy is concerned for most of the movie, the Ark is a powerful supernatural weapon which must be kept out of Nazi hands at all costs, and he clearly only figures out that something like what eventually transpires will happen mere seconds before the Ark is opened.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: While this movie may seem like a fun action-packed adventure movie for the whole family, it has some pretty horrific and graphic death sequences. Canada actually gave the film the 14A rating in contrast to the PG the rest of the series got. The MPAA initially was going to give the film an R rating, until Spielberg agreed to make some cuts to the iconic face-melting sequence. The PG-13 rating in the US would not be created until 1984, as a direct reaction to the controversy over this film's [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom sequel]], which contained even more gruesome violence than the first film. If it were released today, ''Raiders'' would almost certainly get a PG-13 (as the two Indy movies after ''Temple of Doom'' did, ironically despite being milder in terms of violence than the first two). In Canada it has since received the 14A rating and remains the only film in the series to have that rating rather than PG.

** In a scene filled with several otherwise impressive effects for the time, the brief shot of the Ark's [[spoiler:fire rushing over the bodies of the Nazis is a pretty obvious-looking miniature]].

** When Indy slides under the truck, both the trench dug for the stuntman to slide along in, and the sped-up film to hide how slow the truck is actually going, are both very obvious. It's also pretty obvious when Indy comes out the back, and he has to be out in the open and not sped up, that the truck is going ''really'' slowly.
** Once Indy throws the German sergeant out of the truck and runs him over, it can be seen pretty easily that the sergeant's next to and not actually underneath the truck in the next shot, since his left arm is visible in front of it. It should be on the other side of the wheels.

** When Belloq, Dietrich, and Toht are harassed by the locals after the truck chase, Toht is completely still, his back facing away from the camera, and hiding his face. While not obvious at first, it's pretty clear he was replaced by a mannequinn, which makes it even odder since he is clearly shown to be in the car when the camera pans out.

** Why does Colonel Dietrich call Captain Katanga a "savage"? Did he call Katanga that because Dietrich is [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain a xenophobic and racist Nazi]] like most of his troops, [[EvenEvilHasStandards or because he really bought Katanga's lie that he was going to sell Marion into sex slavery and found it too disgusting]]? There's a good chance it's both at once: the Nazis didn't have much problem with employing slave labor themselves (even ignoring UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust, which hadn't happened yet in this film, Sallah complains in the first Cairo scene about the low pay on the Tanis dig and mentions [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghaiing "shanghaiing"]]), but the idea of a white woman being enslaved by a black man would definitely his hackles.

* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: Despite having the dream team of Creator/GeorgeLucas and Creator/StevenSpielberg behind the film, it was initially turned down by every studio in Hollywood. Only after much persuasion did Creator/{{Paramount}} agree to do it.

* IconicCharacterForgottenTitle: Upon its original run, the movie did not follow the "Indiana Jones and the X" naming scheme that sequels did, simply titled ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''. However in later home media releases it was retrofitted, ie: ''Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark''. Even though that doesn't really make sense, as Indy ''is'' one of the titular "raiders".

** Regarding the issue of Indy calling Creator/AlfredMolina's character "Sapito" as he leaves his dead body when he's credited as "Satipo," some fans theorize that it indicates Indy doesn't feel any attachment to these particular local allies until they've proven trustworthy friends like Sallah, and so doesn't bother to properly learn their names.
*** Alternatively, he actually called him "stupido", as this was after Satipo had betrayed him and got himself killed. The music and sound effects playing over the line might have obscured it.

-->'''Karen Allen:''' John, you're okay? Last we saw, the Nazis had you at gunpoint. They just let you go?
-->'''John Rhys-Davies:''' Er, yes. But let's not worry about that. And let's also not worry about how they track down the boat that I'll put you on, later in the movie. Or how they knew that you were in Cairo in the first place. Or how I manage to support a wife and twelve kids doing menial labour. Ha, ha ha.

* SpiritualAdaptation: Creator/{{Herge}}, after seeing the movie, declared that only Spielberg could do ''ComicBook/{{Tintin}}'' justice. [[HilariousInHindsight Guess what Spielberg directed]] [[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTintin2011 thirty years later.]]

** Creator/StevenSpielberg losing Best Director to actor Creator/WarrenBeatty (for ''Film/{{Reds|1981}}'') is an arguable case. Those who support Creator/StevenSpielberg note that, while Beatty is a respectable director with a decent career, Spielberg was at the height of his powers directing incredibly well-made action movies. However, this is refuted by some who find ''Reds'' to be a directorial achievement above all else (not to mention a labor of love that took Beatty years to get off the ground), and many cite his win (the only Oscar he ever earned in his long career) as one that was justified both in context and by merit. It would get worse when Spielberg lost the following year over ''Film/{{ET}}'' (after which is when he started making serious {{drama}} movies). That being said, he did win for ''Film/SchindlersList'' and ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' later on, which are both considered to be two of his greatest works.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: While this movie may seem like a fun action-packed adventure movie for the whole family, it has some pretty horrific and graphic death sequences. Canada actually gave the film the 14A rating in contrast to the PG the rest of the series got. The MPAA initially was going to give the film an R rating, until Spielberg agreed to make some cuts to the iconic face-melting sequence. The PG-13 rating in the US would not be created until 1984, as a direct reaction to the controversy over this film's [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom sequel]], which contained even more gruesome violence than the first film. If it were released today, ''Raiders'' would almost certainly get a PG-13 (as the two Indy movies after ''Temple of Doom'' did, ironically despite being milder in terms of violence than the first two).

** Satipo played by Creator/AflredMolina in his theatrical debut. Even with just one scene, he manages to steal it from Harrison Ford!

* OneSceneWonder: The Cairo Swordsman. By now, you should know why.

** Marion referring to the [[spoiler: spy]] monkey as Indy and her baby. Then Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull comes around and we have [[spoiler: Indy's and]] Marion's son, Mutt Williams, swinging on vines with Monkeys.

** Did God spare Indy and Marion in the climax because they closed their eyes when His Ark was opened, or because they are fundamentally good? Similarly, did Indy tell Marion not to look into the Ark because he knew they would be killed, or so she wouldn't have to see the Nazis all die in horrible ways? The former makes sense, since the Ark is an Old Testament artefact (and God in the Old Testament is not hesitant to hand out fatal punishments to those who incur His wrath), but the latter fits in better with the more overtly New Testament themes and imagery of ''[[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade The Last Crusade]]''.

** Why does Colonel Dietrich call Captain Katanga a "savage"? Did he call Katanga that because Dietrich is a xenophobic and racist Nazi like most of his troops, [[EvenEvilHasStandards or because he really bought Katanga's lie that he was going to sell Marion into sex slavery and found it too disgusting?]] There's a good chance it's both at once: the Nazis didn't have much problem with employing slave labor themselves (even ignoring the Holocaust, which hadn't happened yet in this film, Sallah complains in the first Cairo scene about the low pay on the Tanis dig and mentions [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghaiing "shanghaiing"]]), but the idea of a white woman being enslaved by a black man raises his hackles.

** Creator/StevenSpielberg losing Best Director to actor Creator/WarrenBeatty (for ''Film/{{Reds|1981}}'') is an arguable case. Those who support Creator/StevenSpielberg note that, while Beatty is a respectable director with a decent career, Spielberg was at the height of his powers directing incredibly well-made action movies. However, this is refuted by some who find ''Reds'' to be a directorial achievement above all else (not to mention a labor of love that took Beatty years to get off the ground), and many cite his win (the only Oscar he ever earned in his long career) as one that was justified both in context and by merit. It would get worse when Spielberg lost the following year over ''Film/{{ET}}'' (after which is when he started making serious Drama movies). That being said, he did win for ''Film/SchindlersList'' and ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' later on, which are both considered to be two of his greatest works.

** Indiana Jones/ Magnum PI mashups are common, due to Tom Selleck having been the original choice to play Indy.
** "Rated PG!" [[labelnote:Explanation]]Because PG-13 wasn't an available rating yet, this film managed to squeak by with a PG rating with a few alterations. The "Rated PG" comment is almost always paired with the surprisingly graphic face-melting shots at the end of the movie.[[/labelnote]]

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: While this movie may seem like a fun action-packed adventure movie for the family, it has some pretty horrific and graphic death sequences. Canada actually gave the film the 14A rating in contrast to the PG the rest of the series got. The MPAA initially was going to give the film an R rating, until Spielberg agreed to make some cuts to the iconic face-melting sequence. The PG-13 rating in the US would not be created until 1984, as a direct reaction to the controversy over this film's [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom sequel]], which contained even more gruesome violence than the first film. If it were released today, ''Raiders'' would almost certainly get a PG-13 (as the two Indy movies after ''Temple of Doom'' did, ironically despite being milder in terms of violence than the first two).

** Most people assume the shifty guy on the plane hiding behind a copy of Life magazine is Toht, due to being dressed identically and having his face hidden. He isn't, this guy is actually played by the movie's special effects artist Dennis Muren, not Toht’s actor Ronald Lacey.

** The "Indy was irrelevant to the story" argument. A common criticism towards the movie (notably popularised by ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'') is that everything would have played out the way it did even if Indy had never got involved in trying to claim the Ark (or ''better'', if the Nazis had taken the Ark to Berlin and opened it in front of Hitler). [[https://collider.com/indiana-jones-doesnt-matter-theory-is-bad/ A rebuttal of this theory can be found here.]]

** Sallah, thanks to his loyalty and usefulness to Indy. It's rather telling that Sallah returned in ''The Last Crusade'' to much fanfare because of his being a well-liked character.

** Most people assume the shifty guy on the plane hiding behind a copy of Life magazine is Toht, due to being dressed identically and having his face hidden. He isn't, this guy is actually played by the movie's special effects artist Dennis Muren, not Thor’s actor Ronald Lacey.

** Most people assume the shifty guy on the plane hiding behind a copy of Life magazine is Toht, due to being dressed identically and having his face hidden. He isn't, this guy is actually played by the movie's special effects artist Dennis Muren.

** Why does Indy not destroy the Ark when he has the chance? Belloq accuses him of being just as curious to see what's in the Ark as himself, which might be true. But it is also implied throughout the film that Indy doesn't believe in the supernatural, and the Ark is just an important piece of history but not a superweapon that can help the Nazis take over the world, in which case there would be little reason to blow up the Ark. Notably in this scene, Indy at least claims that he would let them have the Ark if they let Marion go (which Belloq refuses).

** Why does Colonel Dietrich call Captain Katanga a "savage"? Did he call Katanga that because Dietrich is a xenophobic and racist Nazi like most of his troops, or because he really bought Katanga's lie that he was going to sell Marion into sex slavery and found it too disgusting? There's a good chance it's both at once: the Nazis didn't have much problem with employing slave labor themselves (even ignoring the Holocaust, which hadn't happened yet in this film, Sallah complains in the first Cairo scene about the low pay on the Tanis dig and mentions [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghaiing "shanghaiing"]]), but the idea of a white woman being enslaved by a black man raises his hackles.

** Once Indy throws the German sergeant who tried to run him over off of the truck, it can be seen pretty easily that the sergeant's next to and not actually underneath the truck in the next shot as it runs him over.

** A pretty minor one, considering it lost the Best Picture UsefulNotes/AcademyAward a good movie like ''Film/ChariotsOfFire'', and was up against a major epic like ''Film/{{Reds}}'' and well-received dramas ''Film/OnGoldenPond'' and ''Film/AtlanticCity''. But of those films, ''Raiders'' has made a far more lasting impact (on summer blockbusters, adventure films as a respectable money-making genre, Creator/HarrisonFord's bankability outside of ''Franchise/StarWars'', etc.)