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Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Illustrated Screenplay
Screenplay script.
119 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 25, 2009
I have watched Raiders of the Lost Ark over 1,000 thousand times.
Seriously.
I have seen it twelve times in the theatre. It was the first VHS tape I owned, and I wore that tape out in my big clunky old VCR within five years. I worked as a night video store clerk for another five years and played it at least once during every shift. When I can't sleep at night, I watch the movie in my head. I know every line. I know every beat of music. When I am sad or need a pick up, I throw it in my DVD player and let it soothe me. I've used it in Composition classes to illustrate the potential for analyzing even the most unlikely texts.
I am mad for Raiders of the Lost Ark.
So I know I am biased. But my love for Raiders of the Lost Ark is more than just nostalgia.
Lawrence Kasdan's screenplay is a marvelous piece of screenwriting. Every line, every action, every single element is there to further the story. Kasdan makes potentially clunky exposition soar, implies the flaws of Indiana Jones (making him a truly complex hero, at least in this one installment) without beating us over the head, gives us a snazzy champagne villain in the mould of Claude Rains and seamlessly includes all the set pieces that tickled the fancy of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg without compromising quality.
It is a masterwork of screenwriting. And it is THE masterwork of action screenwriting.
My favourite line:
Belloq: I am a shadowy reflection of you. It would take only a nudge to make you like me, to push you out of the light.
So true, Belloq. So true.
If you are at all interested in giving a screenplay a chance, this is the place to start.
Seriously.
I have seen it twelve times in the theatre. It was the first VHS tape I owned, and I wore that tape out in my big clunky old VCR within five years. I worked as a night video store clerk for another five years and played it at least once during every shift. When I can't sleep at night, I watch the movie in my head. I know every line. I know every beat of music. When I am sad or need a pick up, I throw it in my DVD player and let it soothe me. I've used it in Composition classes to illustrate the potential for analyzing even the most unlikely texts.
I am mad for Raiders of the Lost Ark.
So I know I am biased. But my love for Raiders of the Lost Ark is more than just nostalgia.
Lawrence Kasdan's screenplay is a marvelous piece of screenwriting. Every line, every action, every single element is there to further the story. Kasdan makes potentially clunky exposition soar, implies the flaws of Indiana Jones (making him a truly complex hero, at least in this one installment) without beating us over the head, gives us a snazzy champagne villain in the mould of Claude Rains and seamlessly includes all the set pieces that tickled the fancy of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg without compromising quality.
It is a masterwork of screenwriting. And it is THE masterwork of action screenwriting.
My favourite line:
Belloq: I am a shadowy reflection of you. It would take only a nudge to make you like me, to push you out of the light.
So true, Belloq. So true.
If you are at all interested in giving a screenplay a chance, this is the place to start.
March 1, 2021
'The Illustrated Screenplay' means the Lawrence Kasdan screenplay accompanied by more than 200 storyboard drawings by Ed Verreaux and David Negron (with special-effects storyboards by Joe Johnston and Nilo Rodis-Jamero).
A rather unique way of reading the screenplay; rather like a precursor to a graphic novel.
In Steven Spielberg's introduction he explains ... "I retold the Raiders story in a cartoon form called storyboards. Seventy percent of all the shots in the movie were first designed as storyboards. Among the hybrid nationalities of North Africa, those little funny pictures would transcend four languages (English, French, Arabic, and German) to give everybody working on Raiders something clear and unmistakable to shoot for". Many of these storyboards appear in this publication. All black and white illustrations.
A very nice collector's item celebrating the first and best of the Indiana Jones series of films.
A rather unique way of reading the screenplay; rather like a precursor to a graphic novel.
In Steven Spielberg's introduction he explains ... "I retold the Raiders story in a cartoon form called storyboards. Seventy percent of all the shots in the movie were first designed as storyboards. Among the hybrid nationalities of North Africa, those little funny pictures would transcend four languages (English, French, Arabic, and German) to give everybody working on Raiders something clear and unmistakable to shoot for". Many of these storyboards appear in this publication. All black and white illustrations.
A very nice collector's item celebrating the first and best of the Indiana Jones series of films.
October 14, 2024
As much as I like the movie, and I do, a lot. And as much as I like reading screenplays, and I do, alot, this was a disappointing read (even with the liberal use of storyboards). There is a reason why 'Raiders' novelizations are popular. The movie is unabashedly an homage to the classic movie serial and thus is action, dialog, more action, suspense, and caricature. It is visual and that translates poorly to another medium. Now having said that, I see that the screenwriters guild has placed it at number 42 on their list of the 100 greatest screenplays. (https://www.wga.org/writers-room/101-...). Go figure.
November 30, 2024
This 1981 book has the screenplay and storyboards from Raiders of the Lost Ark, one of my all-time favorite movies. For those who love the movie or for those interested in process, this is a blast to page through and see how early ideas translated into the actual movie. A fantastic book sale find!
September 8, 2019
Legendary script but somehow a bit too hard for me too read, but maybe simply my heart was not in it, somehow.
January 27, 2020
This is a very good story that kept my interest from start to finish.
February 23, 2015
raiders of the lost ark is a great book about the favored character of all time indiana jones the most bravest adventurer of all time he was the best it had a lot of action and adventure most of the book was about he tried to find the idol but the scene is actually set in 1938 where he is trying to be the greatest archeoligist along the way he met his arch enemy or rival belloq a merchant that rises because of other peoples hard work
August 7, 2016
Wonderful to explore the screenplay that became the greatest action picture ever made. Several scenes from this script went on to form the core of the sequel, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Just amazing pacing, characterization and vision from Lawrence Kasdan.
Just amazing pacing, characterization and vision from Lawrence Kasdan.
September 10, 2021
Reads even better than watching the movie. Imagination gets to run its own images and not be confined the those on a giant screen. Little wonder he and Spielberg worked together on several other projects.
July 18, 2016
Kasdan's masterpiece. It's just perfect.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews