Raiders of the Lost Ark at the IMAX

For one week only, the BFI at Waterloo is showing the first of the Indiana Jones films in the enormous IMAX format. Digitally remastered especially for the occasion, this experience is to celebrate the issuing of all four Indiana Jones films in a Blu-ray collection.

If by any chance you have missed these films, this is the perfect opportunity to get embroiled. You may well have seen Raiders of the Lost Ark many times and wonder if it is worth going to catch it on the very big screen. The answer is a most definite yes – seeing Raiders so large allows you to catch moments and details which you will have missed before. The IMAX allows you to appreciate the genius of director Steven Spielberg in full throttle. Each set is dressed down to the finest detail, and the immersive experience fills in the atmospheric and acoustic worlds the characters travel through.

Raiders of the Lost Ark pays homage to the great adventure movies of early Hollywood, with exotic locations, thrilling action and epic scrapes with Nazis and snakes while the fate of the world is at stake. The baddies and their nameless henchmen always come to a grisly end. Already retrospective when it was made in 1981, it really hasn’t dated at all – it’s still fast-paced, funny and utterly engaging. 

Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones exudes instinct and charm, while Karen Allen as Marion is the definition of adorable feistiness. Spielberg is such a master of lighting and bringing visions to life. This is the film that spawned a franchise and itself created many iconic moments in cinema – the first few minutes raised the standard for so many action films with the hero almost flattened by a giant rolling boulder. Still brilliant.

It’s not just the quality – it’s the size. Being able to see every fly and bead of sweat in Raiders makes you start to wonder which other classics and favourites might take such magnification. Although remastered for the IMAX, the film has not been tidied up or tampered with, and the early visual effects only add to its charm rather than making you wish computers had been invented earlier. Raiders depends upon character and story, thrillingly realised.

Exuberant, romantic, humorous and action packed, it’s like seeing it for the first time.

Verdict: •••••

Eleanor MacFarlane

Raiders of the Lost Ark is at the BFI IMAX from 21^st to 27^th September 2012.

For more information and to book tickets, click here.

The four Indiana Jones movies will be released on Blu-ray on 8^th October 2012.

Rating: PG

Watch the trailer for Raiders of the Lost Ark here