The only Indy movie without a happy ending
One of the few Spielberg movies without a happy ending.
I think "The Sugarland Express" is the other one.
Unhappy for the Nazis you mean? They sought the ark for its power, and to use as a weapon of war, and what they did not understand was that God would have never allowed them to use His power for evil.
share When I say unhappy I mean that there's no consolation prize for Indy in this one. He doesn't get The Holy Grail but the experience strengthens his relationship with his dad. He doesn't get the Crystal Skulls but he gets hitched. He doesn't get the Sankara Stones but he saves the kids. How about "Raiders"? He doesn't get the ark. Nor does he get anything else. The girl is at his side at film's end but her presence seems lost on Indy whose mind appears elsewhere -- haunted by the ark and the missed opportunity it represents.
And the last shot of the movie is not Indy being surrounded by grateful kids, or a shot of Indy riding with his pop off into the sunset -- it's the ark being placed in an anonymous crate in a warehouse full of anonymous crates. Not exactly "Requiem for a Dream" I grant you but not your traditional "diabetes-inducing" Spielberg ending either.
Indy's victory feels hollow which I suppose reflects the more cynical age "Raiders" was made in -- late '70s, early '80s.
Didn't he get a lot of cash? I mean the $5000 they gave him to start with would be worth $62,000 today. He used it to fund future expeditions. At least he got that. He also gets back Marion, who loved him very much. He also advanced his career. Too bad Lucas and Spielberg didn't cover more of what happened.
But yes, his loss of the ark was a loss for all of us as well, the entire audience.
He got money and the girl vs being killed by literal god. Id say its a pretty happy ending.
share... He found the Lost Ark, that is a pretty good consolation even if it's just for himself.
Plus he finds it again in Crystal Skull too.
I hadn't thought of it this way but you're right.
The last time I watched this, one thing that struck me is that the music is really haunting in some parts. They try to make the Ark this spooky thing. The last moments of action are like a horror show with all the Nazis dying these horrible deaths, but it's a relief when it's done. I think they were intentionally doing something that you would not see in a James Bond movie for that time. Which was to have the good guy so freaked out by what he saw that he couldn't just wink at the camera and forget all the stuff that just happened. I don't really know though.