Raiders is my favorite of the three Indy movies, with good cause. It's a brilliant film. It combines action, adventure, and romance without going overboard on special effects like many of the movies of today. More filmmakers should study this film as an example of how to please and thrill and audience. I love this movie with all my heart, hence the birth of this website.

Raiders is not perfect -- there are incongruities in it which seem odd that nobody spotted and removed them before the film's release. Two examples come immediately to mind, though many more often do while I am watching this movie. Admittedly I'm a difficult person to screen this film with because I feel compelled to constantly comment on the nuances of it. I had a roommate who moved out after being forced to sit through Raiders or one of its brothers every night for a year. She'd probably still run screaming if you mentioned the Staff of Ra to her, and I'm certain she can't walk into a Chinese restaurant without reciting the beginning lines from Temple of Doom.

If you have only watched this movie with a passing interest before now, take some time to pay careful attention next time you see it. Put aside the suspension of disbelief necessary for enjoying the movie and watch for the small details which make one think...and then write to me and tell me how the Staff of Ra debacle ever made its way into print!

How tall is the Staff of Ra, really? If the Staff is the correct height, given the information Indy puts forth in the film, then how tall is Indy?

Another wonderment is the "stay out of the light" trap in the temple at the beginning of the film. Where does the light that keeps the trap from activating come from? If it is an outside light, what happens at night, or for that matter, on a cloudy day, or if a plant grows over the opening which provides the light?

If you have any thoughts on either of these two situations, feel free to send me an e-mail.

In any event, my comments are not meant as criticisms of this movie. I have just as many good comments to make about the sometimes brilliant cinematography -- such as Indy's shadow falling across Marion in the bar and the entire scene with Indy being chased by the giant rolling ball, a moment that stands out firmly in any moviegoers' mind. I saw this film for the first time in the theatre as a child and I still have a vivid impression of that scene. That and the snakes, why did it have to be snakes?

The film also contains witty and thought provoking dialogue, and the incredibly charming nemesis of Indiana Jones, the French archaeologist Rene Belloq. I have a lot more to say about my beloved Monsieur Belloq, but that will hopefully go on a page I intend to create when I have a spare moment in the future.

Meanwhile, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride through the Temple of Sublunaria -- Indy's adventure in my own mind. And when you're done, go watch Raiders a few more times and remind yourself of the priviledge it is to have known this film, one of the greatest of our time.