Oops I did it again

By it I mean I watched Raiders Of The Lost Ark once again. Usually I catch it once a year on TV over Christmas but tonight I caught the start of it on Film4. It had to be watched. It's the law. I'm sure it's been debated in the Seanad. I know most of the dialogue, every scene, the music, every action beat yet it never gets old. It's 40 years old this year (FUCK) and still feels fresher and funnier than any Marvel epic. It feels like a snuff movie compared to them as well. It's hard to believe it's a PG film. Exploding heads, melting faces, skewered bodies, hefty scrappers being minced by propellers. It's one of the reasons it's so beloved by our generation. It always felt like something you shouldn't be watching. A film to be enjoyed by fathers and sons, something my Ma would always tut at. I still remember the first time I saw it too. Can't remember what age I was but I was definitely still in single figures. It was amazing. Marion was lovely. Indy was cool as hell. The monkey was a little bastard. The action was class. The nazi's were scary and that ending. Oh man. That ending. The ark is opened. Spirits spills out and fill the air. It's amazing. Everyone is awestruck. And then this happens.

Angels become demons. The soundtrack goes from merely spooky to full on horror. The bad guys pop and dissolve as god's wrath rains down on them. I watched from behind the couch, roaring with fear and loving it. 30 years later this scene still gives me goosebumps. There's nothing like it anymore. It's a moment I'll always credit with giving me a love of film and it's a film I'll watch for as long as I'm around.