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Indiana Jones: Film Novelizations #1
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
The adventure that started it all! Relive the adventure, the romance, and the action in this thrilling novelization of the major motion picture.
Indiana Jones, archaeology professor and swashbuckling adventurer, has unearthed many ancient treasures. But now the very future of the world depends on his finding one special the Ark of the Covenant, the ornate chest that holds the Ten Commandments.
With his trusty bullwhip in hand and his beautiful former lover at his side, Jones journeys from Nepal to Cairo to the Mediterranean, dodging poisons, traps, and snakes, outwitting Nazis, and battling rivals old and new—all in pursuit of an ancient artifact rumored to give invincible power to its possessor.
It’s a battle to the startling finish—a finish dictated by the magic, the light, and the glorious power of the lost Ark.
Indiana Jones, archaeology professor and swashbuckling adventurer, has unearthed many ancient treasures. But now the very future of the world depends on his finding one special the Ark of the Covenant, the ornate chest that holds the Ten Commandments.
With his trusty bullwhip in hand and his beautiful former lover at his side, Jones journeys from Nepal to Cairo to the Mediterranean, dodging poisons, traps, and snakes, outwitting Nazis, and battling rivals old and new—all in pursuit of an ancient artifact rumored to give invincible power to its possessor.
It’s a battle to the startling finish—a finish dictated by the magic, the light, and the glorious power of the lost Ark.
181 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 151 reviews
April 3, 2022
Basta decir que me han venido según iba leyendo todas las imágenes de la peli, la cual es una de mis favoritas. Al ser una novelización de la peli, pues es casi un calco. Es una lectura para desconectar de otras mas tediosas.
Sinopsis(quien no la conoce!!): En 1936,el arqueólogo Indiana Jones es contratado por el gobierno estadounidense para localizar el Arca de la Alianza, antes de que los nazis la encuentren y se vuelvan invencibles, tal como se cuenta de los israelitas en el Antiguo Testamento.
7/10
Sinopsis(quien no la conoce!!): En 1936,el arqueólogo Indiana Jones es contratado por el gobierno estadounidense para localizar el Arca de la Alianza, antes de que los nazis la encuentren y se vuelvan invencibles, tal como se cuenta de los israelitas en el Antiguo Testamento.
7/10
May 31, 2009
**Mild but fun spoilers that shouldn't hurt your enjoyment of the book**
This, the original novelization of Raiders of the Lost Ark, has to be one of the strangest movie-tie-ins I've ever read.
I admit that I haven't read many novelizations, but I was always under the impression that they were meant to reflect the movie. The action should be the same, the plot should be the same, and even the dialogue, for the most part, should be the same. Any artistic license taken should be to fill in the main character's thoughts and feelings, and possibly to expand upon a couple of scenes, to fill in gaps and nothing more.
Campbell Black's version of Raiders of the Lost Ark does some of that -- enough to be recognizable as Raiders of the Lost Ark -- but it also breaks free of those bonds big time.
Black reinvents entire scenes and adds new ones, alters dialogue completely or paraphrases freely, and goes so far in making the story his own that one wonders what he used as the blueprint for his version.
It is so different that one might initially think Black had an early Lucas draft of the story to work with; but then he uses bits of dialogue that match the movie, suggesting that he might have used Lawrence Kasdan's screenplay as a guide (which is actually what is claimed in the book's frontispiece). Neither of these can account, however, for the presence of Indy's decision to kill the Arab swordsman. This, one of Raiders of the Lost Ark's most famous scenes, was concocted on set by Ford and Spielberg so that Harrison could finish early and recover from a bad case of dysentery. Yet there it is in Campbell Black's novelization, requiring that the movie was complete before Black wrote his version.
It is true that Kasdan added the shooting scene to his screenplay post-production, but the complete movie must have been available as a guide for Black too, or at least knowledge of it, so why all the changes? Why is Campbell Black's Raiders of the Lost Ark so unfaithful? And is this the reason why a new novelization, called Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, appeared to coincide with the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull?
There is a story here, and I'd really like to learn what it is.
Still, all my curiosity aside, the differences between the movie and Black's novelization make his version of Raiders of the Lost Ark worth a read.
You remember that girl whose eyelids read "Love" and "You"? Well, her name is Susan, and she has a post-coital cuddling scene with Indy just before Marcus shows up at his house to tell him he's got the gig to find the Ark. Yep, Indy is a naughty professor.
And if you like Belloq there is a whole lot more to enjoy.
I think I am going to have to get the new version and see just how closely it adheres to the Lucas approved film. Something tells me there is nothing remotely as interesting as what Campbell Black did back in 1981.
If you're a fan of Indiana Jones, especially Raiders of the Lost Ark, this is a companion piece well worth hunting down in your local used book store. Get it before they all disappear and you're stuck with "Raiders of the Lost Ark -- The Special Edition"...you know, the one where Han Solo shoots first [I know, I know...I got this backwards. See the comments for the full extent of my knobishness ;):].
This, the original novelization of Raiders of the Lost Ark, has to be one of the strangest movie-tie-ins I've ever read.
I admit that I haven't read many novelizations, but I was always under the impression that they were meant to reflect the movie. The action should be the same, the plot should be the same, and even the dialogue, for the most part, should be the same. Any artistic license taken should be to fill in the main character's thoughts and feelings, and possibly to expand upon a couple of scenes, to fill in gaps and nothing more.
Campbell Black's version of Raiders of the Lost Ark does some of that -- enough to be recognizable as Raiders of the Lost Ark -- but it also breaks free of those bonds big time.
Black reinvents entire scenes and adds new ones, alters dialogue completely or paraphrases freely, and goes so far in making the story his own that one wonders what he used as the blueprint for his version.
It is so different that one might initially think Black had an early Lucas draft of the story to work with; but then he uses bits of dialogue that match the movie, suggesting that he might have used Lawrence Kasdan's screenplay as a guide (which is actually what is claimed in the book's frontispiece). Neither of these can account, however, for the presence of Indy's decision to kill the Arab swordsman. This, one of Raiders of the Lost Ark's most famous scenes, was concocted on set by Ford and Spielberg so that Harrison could finish early and recover from a bad case of dysentery. Yet there it is in Campbell Black's novelization, requiring that the movie was complete before Black wrote his version.
It is true that Kasdan added the shooting scene to his screenplay post-production, but the complete movie must have been available as a guide for Black too, or at least knowledge of it, so why all the changes? Why is Campbell Black's Raiders of the Lost Ark so unfaithful? And is this the reason why a new novelization, called Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, appeared to coincide with the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull?
There is a story here, and I'd really like to learn what it is.
Still, all my curiosity aside, the differences between the movie and Black's novelization make his version of Raiders of the Lost Ark worth a read.
You remember that girl whose eyelids read "Love" and "You"? Well, her name is Susan, and she has a post-coital cuddling scene with Indy just before Marcus shows up at his house to tell him he's got the gig to find the Ark. Yep, Indy is a naughty professor.
And if you like Belloq there is a whole lot more to enjoy.
I think I am going to have to get the new version and see just how closely it adheres to the Lucas approved film. Something tells me there is nothing remotely as interesting as what Campbell Black did back in 1981.
If you're a fan of Indiana Jones, especially Raiders of the Lost Ark, this is a companion piece well worth hunting down in your local used book store. Get it before they all disappear and you're stuck with "Raiders of the Lost Ark -- The Special Edition"...you know, the one where Han Solo shoots first [I know, I know...I got this backwards. See the comments for the full extent of my knobishness ;):].
Want to read
July 24, 2019Adapted from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan, Based on a story by George Lucas ans Philip Kaufman.
July 31, 2021
This wasn’t quite what I had hoped… 😕 The characters were rather flat, hard to like, and underdeveloped. The bad guy ‘Belloq’ was the most interesting of them all. The POV kept switching from paragraph to paragraph and this was also distracting for me.
However, I did love the author’s use of metaphors and sometimes there were paragraphs that were truly lovely and fun to read.
Each book in this series is written by different authors though, so I’m going to keep reading because I’m curious how different each will be. 👍🏻
However, I did love the author’s use of metaphors and sometimes there were paragraphs that were truly lovely and fun to read.
Each book in this series is written by different authors though, so I’m going to keep reading because I’m curious how different each will be. 👍🏻
November 14, 2014
-Fedora, látigo y aventura.-
Género. Novela (con un toquecito de Narrativa Fantástica).
Lo que nos cuenta. El profesor Jones, más conocido como Indiana, un joven y valiente arqueólogo, escapa por poco de un templo en Perú tras las peligrosas argucias de un arqueólogo rival sin escrúpulos llamado Belloq. De vuelta a los Estados Unidos, es contactado por representantes del Ejército para que les ayude con un telegrama alemán interceptado que habla de unas excavaciones en Egipto. Indiana Jones reconoce los nombres del mensaje como relativos al Arca de la Alianza, y el mayor experto en ella es el profesor Ravenwood, con cuya hija, Marion, tuvo una relación en el pasado. Libro basado en el guión de la película homónima.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Novela (con un toquecito de Narrativa Fantástica).
Lo que nos cuenta. El profesor Jones, más conocido como Indiana, un joven y valiente arqueólogo, escapa por poco de un templo en Perú tras las peligrosas argucias de un arqueólogo rival sin escrúpulos llamado Belloq. De vuelta a los Estados Unidos, es contactado por representantes del Ejército para que les ayude con un telegrama alemán interceptado que habla de unas excavaciones en Egipto. Indiana Jones reconoce los nombres del mensaje como relativos al Arca de la Alianza, y el mayor experto en ella es el profesor Ravenwood, con cuya hija, Marion, tuvo una relación en el pasado. Libro basado en el guión de la película homónima.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
December 12, 2010
The… tall man in a leather jacket and a brimmed felt hat… who lead the group was called Indiana Jones. He was muscular in the way one might associate with an athlete not quite beyond his prime. He had several days’ growth of dirty blonde beard and streaks of dark sweat on a face that might once have been handsome in a facile, photogenic fashion. Now, though, there were tiny lines around his eyes, the corners of the mouth, changing the almost bland good looks into an expression of character, depth. It was as if the contours of his experience had begun, slowly, to define his appearance.
- Campbell Black
I think I may have gone too easy on other authors of the Indiana Jones novel franchise. Why? Because, simply stated, even the very first paragraph of Campbell Black’s novelization of the legendary film pretty much blows away anything the other authors – McCoy, MacGregor and Caidin (“others” from here on)– have written, at least regarding Indy.
For a start, you have a description of Indy. An actual, real description of his physique and facial features, his outward appearance. All the other 3 novels I have read so far, one by each of the authors, had none. Indy was Indy. Of course, everyone knows the character, but that’s not the point. Beside the knowledge he carried a bullwhip, a Webley and a fedora, Indiana Jones was a blank face. Campbell Black corrects that, God bless him.
Black is also several levels above the “others” in eloquence. Not only do you get a description of characters, but also the surroundings, locations. The author manages to paint pretty vivid pictures with his words, especially in the introductory scene in South America, where the jungle almost seems to come to life. Unfortunately, the opening chapter in South America is also the best written one, and the quality of the writing drops down a little as the story goes on.
Of course, as most authors, Black has his “style” and you may notice the occurrence of certain forms and usage of a sequence of words. For example, Black likes to use this particular construction: “The [object/person/location] was [adjective 1], [adjective 2], [adjective 3]” as in “The jungle was darkly verdant, secretive, menacing.” Thankfully, it’s not overused to the point of it becoming a nuisance and mostly appears, again, in the opening chapter.
Black is also several steps ahead of the “others” in pacing his story. While the “others” simply name a location and describe it with a few basic adjectives, and then have the characters simply walk through them, Black takes it to another level. In all the other novels, Indy was… in lack of better word, I’ll use “detached”. Meaning? He went somewhere, met someone, or did something, but it was all superficial – told only how it appeared on the outside. Like, “Indy got here, then he did that, then took this and finally went over there.” All the while you never had the idea of how Indy felt about what he did, i.e. not knowing what was going about inside his head.
In “Raiders of Lost Ark” Indy reminisces many times. The author tells you what kind of emotional response or memories a certain event, location or object triggers in Indy. You could say, finally Indy has a soul. Or to be completely and utterly blunt, Campbell Black does proper character development; a thing so trivial, but apparently beyond the grasp of so many authors.
In addition, you get a few extra scenes thrown in the book. Most are small flashbacks of past encounters with various characters such as the sneaky Frenchmen Belloq, or the break-up with Marion and the falling out with Abner Ravenwood. Several of the scenes were slightly altered, some cut (for example, the famous Arab Swordsman does not appear), and others that were present in the script, but haven’t made it to the film were re-introduced – like the one where you actually learn how Indy survived the submarine ride. And mind you, it’s waaaay manlier than anything you might have expected, haha! The bonus material mostly concerns Rene Belloq, though, and grants him a somewhat new and deeper persona that was missing in the film. He becomes not only a great villain, but a great villain likeable almost as much as the main protagonist.
To conclude, Campbell Black’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark” is how a proper novelization should be done, and an example of a great adventure novel. I can be only filled with regret at the fact Black wrote this and nothing more in the Indy series; if he decided to stick with it, maybe the novels would’ve been respectable instead of – let’s be honest – nothing more than generic Sunday afternoon reads.
Rating: 8.5/10
- Campbell Black
I think I may have gone too easy on other authors of the Indiana Jones novel franchise. Why? Because, simply stated, even the very first paragraph of Campbell Black’s novelization of the legendary film pretty much blows away anything the other authors – McCoy, MacGregor and Caidin (“others” from here on)– have written, at least regarding Indy.
For a start, you have a description of Indy. An actual, real description of his physique and facial features, his outward appearance. All the other 3 novels I have read so far, one by each of the authors, had none. Indy was Indy. Of course, everyone knows the character, but that’s not the point. Beside the knowledge he carried a bullwhip, a Webley and a fedora, Indiana Jones was a blank face. Campbell Black corrects that, God bless him.
Black is also several levels above the “others” in eloquence. Not only do you get a description of characters, but also the surroundings, locations. The author manages to paint pretty vivid pictures with his words, especially in the introductory scene in South America, where the jungle almost seems to come to life. Unfortunately, the opening chapter in South America is also the best written one, and the quality of the writing drops down a little as the story goes on.
Of course, as most authors, Black has his “style” and you may notice the occurrence of certain forms and usage of a sequence of words. For example, Black likes to use this particular construction: “The [object/person/location] was [adjective 1], [adjective 2], [adjective 3]” as in “The jungle was darkly verdant, secretive, menacing.” Thankfully, it’s not overused to the point of it becoming a nuisance and mostly appears, again, in the opening chapter.
Black is also several steps ahead of the “others” in pacing his story. While the “others” simply name a location and describe it with a few basic adjectives, and then have the characters simply walk through them, Black takes it to another level. In all the other novels, Indy was… in lack of better word, I’ll use “detached”. Meaning? He went somewhere, met someone, or did something, but it was all superficial – told only how it appeared on the outside. Like, “Indy got here, then he did that, then took this and finally went over there.” All the while you never had the idea of how Indy felt about what he did, i.e. not knowing what was going about inside his head.
In “Raiders of Lost Ark” Indy reminisces many times. The author tells you what kind of emotional response or memories a certain event, location or object triggers in Indy. You could say, finally Indy has a soul. Or to be completely and utterly blunt, Campbell Black does proper character development; a thing so trivial, but apparently beyond the grasp of so many authors.
In addition, you get a few extra scenes thrown in the book. Most are small flashbacks of past encounters with various characters such as the sneaky Frenchmen Belloq, or the break-up with Marion and the falling out with Abner Ravenwood. Several of the scenes were slightly altered, some cut (for example, the famous Arab Swordsman does not appear), and others that were present in the script, but haven’t made it to the film were re-introduced – like the one where you actually learn how Indy survived the submarine ride. And mind you, it’s waaaay manlier than anything you might have expected, haha! The bonus material mostly concerns Rene Belloq, though, and grants him a somewhat new and deeper persona that was missing in the film. He becomes not only a great villain, but a great villain likeable almost as much as the main protagonist.
To conclude, Campbell Black’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark” is how a proper novelization should be done, and an example of a great adventure novel. I can be only filled with regret at the fact Black wrote this and nothing more in the Indy series; if he decided to stick with it, maybe the novels would’ve been respectable instead of – let’s be honest – nothing more than generic Sunday afternoon reads.
Rating: 8.5/10
March 25, 2023
Sometimes this is in the 2 range... but I'll bump it up a little bit. Technically, I'd say it's a 2.5 overall.
I've been a fan of Indiana Jones since I was a child. I have a lot of the children's novels, comic books, adult novels that were published later... but I was never interested in reading movie novelizations until fairly recently. So, I tracked down all the ones for Indiana Jones. Luckily they had a re-print run occur when the fourth film came out, so getting my hands on these was relatively easy when I wanted to do it. Who knows how long that will last, especially with the franchise likely ending due to the age of Harrison Ford... because it would just be weird to have someone else take over the role at this point. Although, I'm sure Hollywood will attempt a re-launch in ten some odd years from now for no reason and it will probably flop. Because creating a similar new character is just too hard...
In any event, originally this movie and book were just released as "Raiders of the Lost Ark," even though George Lucas had had the idea to release a series of adventure stories from the inception of the concept. One of my favorite fun facts at this point is that originally the main character was to be named Indiana Smith, and that just doesn't even remotely feel right. Luckily Spielberg stepped in and recommended switching it and Jones was offered as an alternative. Indiana Smith just doesn't have the same flow, I just imagine that scene in Egypt where they're carrying Marion around in the basket and her yelling out "Smiiiiitttthhhh!!!!"... I don't know, it just sounds wrong. The concept behind the script was originally written up in the early 70's and Spielberg had been interested in possibly doing a James Bond film, but Lucas told him the idea for Indiana Jones and Spielberg loved it. This is probably why there is a bit of the James Bond feel to things at times, which we sort of get with the revolving women in Indiana's life due to the "Bond girl" trope in those films.
Indiana Jones is a bit of a combination of the "great white hunter" and "explorers" of the late 1800's and early 1900's. During this time there were still people exploring terrain on Earth that no one had ever set foot upon, as far as anyone knew at the time. Perhaps some inspiration for Indy being an archaeologist was derived from Sir Leonard Woolley who uncovered the city of Ur and opened up a whole new civilization to study all occurring in the early 1900's. However, the archetype of an archeologist adventurer is likely based on many other explorers of the era as well. I would think Percy Fawcett a big one. Combine all that with books by the likes of H. Rider Haggard with his Alan Quatermain series or Arthur Conan Doyle who wrote a series based on his character Professor Challenger, which the creators of Indiana Jones probably read as kids. So they basically take all those influences into a mixing pot with James Bond and there we find Indiana Jones, and with the desire to bring back the serialized films from the 30's/40's era.
As far as Campbell Black's novelization goes, I find it to be merely okay at the end of the day. It has all the major portions of the film, sure, but there are just so many little details that are different, and frankly, ten times better executed in the film. This really made me wonder about how much had changed from script to screen. At the very beginning we have Indiana Jones in the jungles of South America looking for a lost artifact of great value. In the book, it felt like Indiana Jones talked way too much, and he kept finishing his lines with "my friend," to the point where it got kind of annoying. When you compare this with the actual opening scene we get a very different mood and character. Jones is a man of very few words and it creates so much more on screen tension that I think I wound up being more annoyed by the book, because the movie did it so much better. I will say, the trap sequence was a little bit different in the book, so it made me wonder if they made changes by the time they got to filming, or if in the script it just said something like "Indiana Jones encounters traps" with maybe a basic outline for some of them, because some of them were similar, but the final trap was not.
The overall sexism is a bit more extreme in the book than even in the film. Honestly, it's a film set in the 30's, so I definitely expect a degree of that. And even in the 80's things were getting better in terms of all around equality, but if we're being honest, they still weren't all that great in the 80's. In the book, though, Indy is much more of a womanizer and it's basically alluded to that he pretty regularly sleeps with his students. I don't know if that was in the original script or if that was an extrapolation on Black's behalf based on the girl that wrote "Love You" on her eyelids. In any event, while these things happened between students and professors, probably more regularly than we want to admit back in the 30's, it just felt above and beyond in the book. I liked what they did in the movie a bit more, since it was more subtle.
These minor changes and differences persisted through the book and I felt like the only characters that really stayed on point were Beloq and Sallah. Indy was okay, but his interactions with Marion were almost just weird and sometimes creepy. She seemed way off. Marion and Toht were the two characters that just seemed like completely different people. Toht was described as a bit of a cowardly weasel of a man, but in the films he had a rather ruthless threatening aura, which was way more interesting and he just wasn't terrifying at all in the book. Marion was supposed to be head strong and a bit world weary, which made her a pretty good foil for Indy, but in the book, she just felt like a helpless love interest. (In some regards she had a bit of the always needing Indy's help in the film, but not nearly as much as in the book. Like she devised plans to escape Beloq, she fought people in her bar, etc.) The real horrible thing, for me, was her interactions with Beloq when she was captured at the Tanis dig. She and Beloq make out, and she can't help herself, because she is just so overcome with lust for that man, but thankfully, this never happens in the movie. It just seemed so out of character for her and if that was in the original script, I'm so glad someone put a stop to that thread altogether. It just made no sense and seemed pretty stupid. I don't care that she was attracted to another man or anything in terms of "preserving virtue," it was who she was kissing that was the problem.
In the book they make a big deal about him losing his hat when he gets on the submarine, but in the films his hat is safely on his head in the third film. I think this makes sense, because he would have left his hat and jacket behind on the boat and he could have easily had those items returned to him through Sallah. This leads me to the final scene of the film, where all of this is pretty on par with the film, except for one critical moment. When Indiana Jones jumps out and threatens to blow up the Ark with a rocket launcher... he does it in the middle of a bunch of soldiers. So, yeah, he gets jumped from behind. It was just so stupid, the movie made way more sense where Indy ambushes the column of soldiers in the hills. It just seemed like such a weird thing to write and way out of character for Jones, who is supposed to be rather good at this.
One aspect of the book that I did enjoy quite a bit, was that Black would include scenes of what the Germans were up to at various times. These were either cut from the original script to save film time, or they're entirely made up by Black. In any event, these scenes where he fleshes out the side of the enemy are what I really enjoyed. Sadly, they are not that many, but when they are there, it made the book more worth reading.
In the end, I have a hard time faulting an author that likely never saw the film or any of the edits/changes made mid-filming. The overall gist of the story is here and it is still quite an exciting adventure tale regardless. I just really like a lot of the changes made from whatever this script was to the lines delivered on screen. There are sarcastic one liners that Indy throws out from time to time, that just don't exist in this book. That leads me to believe that these lines were just not in the original script in the first place and probably showed up in subsequent rounds of editing if not ad-libbed during filming. I don't know how much a fan of the films would consider this worth reading. I'm glad I read it, because of my general curiosity about franchises I enjoy, but this book will certainly wind up in the pile of books that are just never worth reading again, but books I'll keep because I refuse to break up a completed collection.
I've been a fan of Indiana Jones since I was a child. I have a lot of the children's novels, comic books, adult novels that were published later... but I was never interested in reading movie novelizations until fairly recently. So, I tracked down all the ones for Indiana Jones. Luckily they had a re-print run occur when the fourth film came out, so getting my hands on these was relatively easy when I wanted to do it. Who knows how long that will last, especially with the franchise likely ending due to the age of Harrison Ford... because it would just be weird to have someone else take over the role at this point. Although, I'm sure Hollywood will attempt a re-launch in ten some odd years from now for no reason and it will probably flop. Because creating a similar new character is just too hard...
In any event, originally this movie and book were just released as "Raiders of the Lost Ark," even though George Lucas had had the idea to release a series of adventure stories from the inception of the concept. One of my favorite fun facts at this point is that originally the main character was to be named Indiana Smith, and that just doesn't even remotely feel right. Luckily Spielberg stepped in and recommended switching it and Jones was offered as an alternative. Indiana Smith just doesn't have the same flow, I just imagine that scene in Egypt where they're carrying Marion around in the basket and her yelling out "Smiiiiitttthhhh!!!!"... I don't know, it just sounds wrong. The concept behind the script was originally written up in the early 70's and Spielberg had been interested in possibly doing a James Bond film, but Lucas told him the idea for Indiana Jones and Spielberg loved it. This is probably why there is a bit of the James Bond feel to things at times, which we sort of get with the revolving women in Indiana's life due to the "Bond girl" trope in those films.
Indiana Jones is a bit of a combination of the "great white hunter" and "explorers" of the late 1800's and early 1900's. During this time there were still people exploring terrain on Earth that no one had ever set foot upon, as far as anyone knew at the time. Perhaps some inspiration for Indy being an archaeologist was derived from Sir Leonard Woolley who uncovered the city of Ur and opened up a whole new civilization to study all occurring in the early 1900's. However, the archetype of an archeologist adventurer is likely based on many other explorers of the era as well. I would think Percy Fawcett a big one. Combine all that with books by the likes of H. Rider Haggard with his Alan Quatermain series or Arthur Conan Doyle who wrote a series based on his character Professor Challenger, which the creators of Indiana Jones probably read as kids. So they basically take all those influences into a mixing pot with James Bond and there we find Indiana Jones, and with the desire to bring back the serialized films from the 30's/40's era.
As far as Campbell Black's novelization goes, I find it to be merely okay at the end of the day. It has all the major portions of the film, sure, but there are just so many little details that are different, and frankly, ten times better executed in the film. This really made me wonder about how much had changed from script to screen. At the very beginning we have Indiana Jones in the jungles of South America looking for a lost artifact of great value. In the book, it felt like Indiana Jones talked way too much, and he kept finishing his lines with "my friend," to the point where it got kind of annoying. When you compare this with the actual opening scene we get a very different mood and character. Jones is a man of very few words and it creates so much more on screen tension that I think I wound up being more annoyed by the book, because the movie did it so much better. I will say, the trap sequence was a little bit different in the book, so it made me wonder if they made changes by the time they got to filming, or if in the script it just said something like "Indiana Jones encounters traps" with maybe a basic outline for some of them, because some of them were similar, but the final trap was not.
The overall sexism is a bit more extreme in the book than even in the film. Honestly, it's a film set in the 30's, so I definitely expect a degree of that. And even in the 80's things were getting better in terms of all around equality, but if we're being honest, they still weren't all that great in the 80's. In the book, though, Indy is much more of a womanizer and it's basically alluded to that he pretty regularly sleeps with his students. I don't know if that was in the original script or if that was an extrapolation on Black's behalf based on the girl that wrote "Love You" on her eyelids. In any event, while these things happened between students and professors, probably more regularly than we want to admit back in the 30's, it just felt above and beyond in the book. I liked what they did in the movie a bit more, since it was more subtle.
These minor changes and differences persisted through the book and I felt like the only characters that really stayed on point were Beloq and Sallah. Indy was okay, but his interactions with Marion were almost just weird and sometimes creepy. She seemed way off. Marion and Toht were the two characters that just seemed like completely different people. Toht was described as a bit of a cowardly weasel of a man, but in the films he had a rather ruthless threatening aura, which was way more interesting and he just wasn't terrifying at all in the book. Marion was supposed to be head strong and a bit world weary, which made her a pretty good foil for Indy, but in the book, she just felt like a helpless love interest. (In some regards she had a bit of the always needing Indy's help in the film, but not nearly as much as in the book. Like she devised plans to escape Beloq, she fought people in her bar, etc.) The real horrible thing, for me, was her interactions with Beloq when she was captured at the Tanis dig. She and Beloq make out, and she can't help herself, because she is just so overcome with lust for that man, but thankfully, this never happens in the movie. It just seemed so out of character for her and if that was in the original script, I'm so glad someone put a stop to that thread altogether. It just made no sense and seemed pretty stupid. I don't care that she was attracted to another man or anything in terms of "preserving virtue," it was who she was kissing that was the problem.
In the book they make a big deal about him losing his hat when he gets on the submarine, but in the films his hat is safely on his head in the third film. I think this makes sense, because he would have left his hat and jacket behind on the boat and he could have easily had those items returned to him through Sallah. This leads me to the final scene of the film, where all of this is pretty on par with the film, except for one critical moment. When Indiana Jones jumps out and threatens to blow up the Ark with a rocket launcher... he does it in the middle of a bunch of soldiers. So, yeah, he gets jumped from behind. It was just so stupid, the movie made way more sense where Indy ambushes the column of soldiers in the hills. It just seemed like such a weird thing to write and way out of character for Jones, who is supposed to be rather good at this.
One aspect of the book that I did enjoy quite a bit, was that Black would include scenes of what the Germans were up to at various times. These were either cut from the original script to save film time, or they're entirely made up by Black. In any event, these scenes where he fleshes out the side of the enemy are what I really enjoyed. Sadly, they are not that many, but when they are there, it made the book more worth reading.
In the end, I have a hard time faulting an author that likely never saw the film or any of the edits/changes made mid-filming. The overall gist of the story is here and it is still quite an exciting adventure tale regardless. I just really like a lot of the changes made from whatever this script was to the lines delivered on screen. There are sarcastic one liners that Indy throws out from time to time, that just don't exist in this book. That leads me to believe that these lines were just not in the original script in the first place and probably showed up in subsequent rounds of editing if not ad-libbed during filming. I don't know how much a fan of the films would consider this worth reading. I'm glad I read it, because of my general curiosity about franchises I enjoy, but this book will certainly wind up in the pile of books that are just never worth reading again, but books I'll keep because I refuse to break up a completed collection.
February 3, 2024
Unfortunately, the author took the liberty of adding scenes and implications that weren't in the movie which turned a perfectly fine adventure story into something problematic.
For example, there were two scenes added to the beginning of this book which implied Indiana having a relationship with one of his students (this is not implied in any of the movies in any way.) It was also continuously brought up how Marion was "a child" when her and Indiana were originally together. Again, this isn't something we got a lot of information on in the movie so why it's so heavily focused on/implied in this book is just weird and gross.
These are just a few of the problematic additions to the story. As a huge Indiana Jones fan I was really disappointed. The sequel novelizations were adapted by different authors so I have hope they'll be better.
For example, there were two scenes added to the beginning of this book which implied Indiana having a relationship with one of his students (this is not implied in any of the movies in any way.) It was also continuously brought up how Marion was "a child" when her and Indiana were originally together. Again, this isn't something we got a lot of information on in the movie so why it's so heavily focused on/implied in this book is just weird and gross.
These are just a few of the problematic additions to the story. As a huge Indiana Jones fan I was really disappointed. The sequel novelizations were adapted by different authors so I have hope they'll be better.
October 26, 2020
Tre stelle per essere buona e perché le aspettative erano bassissime. Non avevo mai letto una trasposizione da pellicola a libro ed ero curiosa di farlo.
Ho scelto Indy perché ho sempre avuto un debole per il mitico archeologo detto ciò non credo che ripeterò l'esperienza...
I predatori dell'Arca perduta è tale e quale al film, è scritto in una prosa semplice — un po' troppo per i miei gusti — e non aggiunge nulla alla pellicola, anzi! Molto più divertente il film!
Ho scelto Indy perché ho sempre avuto un debole per il mitico archeologo detto ciò non credo che ripeterò l'esperienza...
I predatori dell'Arca perduta è tale e quale al film, è scritto in una prosa semplice — un po' troppo per i miei gusti — e non aggiunge nulla alla pellicola, anzi! Molto più divertente il film!
September 14, 2022
4 sterren- Nederlandse pocket
Naar young adult addic club.
Naar young adult addic club.
August 31, 2024
This is the fourth movie novelization I have read (the others being Jaws 2, Scarface, and Alien) and one I never planned to read. The others had some odd selling points. Scarface was tight and trashy, Jaws 2 is legendary for being long, ignoring the film's plot (which was changed when Hancock was fired), and having some strikingly sharp writing. Alien is often considered a classic of this shabby format. Raiders of the Lost Ark though is not in the same league in a format that has a low bar.
The plot of Raiders is apt for action films and comic books, but only with a particular kind of writer will pulp like this work in novel form. Black is not that writer. He had moments, though, and even underhanded meta commentary on the ridiculousness of certain situations. Yet, his main weakness is that his dialogue is, next to the actual script, flabby and forgettable. Internal thoughts, particularly by Belloq are good, and even Dietrich is a bit fleshed out. Sadly, it is Jones who comes across the most muddled, which made me long for the other POVs.
Yet, it is still Indiana Jones, so I will give it an extra star.
The plot of Raiders is apt for action films and comic books, but only with a particular kind of writer will pulp like this work in novel form. Black is not that writer. He had moments, though, and even underhanded meta commentary on the ridiculousness of certain situations. Yet, his main weakness is that his dialogue is, next to the actual script, flabby and forgettable. Internal thoughts, particularly by Belloq are good, and even Dietrich is a bit fleshed out. Sadly, it is Jones who comes across the most muddled, which made me long for the other POVs.
Yet, it is still Indiana Jones, so I will give it an extra star.
May 28, 2008
Of the Indy novelizations, Raiders of the Lost Ark is probably the most different from the final movie. Changes are inevitable since the author of the novel is writing from the script at the same time that the filmmakers are shooting from it and divergent paths arise that cannot be reconvened. Here, the character of Indiana Jones and the entire environment is darker and rougher than the familiar movie persona. The novel is a fun read for those willing to accept the differences and in some ways an interesting way of studying the minor changes made on set or in the editing room that can dramatically change the entire feel of a story.
January 31, 2017
I read only one Indiana Jones book before this one, and had a hard time liking it, but this one was really good. I like the fact that these books take place in the 1900s because it wouldn't have been as good if it was made in present times. One thing I didn't like was the fact that it was hard to get into. At the beginning of the book, I found it hard to get myself to read it like I do with other books. However, after a few chapters, I found it really appealing and couldn't get myself to stop. I suggest for you to read this book.
February 2, 2017
Jacob just decided to read this one day when he finished his superhero book. He is really into explosions and adventure genre right now..krb 1/24/17
He was a little worried to finish this book and not have another one to read after it. However, we found the 2nd and 3rd book in this series at a thrift store yesterday!!! He was over the moon happy...krb 2/1/17
He was a little worried to finish this book and not have another one to read after it. However, we found the 2nd and 3rd book in this series at a thrift store yesterday!!! He was over the moon happy...krb 2/1/17
February 27, 2023
A novelization of the film that introduced us to Indiana Jones. Assuming it was written from a draft of the script before the movie was filmed (which seems likely, since it was published before the movie was released), its interesting to see how some of the classic action scenes evolved during filming, usually expanding to include elements not in the book. For instance, in the scene where Indy captures the truck carrying the Ark, he is not thrown out through the windshield and forced to crawl under the truck before climbing back aboard. The action scenes in the book are still exciting and well-written, but are simplified when compared to the finished movie.
The book expands on the personality of the villain Belloq in interesting ways. As far as Indy and Marion are concerned--well, they are still good protagonists. But without the charm of the actors bringing them to life, they sometimes come across as a little flat. Also, the book overtly states that Indy's original affair with Marion happened when she was just 15 years old. I know the movie hints at this and that Lucas & Speilberg talked about this in early story discussions, but to have it so baldly stated has Indy coming across as creepy.
Despite its flaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark is a solid, entertaining read that gives us a different way to enjoy a classic film.
The book expands on the personality of the villain Belloq in interesting ways. As far as Indy and Marion are concerned--well, they are still good protagonists. But without the charm of the actors bringing them to life, they sometimes come across as a little flat. Also, the book overtly states that Indy's original affair with Marion happened when she was just 15 years old. I know the movie hints at this and that Lucas & Speilberg talked about this in early story discussions, but to have it so baldly stated has Indy coming across as creepy.
Despite its flaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark is a solid, entertaining read that gives us a different way to enjoy a classic film.
January 25, 2019
I really enjoyed reading this book. It helped bridge the gap in certain scenes from the movie where vital information had been left out. And it's always fun getting inside the head of my all time favorite character. Some of the scenes are different from the movie, which is fine but makes me nostalgic. Like Marion not saying "I'm your god damned partner," which is one of my favorite lines from the movie. All in all, it gives a good look into the mind of Indy and you learn a little bit more about characters and plot. Great and exciting read!
December 14, 2023
""Why did it have to be snakes?" Indy asked. "Anything but snakes, anything else. I could have taken almost anything else.""
August 4, 2022
Wat anders dan ik me had voorgesteld. Ik vond dat het soms erg kort door de bocht was maar leuk om een keer te lezen.
February 26, 2018
Great novelization. To the point but with more insight into the psyche of one of my favorite on-screen heroes.
March 10, 2021
3.5 stars. It covers some plot holes, fleshes out some characters, and includes some deleted scenes from the movie, but overall feels rushed and two-dimensional. Non-essential for Indy fans.
January 28, 2024
i died while reading this.
September 9, 2022
Adventure has a name; and it's Indiana Jones!
With the Nazis are rumoured to have pinpointed the secret resting place of the fabled Ark of the Covenant, the sacred artefact that holds the Ten Commandments, the U.S. government enlists the help of the American archaeologist, university professor, and man of adventure, Indiana Jones. Assumed to contain an unfathomable destructive force, Indiana travels to the dangerous mountains of Nepal, and then, to mysterious Cairo, where he teams up with his old flame, Marion, and his friend, Sallah. But, this is a frenzied race against time, and the road to the coveted relic passes through Indy's scheming arch-rival, Dr René Belloq, and the sadistic Gestapo commander Major Toht's armed-to-the-teeth army. Can Indiana Jones prevent the Ark from falling into the wrong hands?
One of my all-time favorite films is now one of the most remarkable novelizations. The premise about an archaeologist attempting to find the Ark of the Covenant before it falls into Nazi hands is only just interesting. Indiana Jones himself, is one of the greatest fictional heroes of all time, which is why he swings his rope. George Lucas conceived of the Raiders story around the same time that he came up with the idea of Star Wars back in the seventies. After becoming preoccupied with the latter, he offered the synopsis to his friend, director Steven Spielberg. The name “Indiana” was inspired by George Lucas’ dog – an Alaskan Malamute who also inspired the character of Chewbacca in Star Wars. The pacing is great, and the locations are very interesting and exciting; however, while the pacing is great, this can get a bit slow and boring sometimes but otherwise as a film, it's a great film to watch. Memorable and well-done action sequences, and a whole lot of awesome fights going on, especially the bar fight scene and the airplane fight scene (especially). There are even awesome and now iconic scenes such as: the opening sequence with Indy stealing the golden idol, Indy shooting the swordsman, Indy using the staff of Ra to locate the ark, the car chase, the melting faces, etc. Despite this thing being mostly serious, it has a lot of touches of humor (and I kinda like that, like for example, when Sallah calls Belloq "Bellosh"). Even the scene where God unleashes his might against Belloq and them Nazis is very terrifying, complete with Belloq and his lieutenants’ faces melting, exploding, etc. Although very terrifying, this scene, the scene where the Nazis' faces melt, is really graphic and violent for a PG-rated film it almost resulted in the film's rating becoming R. As for the film itself, the performances are spectacular, especially from Harrison Ford. Tom Selleck was Lucas’ first choice for the male lead. But Selleck had recently been cast in the title role of the television drama Magnum P.I. and its producers were unwilling to release the actor from his production schedule. Debra Winger reportedly turned down the role of Marion Ravenwood, which eventually went to up-and-coming actress Karen Allen. The special effects are well done. In order to capture “Indy” being chased by a rolling boulder, the crew attached the boulder prop to an arm-like contraption that allowed the rock to spin on a hinge and follow the action. However, when the boulder careened down its chute, the stalactite props on set were broken and had to be reconstructed for each take. The cinematography is by far fab, with fantastic direction by Steven Spielberg (it's one of his most iconic movies). This film has the best opening ten minutes of any film out there. One of the faces in the face melt scene is actually quite hilarious to me. It's the unidentified guy (I don't even know his name) with his mouth wide open in fright. However, something of concern is this: Even if Indiana Jones wasn't in the story, the Nazis would've still stolen the ark and gotten their faces melted by God.
When this film was in post-production, Motion Picture Association gave it an R rating due to Belloq's head explosion (as I mentioned before) until it was obscured by the Ark's flames to get a PG one. It was remained lost until quite recently in 2013, when Will McCrabb uploaded two still images of the uncensored version online.
And how can I not resist closing with any of the most memorable quotes such as these:
Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
I HATE SNAKES, JOCK! I HATE 'EM!
Now you're getting nasty.
Lightning. Fire. The power of God or something.
Didn't any of you guys ever go to Sunday school?
Marion, don't look at it. Shut your eyes, Marion. Don't look at it, no matter what happens!
With the Nazis are rumoured to have pinpointed the secret resting place of the fabled Ark of the Covenant, the sacred artefact that holds the Ten Commandments, the U.S. government enlists the help of the American archaeologist, university professor, and man of adventure, Indiana Jones. Assumed to contain an unfathomable destructive force, Indiana travels to the dangerous mountains of Nepal, and then, to mysterious Cairo, where he teams up with his old flame, Marion, and his friend, Sallah. But, this is a frenzied race against time, and the road to the coveted relic passes through Indy's scheming arch-rival, Dr René Belloq, and the sadistic Gestapo commander Major Toht's armed-to-the-teeth army. Can Indiana Jones prevent the Ark from falling into the wrong hands?
One of my all-time favorite films is now one of the most remarkable novelizations. The premise about an archaeologist attempting to find the Ark of the Covenant before it falls into Nazi hands is only just interesting. Indiana Jones himself, is one of the greatest fictional heroes of all time, which is why he swings his rope. George Lucas conceived of the Raiders story around the same time that he came up with the idea of Star Wars back in the seventies. After becoming preoccupied with the latter, he offered the synopsis to his friend, director Steven Spielberg. The name “Indiana” was inspired by George Lucas’ dog – an Alaskan Malamute who also inspired the character of Chewbacca in Star Wars. The pacing is great, and the locations are very interesting and exciting; however, while the pacing is great, this can get a bit slow and boring sometimes but otherwise as a film, it's a great film to watch. Memorable and well-done action sequences, and a whole lot of awesome fights going on, especially the bar fight scene and the airplane fight scene (especially). There are even awesome and now iconic scenes such as: the opening sequence with Indy stealing the golden idol, Indy shooting the swordsman, Indy using the staff of Ra to locate the ark, the car chase, the melting faces, etc. Despite this thing being mostly serious, it has a lot of touches of humor (and I kinda like that, like for example, when Sallah calls Belloq "Bellosh"). Even the scene where God unleashes his might against Belloq and them Nazis is very terrifying, complete with Belloq and his lieutenants’ faces melting, exploding, etc. Although very terrifying, this scene, the scene where the Nazis' faces melt, is really graphic and violent for a PG-rated film it almost resulted in the film's rating becoming R. As for the film itself, the performances are spectacular, especially from Harrison Ford. Tom Selleck was Lucas’ first choice for the male lead. But Selleck had recently been cast in the title role of the television drama Magnum P.I. and its producers were unwilling to release the actor from his production schedule. Debra Winger reportedly turned down the role of Marion Ravenwood, which eventually went to up-and-coming actress Karen Allen. The special effects are well done. In order to capture “Indy” being chased by a rolling boulder, the crew attached the boulder prop to an arm-like contraption that allowed the rock to spin on a hinge and follow the action. However, when the boulder careened down its chute, the stalactite props on set were broken and had to be reconstructed for each take. The cinematography is by far fab, with fantastic direction by Steven Spielberg (it's one of his most iconic movies). This film has the best opening ten minutes of any film out there. One of the faces in the face melt scene is actually quite hilarious to me. It's the unidentified guy (I don't even know his name) with his mouth wide open in fright. However, something of concern is this: Even if Indiana Jones wasn't in the story, the Nazis would've still stolen the ark and gotten their faces melted by God.
When this film was in post-production, Motion Picture Association gave it an R rating due to Belloq's head explosion (as I mentioned before) until it was obscured by the Ark's flames to get a PG one. It was remained lost until quite recently in 2013, when Will McCrabb uploaded two still images of the uncensored version online.
And how can I not resist closing with any of the most memorable quotes such as these:
Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
I HATE SNAKES, JOCK! I HATE 'EM!
Now you're getting nasty.
Lightning. Fire. The power of God or something.
Didn't any of you guys ever go to Sunday school?
Marion, don't look at it. Shut your eyes, Marion. Don't look at it, no matter what happens!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 1, 2018
Truly a 3 or at most 3.5 star book, but because its Indiana Jones, I had to bump it up. If you love novel where the dialogue is scant, but there are passages upon passages of internal dialogue always prefaced by "he thought" or "she thought", this is the book for you. The worst part is there is something missing from Black's writing of Indy, some lack of a soul or something I couldn't put my finger on... he just doesnt feel right. Most Star Wars authors get Han Solo correct, have down that perfect Harrison Ford-ness that this book lacks.
March 3, 2021
This novel was fun to read still pretty engaging even though you can't watch the action scenes. Well written!
July 17, 2015
Like an old archaeological treasure, I recently unearthed a yellowed, first-edition paperback of the Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark novelization from my childhood closet and reread it.
Solid, well-written adaptation of the movie. In addition to all the familiar scenes, we get cutaways not featured in the film -- like Belloq in Berlin and Indiana Jones' arrival in Nepal, in which he has to track down Marion's bar (as opposed to just showing up on the doorstep as he does in the movie). These fill-in-the-gap sequences are all interesting for hardcore fans, though I'm not sure any of them are ultimately necessary to the overarching story (hence the reason they aren't featured in the final cut of the film, I imagine).
Some action scenes get short-shrifted, like the Well of the Souls and the truck chase, though others are wonderfully augmented via the particular type of elaboration exclusive to prose: e.g., if you ever wondered how Indy survived the submarine ride to the secret Nazi island in the Mediterranean, that "nonissue" from the movie is addressed in a brief but harrowing passage in the book.
Marion's character is probably most enriched by the prose format, as we really get under her skin and feel her bitter resentment toward Indy for deflowering -- then ditching -- her all those years ago. (I would've enjoyed more backstory on Indy and Abner's relationship -- though the circumstances of the latter's death are explained in detail here -- but perhaps the producers were looking to keep that story point ambiguous just in case it got exploited in a sequel/prequel, though, to date, it still hasn't.)
Indy's character loses the most in translation: His dialogue isn't that interesting, oddly, and, disembodied from Harrison Ford's playful performance, he lacks that cocky charm that so defined him along with his adventurous spirit and epistemic archaeological expertise.
The book's lengthy paragraphs and chapters give this story of high adventure an incongruously slow pace -- proving that the concept was probably best served as a cinematic offering -- but it's a quick read nonetheless, and worth it for diehard Indy fans looking for new insights into a classic story.
Solid, well-written adaptation of the movie. In addition to all the familiar scenes, we get cutaways not featured in the film -- like Belloq in Berlin and Indiana Jones' arrival in Nepal, in which he has to track down Marion's bar (as opposed to just showing up on the doorstep as he does in the movie). These fill-in-the-gap sequences are all interesting for hardcore fans, though I'm not sure any of them are ultimately necessary to the overarching story (hence the reason they aren't featured in the final cut of the film, I imagine).
Some action scenes get short-shrifted, like the Well of the Souls and the truck chase, though others are wonderfully augmented via the particular type of elaboration exclusive to prose: e.g., if you ever wondered how Indy survived the submarine ride to the secret Nazi island in the Mediterranean, that "nonissue" from the movie is addressed in a brief but harrowing passage in the book.
Marion's character is probably most enriched by the prose format, as we really get under her skin and feel her bitter resentment toward Indy for deflowering -- then ditching -- her all those years ago. (I would've enjoyed more backstory on Indy and Abner's relationship -- though the circumstances of the latter's death are explained in detail here -- but perhaps the producers were looking to keep that story point ambiguous just in case it got exploited in a sequel/prequel, though, to date, it still hasn't.)
Indy's character loses the most in translation: His dialogue isn't that interesting, oddly, and, disembodied from Harrison Ford's playful performance, he lacks that cocky charm that so defined him along with his adventurous spirit and epistemic archaeological expertise.
The book's lengthy paragraphs and chapters give this story of high adventure an incongruously slow pace -- proving that the concept was probably best served as a cinematic offering -- but it's a quick read nonetheless, and worth it for diehard Indy fans looking for new insights into a classic story.
June 2, 2009
Miloš: I think that Indy on the submarine, he could have just jumped back into the water, and then he could have had his...umm...and then if he jumped onto a shark in the water, the shark could have just jumped back up and destroyed the submarine, and then they could have just went swimming and got into the place where Belloq and all the Nazis died.
Papa: What the heck are you talking about? Are you rewriting Raiders?
Miloš: No. No, I'm not rewriting Raiders.
Papa: Then what are you doing?
Miloš: I am JUST saying what I thought he could have done?
Papa: Cool. So what did you like about the book though?
Miloš: I liked that those sillies tied Marion and Indy on that thing because they tried to kill them, but they didn't die did they?
Papa: Nope
Miloš: And I also liked that in the car, Indy didn't really give up. He just kept trying and he did it. And I also liked that he fought the guy off, and he didn't go because he didn't want to get hit by the plane that Marion was moving. It was a really smart thing to not die. And also I like that the plane got destroyed and Indy saved Marion really quick and then Sallah found them. That's what I like about it. Okay Pa?
Papa: Sounds good to me Loš.
Papa: What the heck are you talking about? Are you rewriting Raiders?
Miloš: No. No, I'm not rewriting Raiders.
Papa: Then what are you doing?
Miloš: I am JUST saying what I thought he could have done?
Papa: Cool. So what did you like about the book though?
Miloš: I liked that those sillies tied Marion and Indy on that thing because they tried to kill them, but they didn't die did they?
Papa: Nope
Miloš: And I also liked that in the car, Indy didn't really give up. He just kept trying and he did it. And I also liked that he fought the guy off, and he didn't go because he didn't want to get hit by the plane that Marion was moving. It was a really smart thing to not die. And also I like that the plane got destroyed and Indy saved Marion really quick and then Sallah found them. That's what I like about it. Okay Pa?
Papa: Sounds good to me Loš.
August 5, 2016
Indiana Jones is one of the many movie franchises I grew up watching, along with Star Wars, Batman, James Bond, and so on!
Raiders of the Lost Ark is about Archeologist Indiana Jones who travels the world searching for long lost treasures or artifacts in the 1930's/40's and in the World War II Era. Armed with a Bullwhip, and wearing his trademark Fedora and brown leather jacket. He travels from Nepal to Cairo along with his on-off lady friend Marion Ravenwood, they team up to hunt down the Ark of the Covenant, while also battling Nazis who are also searching for the lost Ark. Indy uses all his wits to track down the relic before they do.
Packed with great action scenes, involving Indiana fighting through a large pit of rattlesnakes, (which for all of us who've seen the movies, we all know he hates snakes), a thrilling truck chase, and much more excitement! Indiana Jones gives adventure a new name and remains one of my all-time favorite movie series, have the whole set on DVD!
Raiders of the Lost Ark is about Archeologist Indiana Jones who travels the world searching for long lost treasures or artifacts in the 1930's/40's and in the World War II Era. Armed with a Bullwhip, and wearing his trademark Fedora and brown leather jacket. He travels from Nepal to Cairo along with his on-off lady friend Marion Ravenwood, they team up to hunt down the Ark of the Covenant, while also battling Nazis who are also searching for the lost Ark. Indy uses all his wits to track down the relic before they do.
Packed with great action scenes, involving Indiana fighting through a large pit of rattlesnakes, (which for all of us who've seen the movies, we all know he hates snakes), a thrilling truck chase, and much more excitement! Indiana Jones gives adventure a new name and remains one of my all-time favorite movie series, have the whole set on DVD!
July 11, 2020
A weak novelization. Although the South America sequence (the first part of the film) is handled well, the rest of the adaptation loses its momentum and is a pale reflection of the finished script and film. Obviously written from an early draft of the script, it has many discrepancies and leaves out much of the humor and adventure of the film. Very little extra information or insight into the characters and their background is found (like one finds in a few other novelizations of movie scripts).
December 22, 2009
Yet another action movie that did not translate well into book form. Faithful to the movie but ho-hum.
March 27, 2023
A secondhand book I picked up somewhere, quite a while ago. Probably back when I still liked the Indiana Jones movies.
Since then, however, I have re-watched them with a more modern (and adult) eye and was quite appalled by some of it.
One big plus in this book's favor is that it didn't shy away from the most problematic aspect of the movie it's based on. Namely, that Jones slept with an underage Marion. That is made more than clear in various parts when he thinks of how she was "a child" repeatedly and now she's "a woman". Unfortunately, he only occasionally realizes this is a bad thing and never quite makes it to the point of realizing it was pedophilia and rape. Not even when he is thinking of how "the kiss of the child was long gone; this was different, the kiss of a woman". Ugh.
The whole situation isn't made any better when he then can't stop himself from going into a sleeping Marion's room and perving on her without permission.
That situation is then also compounded by Black suddenly writing Marion as if, despite being bound, captured and expecting violence, can't help but be turned on by Belloq later when he's menacing her. It's all very male perspective, the idea that a woman couldn't help but fall for a dominant man in a situation like that, rather than be terrified.
On top of that, the writing, especially at the beginning was really bad. Black kept stringing sequences together, describing things multiple times, as if thinking the reader might not yet have understood it and he needed to hammer it all home. Like the opening line of "the jungle was darkly verdant, secretive, menacing" or the later beauty of "the fulfillment of a dream, an old oath he'd taken for himself, a pledge he'd made".
Seriously, just one of those would have been enough! And, if the book ended up being too short as a result, then add more scenes to it! The whole beginning felt like unedited notes for the first chapter, rather than a supposedly finished product.
Also, I outright laughed when Brody tried to claim that everything Indiana did adhered to the "guidelines of the International Treaty for the Protection of Antiquities". Clearly, they were aware of the criticism that Indiana Jones was essentially a tomb raider and were trying to deflect those. By having that there, however, it just underscored the point all the more!
The only interesting bit was Belloq's point of view towards the end when he's under the influence of the Ark. That's something you really don't get with the movie and it was interesting to see. It's not a perspective most viewers would put themselves in on their own.
So, overall, quite unimpressed and I will be passing this book on, pronto!
Since then, however, I have re-watched them with a more modern (and adult) eye and was quite appalled by some of it.
One big plus in this book's favor is that it didn't shy away from the most problematic aspect of the movie it's based on. Namely, that Jones slept with an underage Marion. That is made more than clear in various parts when he thinks of how she was "a child" repeatedly and now she's "a woman". Unfortunately, he only occasionally realizes this is a bad thing and never quite makes it to the point of realizing it was pedophilia and rape. Not even when he is thinking of how "the kiss of the child was long gone; this was different, the kiss of a woman". Ugh.
The whole situation isn't made any better when he then can't stop himself from going into a sleeping Marion's room and perving on her without permission.
That situation is then also compounded by Black suddenly writing Marion as if, despite being bound, captured and expecting violence, can't help but be turned on by Belloq later when he's menacing her. It's all very male perspective, the idea that a woman couldn't help but fall for a dominant man in a situation like that, rather than be terrified.
On top of that, the writing, especially at the beginning was really bad. Black kept stringing sequences together, describing things multiple times, as if thinking the reader might not yet have understood it and he needed to hammer it all home. Like the opening line of "the jungle was darkly verdant, secretive, menacing" or the later beauty of "the fulfillment of a dream, an old oath he'd taken for himself, a pledge he'd made".
Seriously, just one of those would have been enough! And, if the book ended up being too short as a result, then add more scenes to it! The whole beginning felt like unedited notes for the first chapter, rather than a supposedly finished product.
Also, I outright laughed when Brody tried to claim that everything Indiana did adhered to the "guidelines of the International Treaty for the Protection of Antiquities". Clearly, they were aware of the criticism that Indiana Jones was essentially a tomb raider and were trying to deflect those. By having that there, however, it just underscored the point all the more!
The only interesting bit was Belloq's point of view towards the end when he's under the influence of the Ark. That's something you really don't get with the movie and it was interesting to see. It's not a perspective most viewers would put themselves in on their own.
So, overall, quite unimpressed and I will be passing this book on, pronto!
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