Adventure · Action
American
1981 · Directed by Steven Spielberg · 115 min
In 1936, an archaeology professor who moonlights as a treasure hunter is sent by the US government to find a legendary biblical relic before German agents do. The film is a fast, hand-built adventure that plays like the serials of an earlier age, made with modern-day technique.
Why it matters in cinema history
A defining film of the post-1970s blockbuster era, it fused the B-movie serial tradition with New Hollywood technical ambition and helped set the shape of the studio adventure picture for decades.
Watch with intention
Watch it as a film built from clear visual problems, each one posed, complicated and solved through action rather than dialogue.
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