Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
When Dr. Indiana Jones – the tweed-suited professor who just happens to be a celebrated archaeologist – is hired by the government to locate the legendary Ark of the Covenant, he finds himself up against the entire Nazi regime.
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Added by Hextor · 5 months ago
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Trailers & Videos
🎙️ SYSK Episodes
#022526
Short Stuff: MacGuffins
"in Raiders of the Lost Dark at the beginning, that little gold head statue that he gets"
— Chuck
Referenced as an example of a MacGuffin introduced in Act 1 of a film.
Feb 25, 2026
#092325
Tdhtdhtdhtdhtdh: Sound Effects!
"Raiders of the Lost Ark, that famous boulder rolling at Indy in the beginning of the movie, first movie. Yeah. It was a car with no motor being rolled down a hill."
— Josh
Josh explains that the boulder sound in Raiders of the Lost Ark was created using a motorless car rolled down a hill.
Sep 23, 2025
#053125
Selects: Yeti: The Asian Bigfoot
"these sort of, I guess, Indiana Jones-like mountaineers who would go all over the world"
— Chuck
Describing British explorers in the early 20th century who searched for exotic creatures and treasures in remote locations.
May 31, 2025
#041525
Kim Philby: Greatest Liar of All Time?
"he's like Karen Allen in the first Raiders, you know, she could drink that guy under the table"
— Josh
Used as a comparison for Philby's legendary drinking ability.
Apr 15, 2025
#091923
10ish Worst Business Decisions Ever
"I read the novelization of Raiders of the Lost Ark. How was it? It was great."
— Josh
Mentioned as an example of movie novelizations that differ slightly from the film.
Sep 19, 2023
#050423
Introducing Smell-O-Vision!
"Daniel Melliot, beloved actor who was Indiana Jones' mentor in the first couple, I believe."
— Josh
Josh mentions that Daniel Meliot played Indiana Jones' mentor in the early Indiana Jones films.
May 4, 2023
#022823
The Awe-Inspiring, Absolutely Crucial Amazon
"on the way out and then on the way back you saw raiders you watched it yeah i watched like the first third or half"
— Josh
Josh mentions watching Raiders of the Lost Ark on a plane as comfort viewing.
Feb 28, 2023
#022123
The Mystery of the Lost Amber Room
"Yeah, exactly. When they wheeled that lost dark, I don't think anyone even when they saw that movie said, what?"
— Josh
Referenced the warehouse scene where the Ark is stored with other artifacts as an analogy for how looted art could be hidden.
Feb 21, 2023
#072722
Short Stuff: The Mars Rock with Signs of Life?
"it's kind of Raiders of the Lost Ark style Stuck in storage for a remarkably long time"
— Chuck
The hosts compared how the ALH 84001 meteorite was stored for years without researchers understanding its significance to the way the Ark is kept in storage.
Jul 27, 2022
#121421
Palm Trees: Technically, Giant Plants
"Like in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the bad date, those are big juicy dates, bad dates."
— Josh
Josh references the famous scene where a monkey is poisoned by dates in the film.
Dec 14, 2021
#121121
Selects: How the Terracotta Army Works
"very much like Raiders of the Lost Ark, apparently chains to them, or the whole complex was boobytrapped"
— Chuck
Used as a comparison for the booby traps found in Emperor Qin's mausoleum complex.
Dec 11, 2021
#071421
Short Stuff: Hanged, Drawn and Quartered
"Or Indiana Jones style. No, probably even worse than that."
— Chuck
Used as a comparison when discussing being dragged on a sled, contrasting fun sledding to the brutal execution method.
Jul 14, 2021
#081320
Olympic Torches: Remember Those?
"My eyes. I just turned into toth from the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark and melt"
— Josh
Josh references the melting face scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark when describing his reaction to seeing a torch.
Aug 13, 2020
#073019
Will Deepfakes Ruin the World?
"Nick Cage as Indiana Jones. Which is pretty funny."
— Chuck
Referenced a popular deepfake meme showing Nicolas Cage inserted into Indiana Jones scenes.
Jul 30, 2019
#021919
Yeti: The Asian Bigfoot
"these sort of, I guess, Indiana Jones-like mountaineers who would go all over the world"
— Chuck
Comparing early 20th century British explorers to Indiana Jones-type adventurers searching for exotic discoveries.
Feb 19, 2019
#122018
E.T.: Is It Really the Worst Video Game of All Time?
"the Spielberg was like, well, can't you just have him like running around eating Reese's pieces like Pac-Man?"
— Josh
Josh discusses Spielberg's suggestion for the E.T. game, comparing it to Pac-Man and referencing the movie that inspired the game.
Dec 20, 2018
#040718
SYSK Selects: Sherpas: Warm, Friendly Living
"Have you ever seen Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the first one? That was not the first one. Yes, it was. Raiders of the Lost Ark was the first one."
— Josh
Josh mistakenly refers to Temple of Doom as the first Indiana Jones film; Chuck corrects him that Raiders of the Lost Ark was actually the first.
Apr 7, 2018
#030318
SYSK Selects: Is there treasure on Oak Island?
"The Ark of the Covenant, which is what Indiana Jones was looking for in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark."
— Chuck
Chuck mentions the film when listing possible treasures theorized to be buried on Oak Island.
Mar 3, 2018
#090217
SYSK Selects: How Shrunken Heads Work
"Another appearance of Shuar in the movies is the Raiders of the Lost Ark with the gold skull in the beginning."
— Josh
Josh mentioned that the tribal warriors in Raiders of the Lost Ark's opening were modeled after Shuar people.
Sep 2, 2017
#081017
How Bioarchaeology Works
"it's hard to find an archaeology article on the internet that doesn't mention Indiana Jones"
— Josh
Josh comments on how frequently Indiana Jones is referenced in archaeology articles and its cultural impact on the field.
Aug 10, 2017
#082515
How Hot Air Balloons Work
"like toast from Raiders of the Lost Ark"
— Josh
Josh used it as an analogy for how nylon has a high melting point before it burns.
Aug 25, 2015
#071415
How the Terracotta Army Works
"very much like Raiders of the Lost Ark, apparently, Qin's tomb or the whole complex was booby-trapped"
— Josh
Josh compares the booby-trapped tomb of Emperor Qin to the booby traps in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Jul 14, 2015
#042315
Oh No, Snakes!
"I forgot because in Raiders, the famous. Oh yeah. Asps."
— Chuck
Chuck was remembering the famous snake scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark after initially confusing it with Temple of Doom.
Apr 23, 2015
#021715
Is there treasure on Oak Island?
"The Ark of the Covenant, which is what Indiana Jones was looking for in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark."
— Josh
Josh references Raiders of the Lost Ark as an example of another treasure (the Ark of the Covenant) that some believe is buried on Oak Island.
Feb 17, 2015
#010615
How Jim Henson Worked
"Gonzo had a thing for Indiana Jones. So he was frequently like exploring caves and like swinging on vines with the Indiana Jones fedora on."
— Chuck
Referenced in Muppet Babies as an action adventure character that inspired Gonzo's imagination sequences.
Jan 6, 2015
#100212
How Whiskey Runners Worked
"I would go Raiders than last crusade than temple of doom"
— Chuck
Ranking the Indiana Jones movies from best to worst.
Oct 2, 2012
#040511
Sherpas: Warm, Friendly Living
"Have you ever seen Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the first one?"
— Josh
Josh was asking Chuck about the Indiana Jones movie to reference a character he believed was a Sherpa in the drinking scene with Marion.
Apr 5, 2011
Cast
Harrison Ford
Indiana Jones
Karen Allen
Marion Ravenwood
Paul Freeman
Dr. René Belloq
John Rhys-Davies
Sallah
Ronald Lacey
Major Arnold Toht
Wolf Kahler
Colonel Dietrich
Anthony Higgins
Gobler
Denholm Elliott
Dr. Marcus Brody
Alfred Molina
Satipo
Vic Tablian
Barranca / Monkey Man
Don Fellows
Col. Musgrove
William Hootkins
Major Eaton
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