When Universal exercised its contract with Tom Selleck, he missed out on the opportunity to play Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, but he did have the brilliantly successful television series Magnum, P.I. to make up for it. During a hiatus, he shot this period piece action adventure film with Bess Armstrong…
Tag: raiders of the lost ark
Trailer Tracks: King Solomon’s Mines (1985) – J. Lee Thompson
In the early 80s, thanks to Raiders of the Lost Ark, the high adventure movie was seeing a huge comeback, and everyone was trying to cash in on it. And they thought it would be a great idea to bring back H. Rider Haggard’s Alllan Quartermain to the screen again. Starring Richard Chamberlain, Sharon…
Trailer Tracks: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – Steven Spielberg
One of the biggest influences on my childhood, if not my entire life, alongside Star Wars, is this homage to the adventures of yesteryear, Raiders of the Lost Ark… that music (John Williams), that cast (Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies), those stunts (Vic Armstrong)!!! Often imitated, and sequel-ized, but never matched…
Hot Fuzz (2007) – Edgar Wright
The 101 Action Movies gave me a chance to settle in and enjoy (yet again) this hilarious action comedy from the same team who brought us the amazing Shaun of the Dead. This time around Simon Pegg is playing Nicholas Angel, a London cop, who according to his supervisors, played by Martin Freeman, Steve…
Die Hard (1988) – John McTiernan
The 101 Action Movies brings me another one of my favorites. Fresh off the success of Predator, McTiernan took Bruce Willis, then mostly known for the TV series Moonlighting and launched him into superstardom as everyman police officer John McClane, who just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Flying out…
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – Steven Spielberg
I’ve made no secret of my love for this movie on my blog, and it was a joy to revisit it for the 101 Action Movies list. This and Jaws always tend to be in my Top 5 movies of all time, and there is, for me, no other film that captures that action and…
5-25-77 – Patrick Read Johnson
Every now and then a movie comes along that speaks to you, that defines you. A movie, that as you watch you can not only relate to the characters of the film, you recognize yourself upon the screen. On this site I’ve told the tales of my first experiences that helped define the movie geek…
The True Adventures of the World’s Greatest Stuntman by Vic Armstrong
I first heard the name Vic Armstrong in a television special called Great Movie Stunts & The Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark back in 1981. I was 10 or 11 when the special first aired, and I remember watching it in our house while we were living in Kingston. Even at that age,…
The Perils of Pauline (1914) – Louis J. Gasnier & Donald MacKenzie
The serial. Without it, we wouldn’t have films like Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark, which are filled with call backs to the serials of yesteryear. The 101 Action Movies brought me one of the first, The Perils of Pauline. Unfortunately, the entire serial no longer exists. It was apparently composed of 20…
Got It, Need It, Got It…
I can remember the waxy feel of the paper as you opened up a fresh package of trading cards, and shoved the cardboard-like stick of gum in your mouth, it would be good for a couple of chews and then it would just lose all taste and just take up space, but I still love that smell….
The Mind Reels 