Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark [Us Import]

1. The Raiders March
2. Main Title: South America
3. In The Idol's Temple
4. Flight From Peru
5. Journey To Nepal
6. The Medallion
7. To Cairo
8. The Basket Game
9. The Map Room: Dawn
10. Reunion And The Dig Begins
11. The Well Of The Souls
12. Airplane Fight
13. Desert Chase
14. Marion's Theme
15. Th... read more

Description: Amazon.co.uk Review There was an inevitability about the union of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and John Williams that shouldn't obscure the magnitude of their collective achievement on Raiders Of The Lost Ark. The movie is one of those rare serendipitous collaborations in which all elements work in apparently effortless harmony: everything about this Boys' Own adventure just feels right, from Harrison Ford's Bogart-like central performance to the magnificently choreographed action set-pieces. Linking all is John Williams's boisterous, exuberant music. The score is a tapestry of grandiloquent old-school Hollywood gestures inte Amazon.co.uk Review
There was an inevitability about the union of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and John Williams that shouldn't obscure the magnitude of their collective achievement on Raiders Of The Lost Ark. The movie is one of those rare serendipitous collaborations in which all elements work in apparently effortless harmony: everything about this Boys' Own adventure just feels right, from Harrison Ford's Bogart-like central performance to the magnificently choreographed action set-pieces. Linking all is John Williams's boisterous, exuberant music. The score is a tapestry of grandiloquent old-school Hollywood gestures intertwined with a rich vein of tongue-in-cheek humour (the playful scherzo of "The Basket Game" being a case in point). There's a powerful mystery theme for the Ark and an aching love theme which softens the edges of Karen Allen's Marion. But towering over all, of course, is the "Raiders March" itself, a deceptively simple achievement like all of Williams's very best music (think of the five-note Close Encounters signature, or the theme from Schindler's List). The London Symphony Orchestra always give their very best for this composer, and their resplendent brass section bring Williams's fanfares brilliantly to life. This album, released in 1995 and running for well over 70 minutes, is the most comprehensive presentation of the score available and as such must always have a place in any self-respecting movie music fan's collection. The only thing more remarkable than the filmmakers' achievement here is that they all surpassed themselves on Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, the score for which is even more highly recommendable than the original. --Mark Walker

From Amazon.com
In the '80s and '90s, John Williams has come to occupy roughly the same towering place in filmdom occupied by Henry Mancini for much of the '60s and '70s. Williams (who played piano on some early Mancini scores) carved out that distinction with exciting, full-blooded scores like George Lucas's Star Wars trilogy and the Indiana Jones cycle, Steven Spielberg's blockbuster tributes to the cheesy film serials of his youth. The first in that series, Raiders wears its retro-symphonic sensibilities like a badge of honor and indeed, DGG's expanded deluxe release plays like a more economic Mahler opus. A true film music classic, even if its sensibilities are 40 years misplaced. --Jerry McCulley ... (more) (less)