The opening temple sequence and the airfield fight flowing into the truck chase are the leading, unresolved choices.
In the discussion (5)
- The opening temple is called one of the greatest openings and character introductions, communicating Indy through staging, iconography, traps, reversals, sound, and practical spectacle.
- The Cairo sequence is praised for physical geography, crowds, carts, and the improvised gunshot solution to the swordsman fight after dysentery made the planned stunt impractical.
- The map-room discovery of the Ark, the Well of Souls and snakes, and Marion’s Nepal-bar fight are additional candidates.
- The airfield brawl into the truck chase is selected by one host for its escalating practical stunts and constant physical questions.
- Another host selects the opening; the transcript does not resolve these competing final choices into one winner.
John Williams’s score, the short runtime, Ford’s fedora, practical filmmaking, VHS accessibility, and densely observed small details have all aged well.
In the discussion (6)
- Williams’s score is the first and strongest nomination, with the march, map-room cue, and several distinct themes singled out.
- Nazi villains, the sub-two-hour runtime, and the uniquely wearable-by-Ford fedora are praised as durable choices.
- A very young Alfred Molina, the poisoned-date gag, and the movie’s practical sets and stunts remain vivid.
- Paramount’s comparatively cheap $39.95 VHS release is credited with selling a million copies within two years and helping unlock home video.
- The fly that appears to enter Belloq’s mouth and the anonymous male student leaving Indy an apple exemplify accidental and deliberate details that reward rewatches.
- Karen Allen’s 1980–81 run and the isolated Nepal bar’s appeal round out the category.
Indy and Marion’s romantic chemistry, dated effects and casting, the monkey, Temple of Doom, and several creative choices draw objections.
In the discussion (7)
- One host calls the thin romantic spark between Indy and Marion the movie’s biggest flaw; others defend Karen Allen and interpret Indy as constitutionally more committed to quests than relationships.
- The long-lived working title Indiana Smith is ridiculed, and Karen Allen’s frustration with a much longer Marion backstory is weighed against Kasdan’s agreement that stripping it down improved the movie.
- The ghosts and some optical effects look rough, while the red-line travel map is defended as efficient.
- The panel questions Ronald Lacey’s Toht and Paul Freeman’s Belloq as underpowered villain casting, while also noting Toht’s visual menace and the story’s intent to make Nazis foolish.
- The Nazi-aligned monkey is hated as an irritating comic animal whose espionage logic makes little sense.
- Temple of Doom is criticized for violence, slapstick, tonal loss, and helping trigger PG-13, though Last Crusade later recovers the tone.
- Kael’s refusal to admire the achievement and a cut scene presenting Indy as more of a playboy are debated as missed or defensible choices.
Paul Freeman wins as Belloq because the panel knows the character far better than the actor’s name.
In the discussion (1)
- Ronald Lacey is also unknown by name, while John Rhys-Davies is judged too recognizable after The Lord of the Rings.
Karen Allen is the lead overacting choice, with Alfred Molina and Denholm Elliott also considered.
In the discussion (2)
- Allen is described as operating in fifth gear from the Nepal drinking contest onward.
- Molina is nominated, and Elliott’s repeated interruption energy is treated as a smaller alternative.
The eyelid student, Pat Roach’s two doomed bruisers, Katanga, and the Cairo swordsman are all heat-check candidates without a settled winner.
In the discussion (2)
- The eyelid student makes one memorable appearance, while wrestler Pat Roach dies twice as two different giant opponents.
- Katanga brings late energy and the Cairo swordsman creates an iconic moment, though his elaborate preparation ends in an immediate gunshot.
Harrison Ford is the decisive Apex Mountain selection; John Williams, Karen Allen, Nazis, Cairo, fedoras, and even bad movie monkeys receive secondary cases.
In the discussion (3)
- Ford’s concurrent Star Wars position and the freedom unlocked by Raiders begin a roughly two-decade summit.
- Karen Allen, Denholm Elliott, Cairo, movie Nazis, and failed monkey comedy are floated as playful subsidiary peaks.
- John Williams’s immense run makes any one apex hard to isolate, while the fedora is placed below its everyday 1930s–40s high point.
The fedora is the consensus practical answer amid interest in the Ark, medallion, satchel, bullwhip, white turtleneck, and giant boulder.
In the discussion (2)
- Katanga’s white turtleneck, the Ark as coffee table, the medallion, satchel, bullwhip, and boulder all receive pitches.
- When forced to choose among the fedora, bullwhip, and satchel, the conversation settles on the fedora despite its limited real-world wearability.
Harrison Ford takes two of three final ballots over Steven Spielberg and wins the movie by majority.
In the discussion (3)
- One vote goes directly to Ford.
- One vote goes to Spielberg for reclaiming the top of Hollywood after 1941, securing participation, developing E.T., and becoming effectively bulletproof.
- The last vote returns to Ford because Indiana Jones became a four-decade costume, icon, and Disney attraction.
Podcast choices
- Speaker not identified
- Harrison Ford
- Speaker not identified
- Steven Spielberg
- Speaker not identified
- Harrison Ford
Most Rewatchable Scene
