John Williams composed the finest piece of adventure music ever put to film with the Raiders March, and that beyond iconic main theme together with the eerily mysterious Ark, the gorgeously romantic Marion and the ominously brassy Nazi motifs here not only make for a truly brilliant action score , but one that still warms the hearts of film music fans everywhere to this day whenever those incredible opening March notes play.

I recently went to see Raiders Of The Lost Ark performed live in concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and to say it was an incredible experience would be putting it very mildly indeed. The film itself was played on a giant screen and the London Symphony Orchestra flawlessly performed John Williams’ wonderful score to picture throughout, and from those mysterious opening notes in the jungle all the way through to the blusteringly bombastic final notes of the iconic Raiders March flaring as the credits faded out – I was smiling from ear to ear. It’s not the first time I’ve seen the film, and I’ve always loved the Indiana Jones scores, but this concert just raised Raiders to another level for me and so… I thought I’d write about it. So, without further ado then; this particular soundtrack is centred around three main themes; the now classically heroic and ever-adventurous Raiders March – one of Williams’ best pieces of thematic music, and arguably one of the most well known film themes of all time – to represent Indy himself, the exquisitely romantic Marion’s theme for the aforementioned Marion Ravenwood, and the tensely mysterious and dramatically foreboding motif for the Ark. Opening track “Into The Jungle” however actually features none of these three themes, with low-pitched brass, worried woodwinds and moody strings instead cementing a tense and rather on-edge atmosphere throughout the track’s four minute runtime. The subsequent “The Idol Temple” then continues in a similarly mysterious and ambient vein, with shiver-inducing string plucks, bursts of foreboding brass and additional, shrill strings adding a rather horror-like edge to the already tensely atmospheric score so far.

After the prior track dramatically crescendoes to a close, the two minute “Escape From The Temple” then leaps into action with bursts of frenetic brass and crashingly emphatic drums featured throughout until “Flight From Peru” then slows the thunderous pace down somewhat in its opening seconds. String plucks and worrisome brass however then start to lead a fairly brisk stride as the cue continues until at last, the iconic Raiders March finally emerges. Loud brass quickly overtakes the tension as the March boldly thunders into fray, with sheer adventurous power brightening the cue dramatically as a result. With hope and heroism swelling proudly, the March then leads the track to a gently optimistic close. Speaking of this iconic theme then, I don’t think there’s much I can say about it that a thousand far more literate people than me already have so I won’t gush about it too much… but I can’t help but say this: the Raiders March is one of those rare pieces of thematic score that just lights up a room, and to say I love it would be a dramatic understatement indeed. The sheer mischievous heroism and gleeful hope that it not only evokes but also inspires as a piece of music will never cease to amaze me, and whenever it plays it never fails to make me smile – so I will always count it among my favourite themes of all time. With said March fading out, the minute long “Washington Men/Indy’s Home” then descends deeply into mystery as the ominous Ark motif debuts. Moody vocals and creepy strings evoke a keen sense of dread in its first appearance here, though this doesn’t last for too long as the March then fades gently back into view, with that undying sense of hope it always invokes instantly brightening the mood.

“A Thought For Marion/To Nepal” then introduces the last of the score’s three main themes – Marion’s theme. It’s a gently and indeed lusciously romantic piece opposite Indy’s iconic ever-marching heroism on this album, and honestly that counterpointed with the memorable motivic mystery of the Ark too is really what makes Raiders stand out among the rest for me; I love The Last Crusade – it was my favourite Indy score – but the thematic trinity here, this genuine powerhouse of sheer memorability in heroism, romance and mystery thundering all across this soundtrack overall just lifts Raiders higher for me now, and I love it. I just love it. This album’s been on repeat for days now, and will be I imagine for many more to come. Speaking of the other themes though, the Ark’s moody malevolence then fades tensely through after Marion’s in the aforementioned cue, before Indy’s ever-hopeful March then leads the two-minute track to a gentle finish. The subsequent “The Medallion” then introduces a villainous motif-of-sorts for the Nazis; I say ‘of sorts’ as its more of a collection of nefarious-sounding brass notes than an actual theme per-se – certainly compared to Indy, Marion or the Ark anyway – but it does work well in cementing the malevolent presence of the film’s bad guys, so it’s hard to fault it too much. This ominous brassy presence then continues through to the end of the track, with the March then gently flaring at the start of “Flight To Cairo” before Marion’s theme rather beautifully soars for its finest and fullest rendition so far.

Lighthearted action setpiece “The Basket Game” leaps and strides with light brassy bursts and string flares through its first two minutes, with the brass then becoming more prominent and more tense as the track goes on until a final villainous burst then crashes the action to finish, and Marion’s theme plays first worrisomely and then sorrowfully as the track fades quietly away. The subsequent “Bad Dates” then evokes moody atmosphere on low strings and brass for its minute-long runtime, with “The Map Room: Dawn” then capitalising on this as the sinister Ark theme reprises. It opens quietly and moodily before then slowly building over the course of the track’s nearly four minute length, with villainous brassy undertones hinting towards the nearby Nazis until the full orchestra and thunderous vocals boldly and dramatically swell the Ark theme for its finest performance on the album – at least, in my opinion – reaching a crashingly emphatic crescendo that practically shook the Royal Albert Hall when it was played in concert, before the cue then closes quietly out. Strings-based tension then opens “Reunion In The Tent/Searching For The Well”, with the March playing in usually withdrawn and worrisome form until Marion’s romantic theme then sways gently into frame intermixed with moody reprisals of the ever-ominous Ark motif. The malevolent brass for the Nazis then plays opposite said Ark theme for the remainder of the cue. “The Well Of The Souls” then moodily descends with sinister strings and villainous brassy bursts seeding tension throughout, resulting in a decidedly atmospheric piece overall.

Minute long “Indy Rides The Statue” serves as a dramatic prelude for action cues to come, building tension with increasingly rapid strings until “The Fist Fight/The Flying Wing” then kicks off the action proper; the Nazi motif boots a frenetic pace into gear right off the bat on crashes of drums and bursts of worrisome brass, with brief anxious renditions of the March sporadically following. With the full orchestra now building, rising tension escalates in both volume and intensity with further brief bursts of both the March and Nazi motif until the former emerges semi-victoriously at the end of the track. The subsequent and indeed standout action setpiece “Desert Chase” then reprises the building tension but elevates it to another level entirely, holding both the Nazi motif and the March high and opposite eachother for a dramatic orchestral battle across seven and a half genuinely flawless minutes. John Williams is at his action best here, with the orchestra wonderfully interplaying the two themes all across the happily lengthy track until the ever-rising tension finally reaches a phenomenal crescendo, and Indy practically soars in musical triumph to close out what is arguably the best piece of action music of the entire franchise. To simmer back down after the explosively action-centric prior thirteen minutes, “Marion’s Theme/The Crate” then holds gentle woodwinds and swelling strings front and centre playing the aforementioned gently romantic motif for the first ninety seconds until moody malevolence then takes over on sinister brass and horror-like strings to cue’s end.

“The German Sub” opens in a similarly moody way before explosive brass then leaps daringly into action with crashes of cymbals and rumbling drums for the remainder of its minute-long runtime, then followed swiftly by “Ride To The Nazi Hideout”; here the Nazi motif plays ominously in the opening seconds before the Raiders March then crashes proudly into the fray, and a soaringly heroic crescendo fist-pumpingly flares with the full orchestra’s backing. “Indy Follows The Ark” then reprises the March in much quieter, more reserved form at the start of the track with the ominous Ark theme following in a similarly quiet fashion at first before it then builds in volume and intensity opposite several brief, worrisome reprisals of the March until a final tense crescendo closes out the track. “The Miracle Of The Ark” then continues where this leaves off, with the Ark theme slowly building and swelling with a dramatically malevolent intensity through the first three minutes of the six minute cue, at which point frantic strings and in-your-face jumpscare-esque punches of brass then briefly interject with pure musical horror before the Ark motif then returns for one final thunderous crescendo. To close out the album, one of Williams’ finest end credits pieces “Washington Ending & Raiders March” then brings the entire score full circle with a brief final rendition of the mysterious Ark motif before the Raiders March triumphantly strides back into view, followed by a happily lengthy and utterly gorgeous playthrough of Marion’s theme before the March then returns to heroically crescendo out this wonderful album.

Overall, John Williams’ Raiders Of The Lost Ark is truly flawless. The Raiders March that leads it is a spectacular piece of filmic wonder, never ceasing to evoke and inspire hope and adventure in its unbendingly exuberant style, and even now over forty years after the movie released the theme is still regarded as one of the most heroic and memorable pieces of film music of all time – and for good reason. The motif leaps and soars all across this wonderful eighty minute score, joining together with the lusciously romantic Marion’s theme and the ever-mysterious Ark motif to craft this impeccable soundtrack story, and truly that’s what the very best film scores do; they tell a story, and they tell it well, and this one does to unbelievable effect. From the moodily ominous opening notes of “In The Jungle” through the flutteringly playful “The Basket Game”, to the build to deafeningly dramatic crescendo in “The Map Room: Dawn”, across the thunderously impeccable action in “The Fist Fight/The Flying Wing” and “Desert Chase”, all the way to the breathtakingly conclusive thematic performances in “The Miracle Of The Ark” and “Washington Ending & Raiders March” – you can practically hear Indiana Jones and Marion leaping heroically through each and every track, chased by Nazis and following the clues to the ever-ominous Ark, and that’s why Raiders will never cease to amaze me as a film score. It’s brilliance and memorability is off the charts, and I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it, and above all – it tells an amazingly adventurous story.

There are no words for how utterly phenomenal a musical genius John Williams is; instead you just play the Raiders March.

Score: 10/10

Standout Cues: Desert Chase/Washington Ending & Raiders March

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