REVIEW: Raiders of the Lost Ark Midnight Movie @ The Ritz at the Bourse

Raiders is a classic. It’s a great movie even if it drags a little during the end of the Cairo segment. On Saturday night, the Ritz at the Bourse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania presented Raiders on the big screen as part of their classic Midnight Movie Madness series.

It was the first time I had ever seen Raiders on a large screen and was definitely a worthwhile experience. The giant boulder seemed gianterer. On the big screen, the face meltings oozed of cheesy deliciousness. The film’s serial roots shown through far more clearly than I remember from my old VHS experiences especially during the brilliant opening scene.

By the way, I’m pretty sure we’re going to find out next year that the climax of Raiders takes place on a Lost-related island due to the white smoke monster that erupts from the Ark.

And what was with the obsession with bad lightning effects in the early 80s? In Raiders they use it as the Nazi’s die on the island. Earlier today I happened to catch the ending of the original Terminator and laughed out loud at the unnecessary lightning effect they used as the T-800 was crushed, it’s metal fingers wrapped tightly around Sarah Conner’s throat.

Anyway, Raiders is just full of classic iconic moment, plus lots of Nazi’s get killed. What else could you ask for in a popcorn flick?

The two downsides to the experience include the fact that some members of the crowd were apparently confused and thought they were watching the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Their annoying need to try to interact with the film and make everyone us all laugh fell flat repeatedly or resulted in just slight nervous laughter of embarrassment.

And secondly, the battle to stay awake during the film just hammered home the fact that I’m f-ing old now.

Despite the at times aggravating crowd, I’d be willing to give the Ritz the benefit of the doubt and try another one of these midnight movies. Upcoming showings include Ghostbusters, the Dark Crystal, Rushmore, and the Goonies. For more information or tickets see:

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