Raiders of the Lost Ark – The Movie on Record 🐍

Use your imagination to join in the adventures of Indiana Jones with this unique album.

When I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark, I was smitten. I had been growing up on a diet of old adventure movies that they would show on Sunday afternoon in my area, so the daring Indiana Jones hit the big screen at the perfect time for me. All I wanted was to be Indy, barring that, I wanted to rewatch the movie as often as possible. Sadly, it would be a while before the movie hit the small screen, and a VCR was still a luxury my family couldn’t afford. So what was a fan to do?

The answer to my prayers came in the form of a gift from my grandmother. She had seen my obsession and bought me a copy of Raiders of the Lost Ark – The Movie on Record. What was contained on this magical disc, you ask?

Picture yourself, huddled close to your trusty record player, eagerly awaiting the moment when the needle touched down on this tantalizing piece of vinyl. As the hauntingly familiar music of John Williams played from the speakers, you were whisked away to the jungles of Peru, where Indy started his journey in the film. Right away, you knew this was something special.

Unlike the conventional children's records of the time, where you dutifully followed along with a storybook in hand, "Raiders of the Lost Ark – The Movie on Record" offered an interesting visual and auditory experience. With each crackling track, the narrative unfolded in your eager ears, allowing you to witness the daring exploits of the inimitable archaeologist Indiana Jones.

From the depths of the Peruvian jungle to the perilous journey to recover the Ark, the record carried you through the pulse-pounding set pieces of the film, as if you were right there alongside Indy himself. Meanwhile, you followed along at your own pace. First by rereading the synopsis, and then by browsing the large 16-page photo book that was chock-full of shots from the film.

But what made this cinematic audio gem truly stand out were the impeccable sound design. It was put together by the same people who created the famous radio version of Star Wars. They manage to edit the two-hour film audio onto an album to tell the complete, but abridged story in just 45 minutes. So you don’t get narration or unknown voice actors retelling the movie. Instead, you get all the stars of the film, all the sounds, all the music, everything that made going to see the film such an experience, but now you have it at home.

As you navigated the sonic maze of "Raiders of the Lost Ark – The Movie on Record," you encountered every iconic moment: the heart-stopping boulder chase, the mysterious Map Room, the fiery finale where the arc is opened, and even the bureaucratic prologue. You held your breath, your heart pounding, as the record spun and the story unfolded.

Though the advent of home video eventually made it possible to see the thrilling exploits of Indiana Jones in the comfort of our living rooms, there was an undeniable charm to experiencing "Raiders of the Lost Ark" purely through sound. It allowed us to craft our own visual interpretations and engage our imagination in a way that is regrettably lost in the digital age.

I wasn’t the only one who had a high opinion of the album. It would win a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word, Documentary, or Drama Recording. A well-deserved honor, if you ask me. Which is why I am surprised people didn’t copy the concept and bring to market thousands of “Movies on Record.”

Other movies, would try to do similar things, but almost all of them added some extra element. Usually in the form of an intrusive narrator. In my memory, this is the only movie on record produced and the only movie-as-record substitute product that so purely sticks to the source material.

The album even uses this as a selling point, stating that:

This album has been specially designed to give you a unique experience. With your imaginations as the guide, get ready to feel the excitement and thrills created exclusively by the sounds, words, and music of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

So, my fellow Indy fans, maybe it’s time to dust off our record players and embark on an audio adventure like no other. If you don’t own your own copy, they can still be found at a reasonable price online. Although the quality of those LPs can be low, so have a decent record player when you play it. If you don’t have a record player, you will be happy to hear that you can listen online.