Why Raiders of the Lost Ark Still Looks like a Billion Bucks

Back in 1981, when you first saw Raiders of the Lost Ark, you loved the movie because it was an adventure for the viewer. It had alluring characters, great action scenes, and just the right amount of humor. And the bad guys got their comeuppance. But the fact that you left Raiders feeling good about the movie involves much more than those things.  

Every scene was both beautiful and believable, and they hold up 44 years later. That's largely due to the work of cinematographer Douglas Slocombe. Director Steven Spielberg had his own vision for what Raiders could be, but he was open to Slocombe's vision, and found it to be better overall. His attention to detail required some workarounds to stay on budget, in the quest to "make a 20 million dollar movie look like a 40 million dollar movie." This video looks deep into how they did that. The other secrets were the editing by Michael Kahn that kept the story moving as a breakneck pace, the amazing special effects, and of course, the actors. But you already knew about those.