Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The Lost Ark review

Never been able to spot the C-3PO and R2-D2 hieroglyphics in the Well of the Souls? Us neither – until we caught this IMAX rerelease, that is, and finally saw them behind Indy’s right shoulder as he prepares to lift the Ark of the Covenant.

That and a tip-top sound mix overseen by the Oscar-winning Ben Burtt should be reason enough to trot along to one of the 15 giant screens showing Raiders in the UK ahead of its Blu-ray debut on 8 October 2012.

Even without, though, it’d still be worth the trip.

Ok, so some of Spielberg’s 1981 classic does look a tad wobbly and even a little blurry when expanded to gargantuan dimensions. (The matte paintings feel particularly exposed, as do the primitive effects used during the ark-opening climax.)

Elsewhere, though, it’s a literal eye-opener that reveals a host of things we’d never spotted before. (Who knew that Harrison Ford and Paul Freeman had to contend with so many insects during their canyon confrontation?)

The boulder has never looked bigger, the guns have never sounded louder and Indy’s whip has never cracked sharper than they do here. Now if they can just get the title right on the poster…