My Favorite Themes - Part VII

Score: Raiders of the Lost Ark by John Williams

About the film: What is there to tell? It's your basic 'adventurer-professor has to keep a powerful artifact from ending up in the hands of the Nazis' story. Seriously, like North by Northwest, this is one of those movies where if you haven't seen it, then you've wasted your life. Jones, Belloq, Marion, world travel. Need more be said?

Title: "The Ark of the Covenant". A delicate melody for strings and winds which is interwoven throughout the score. It really comes into its own when mixed with choir ("The Map Room: Dawn", "The Miracle of the Ark") or turned into a march ("Ark Trek").

Other themes of interest: There's the beautiful love theme ("Marion's Theme"), the terse Nazi motif, prominently on horns ("Desert Chase"), the exciting (and quite memorable) 'Raiders March', as well as a pair of sub-themes associated with Indy's searching.

Availability: It was released on DCC Records in 1995. It now goes for exorbitant prices on eBay, but if you can find it cheap, go for it. Seriously. It's a damn fine work.