Sunday was the 9th time I’ve seen Raiders of the Lost Ark in a theatre.  And it was just as glorious as the other 8 times.  This is one of those films that truly deserves to be shown on a big screen with a great sound system.

Speaking of which, I sat closer to the speakers for the first time in Lord knows how long, and what a difference it made.  You could feel the boulder rolling after Indy, the punches during the fights, and the finale was simply awesome with that much sound rocking your chair.

And the music!  The first time you hear the “Raiders March” over that sound system, as Indy makes his escape from the Hovitos, you’re almost taken back to the first time you heard that theme and somehow you knew that this movie was going to be different, this movie was going to be special.

I noticed this time around that the girl with ‘LOVE YOU’ written on her eyelids is mysteriously gone at the end of class, as Dr. Jones dismisses his students, reminding them to read Michaelson, chapters 4 & 5, for next time.  Odd that I never noticed this before.

One new thing that happened while watching, probably because I knew it was the 30th anniversary, and I was just so damn happy to be watching Raiders again on a big screen, was that although I knew I was smiling, I started to get all weepy the moment I saw Indy on the white horse, about to chase the truck.  Granted, it’s my favorite scene of the damn film, but I think it’s also because of the music, the atmosphere, the visuals, and the memories of 30 years ago, when I was first exposed to this movie.

I’m happy to say that I fell in love with this movie all over again, and it still ranks as number one on my all-time favorites list.

Happy 30th Anniversary, Raiders of the Lost Ark!  Here’s hoping that we see a Blu-Ray release soon, because I dislike the fact that Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is currently the only Indiana Jones film out on Blu-Ray.