"Were it not for many crucial bursts of dramatic symphonic accompaniment, Indiana Jones would surely have perished in a forbidding temple in South America or in the oppresive silence of the great Sahara desert...Thanks John."
--Steven Spielberg, 1981

A new superhero has taken the big screen, thanks to the Dynamic Duo of Hollywood. Coming on the coattails of phenomenal success with Jaws and Star Wars, Williams produces another masterpiece in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. The score follows Williams's mastery of character themes and event leitmotives, and is filled with the same musical storytelling genius exhibited in the Star Wars Trilogy. Arguably the more exciting of the trilogy's soundtracks, the overall embrace from audiences of the main fanfare and romantic love theme helped launch this movie stable to great success.

For this score, the two afforementioned themes are obviously used throughout, and each carries significant weight in the score. The romance theme is quite recognizably the theme for Indy and Marion's relationship. However it is curiously only cued when the couple is showing some sort of affection for each other, not simply when they are both in the shot together. Likewise in double meaning, as "The Raider's Theme" many times signifies heroism, it is also heard whenever Indy is involved with a vehicle, albeit a plane, a Nazi truck, a horse, or even a snake statue. The Ark's theme is also an undeniably powerful theme in the score that carries with it both fear and majesty. It is a truly perfect characterization of this entity that no one can fully comprehend or explain. There are also brief interjections of a Nazi theme and a leitmotif of sorts for Toht's few entrances. The last, and perhaps the most vague reference to a leitmotif (and motive it would definitely be, due to its brevity) is one that seems to denote the judgemental hand of God at work. These will all be discussed in detail on the supplementary pages.

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