John Williams (4) – Raiders Of The Lost Ark: The Movie On Record

You have to that back in 1981, home video hadn't really become a thing yet. So if you wanted to re-experience the move in the most visceral way possible, this album was going to have to keep you satisfied until you were able to see the movie again. It was a great choice to not include narration and instead to let the listener sit back, close their eyes, and imagine the movie taking place in their imagination. Another smart choice was to make sure the mix and master provided as much sound as possible! You really can tell when you hear the low growls of the power of the Ark come through your speakers that somebody was making sure that the sound effects were not getting buried in the mix. (And it's a great showcase for the brilliant work of sound effects designer Ben Burtt.) It's also clear to anyone who has seen the movie a hundred times that some dialogue was re-recorded for this presentation. (Perhaps the dialogue tracks had background noise or other sounds that would get in the way of the listening experience). Overall, this was designed by engineers and artists who shared a common coal, and that goal was realized quite well in this release. It's obviously an abridged experience of the movie (at 45 minutes length) but you really do get all the most important bits, including the screams of the Nazis when their heads begin to melt and explode. :)

For fans of Raiders, the scenes on this album sometimes differ from the movie, with 2 or 3 instances of alternate takes and dialogue.