Daily Dialogue — October 7, 2015

Indiana: Hello…
Belloq: Jones? JONES….
Indiana: I’m gonna blow up the Ark, Rene.
Belloq: Your persistence surprises even me. You’re going to give mercenaries a bad name.
Dietrich: Dr. Jones, surely you don’t think you can escape from this island?
Indiana: That depends on how reasonable we’re all willing to be. All I want is the girl.
Dietrich: And if we refuse?
Indiana: Then your Führer has no prize.
Belloq: OK Jones, you win. Blow it up.
Dietrich: Do what?
Belloq: Yes, blow it up. Blow it back to God. All your life has been spent in pursuit of archaeological relics. Inside the Ark are treasures beyond your wildest aspirations. You want to see it opened as well as I. Indiana, we are simply passing through history. This, this is history…Do as you will.

— Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan, story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Rivalry. Today’s suggestion by James Schramm.

Trivia: According to the novelization, the writing on the headpiece of the Staff of Ra included a specific warning not to look into the Ark. This is why Indy and Marion survive the conflagration at the end simply by closing their eyes. It may be an allusion to 1 Samuel 6:19, where God “smote” the men of Beth Shemesh for looking into the Ark.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary by James: “Indy is thwarted by Belloq at every turn during the movie and finally, when it seems he has the upper hand, he relents. Belloq was right, they are the same, both wanting to see the greatest find in the world opened. Great scene, great rivalry.”