Scene Standoff: Raiders of the Lost Ark vs. Gladiator
The moment where Indy runs from a large booby trap in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' vs. Maximus Decimus Meridius shouting "Are you not entertained?" from 'Gladiator'.
If you've clicked on this wondering what's going on, then click on the link here to read the rules of the Scene Standoff: https://www.focusfilms.online/post/scene-standoff-lion-king-vs-grease
The Boulder Chase - Raiders of the Lost Ark
As a brave and rather lucky Indiana Jones takes a golden idol from a Peruvian temple, booby traps begin to ignite around him. A large boulder is released and chases Indy out of the temple, with adventurous moments of whip throwing, hat grabbing and close calls.
- Ellis' scene
"Are you not Entertained?" - Gladiator
After fighting and killing off many of his rivals in an arena bout of combat, Russell Crowe's Maximus exclaims to the crowd, "Are you not entertained?" It's a truly powerful moment of stature.
- Gareth's scene
Ellis - italics
Gareth - bold
PERFORMANCE
It's Russell Crowe's best performance, hands down. This scene is really good!
Although Harrison Ford's performance is a bit tongue-in-cheek in Raiders, it's also iconic.
Yeah!
I don't think there's any character in cinema history that has been established in a better way than Indiana Jones is in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Sure!
You know his skill set, you know about his gear (the whip and the hat), you know his professional background, his fear of snakes...so much about him is established in the first sequence.
The actual boulder is iconic.
For performance it really is Russell Crowe vs Harrison Ford.
RAIDERS - 7/10 GLADIATOR - 8/10
NECESSITY
Like I said it establishes everything that Indiana Jones is about.
And this scene in Gladiator establishes that he's a force to be reckoned with.
RAIDERS - 9/10 GLADIATOR - 8/10
REFERENCABILITY
They're reference in two very different ways. This quote from Gladiator is said a lot, I've said it a few times; whereas Raiders is referenced more in pop culture...Chicken Run springs to mind.
Are these two about even then?
RAIDERS - 8/10 GLADIATOR - 8/10
POPULARITY (using Letterboxd for reference)
I don't know how this one's gonna go.
Well Raiders' average rating is a 4.2.
Gladiator is a 4.0. I gave it a 5/5 though.
We both gave Raiders a 4/5.
RAIDERS - 4.2 GLADIATOR - 4.0
ICONIC RATING
On a scale of streaming services, how iconic are these scenes? So most iconic is Netflix, almost everyone has it...least iconic is something like Shudder.
I'm going to go with Amazon Prime for Gladiator.
Becoming more and more iconic with age. For Raiders I'm going to go with Lovefilm; it's an older version of the same piece of kit.
Does that mean they're equal?
No I think Prime is more iconic.
RAIDERS - lovefilm GLADIATOR - prime
THE FINAL STANDOFF
Raiders of the Lost Ark 2-2 Gladiator
In our second draw of the first round of Scene Standoff's both Raiders of the Lost Ark and Gladiator have made it through.
Both of these films are lead by expert leading actors, Harrison Ford and Russell Crowe and it's their performances of these scenes that make them more iconic. But the films in their entirety are themselves iconic, with both having countless other scenes that could have quite easily made it into this competition.
How far will they last in round 2? And will they end up being one of the most iconic movie scenes of all time? We have a sneaky suspicion they might be, but there's still plenty of scenes to get through...anything could happen.
Current Standings: G - 5 E - 8
NEXT BATTLE:
SCHOOL OF ROCK VS. BACK TO THE FUTURE
Gladiator and Raiders of the Lost Ark available now on NowTV and Sky Cinema