MovieChat Forums > Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Discussion > Was the medallion really that necessary?

Was the medallion really that necessary?

posted 2 years ago by Heisenberg (6467)
11 replies | jump to latest

The map room has a 3d miniature of the city.
Light is coming from the ceiling at a certain angle.

How many possible locations for the well of souls could there be?

An army of archeologists and diggers, like the one the nazis organized, should have been able to find the entrance just by basing their search on every spots hit by the light on the map room throughout the whole day.

[–] Choderboy (26) 2 years ago

Necessary!?!
Is it necessary for me to dink my own urine, no, but I do it anyway because it’s sterile and I like the taste.

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7511) 2 years ago

That's too much information, Choderboy! And frankly that's gross and you should be absolutely ashamed of yourself.

[–] pjl69 (2538) 2 years ago

We wouldn't have John Williams' "The Map Room: Dawn" track if it wasn't.

[–] Heisenberg (6467) 2 years ago

I guess that makes it necessary...
look, the idea is great, the scene is epic, the score is awesome, I would not change a thing.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is my favourite film ever.

But plotwise, the medallion could have been more necessary.
Maybe the map should have been of a bigger area, for instance, not just Tanis.

[–] millsey72 (9757) 2 years ago

No, and I always fast forward all the parts with the medallion because it wasn't necessary for the plot

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7511) 2 years ago

Really? You fast forward through the first action scene in the movie? Also the medalion is not unnecessary cause it gets Marion into the movie. It's the only reason she's a central character in the movie.

[–] strntz (11255) 2 years ago

How many possible locations for the well of souls could there be?

Every place in Tanis...

The Ark wasn't physically large and could have been out in the open in a huge room, or resting inside a tiny hidden chamber inside or even beneath a previously excavated site that was overlooked. They didn't have ground penetrating radar back them.

So no, the medallion wasn't *necessary* (other than a plot device) as the excavators would have eventually excavated every square foot of the city, but the medallion would point out exactly where in the haystack the needle was. What could have taken years would be reduced to days.

[–] Heisenberg (6467) 2 years ago

The needle in the haystack is the well of souls. So, a room sized object with an entrance.

Considering it was a secret place already when the medallion was made, but also a sacred one, it would have looked like a pharaoh burial chamber: difficult to reach only before 1900, when modern techniques and investments made them easyer to find.

These army of archeologysts had a map in front of them, and a map. They knew how the medallion works. And they could see how the light was hitting the map. So the number of options was fairly limited, for this kind of operation it would be optimal.

[–] strntz (11255) 2 years ago

The needle in the haystack is the well of souls. So, a room sized object with an entrance.

We don't know that - that would be up to the writers to decide. In this story, the Ark happened to be out in the open in a fairly large room, but how did anyone know that until it was found? What if the Ark was in the Well of Souls but was buried under the floor as an added measure of security? Without the medallion telling them that's where the Ark was for sure, the Nazis could have stumbled across that same room, found it empty, and left looking for more likely resting places. If the medallion told them the Ark was there however, they would stay and keep excavating, perhaps even bringing in heavy equipment to lift up several-ton floor slabs.

Considering it was a secret place already when the medallion was made, but also a sacred one, it would have looked like a pharaoh burial chamber: difficult to reach only before 1900, when modern techniques and investments made them easyer to find.

Again, that's an assumption. This is fiction and the method of how to hide the Ark and where to hide the Ark would be up to the writers to decide. Still, documentaries about ancient Egypt show that even in ancient times, tombs were robbed - and these were built to be virtually theft proof to the best of their abilities.

[–] Choderboy (26) 2 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Choderboy (26) 2 years ago

Geezluizpapacheese, it was simply a cool idea, not to mention one that was well executed on film and as others have mentioned was elevated even further by a timeless musical number. Was it necessary for Kane to look directly inside an alien egg whilst exploring an overtly ominous derelict ship, was it necessary for Michael to sit back down before shooting Sollazo and McCluskey, was it necessary for Gennaro to leave his vehicle and run to a porta-potty made of straw.....