Was Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer inspired by Raiders of the Lost Ark?

Christopher Nolan seems to be remaking Steven Spielberg's "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in this profound meditation on America's self-righteous obsession with coercive violence and apocalyptic firepower.


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Indiana Jones and the Fall of My Favorite Hero, Part Three: Oh, My Aching Skulls!

As it turned out, Crystal Skull was amusing but disappointing, underlining Raiders' strengths as unique, the kind of adventure storytelling we were unlikely to see again on the big screen.


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Indiana Jones and the Fall of My Favorite Hero, Part Two: The Biggest Loser

Perhaps it’s not so much Indy’s virtues or successes that distinguish him. Consider, instead, his failures. Has there ever been a hero so prone to failure as Indiana Jones?


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Indiana Jones and the Fall of My Favorite Hero, Part One: King of Heroes?

On June 12, 1981, moviegoers watched Indiana Jones disarm a gunslinging traitor with one swift lash of his bullwhip. The bloodied villain, caught red-handed (literally), fled, and we saw Harrison Ford’s glare smolder beneath the brim of that fedora for the first time. We knew he meant business.


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