Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. It stars Harrison Ford (pictured), Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, and Denholm Elliott. Ford portrays Indiana Jones, a globe-trotting archaeologist vying with Nazi forces in 1936 to recover the lost Ark of the Covenant, a relic said to make an army invincible. With his former lover Marion Ravenwood (Allen), Jones races to stop rival archaeologist René Belloq (Freeman) from guiding the Nazis to the Ark. Principal photography took place during June–September 1980 on sets at Elstree Studios, England, and on location in Tunisia, Hawaii, and La Rochelle. The highest-grossing film of 1981, it won five Oscars, seven Saturn Awards, and one BAFTA. Appearing in many lists of all-time best films, it has had a lasting impact on popular culture. It led to further Indiana Jones films, games and toys.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raiders_of_the_Lost_Ark

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1885:

Gottlieb Daimler patented the world's first internal-combustion motorcycle, the Reitwagen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daimler_Reitwagen

1949:

The Soviet Union conducted its first nuclear weapons test, detonating the 22-kiloton RDS-1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RDS-1

1991:

Italian businessman Libero Grassi was killed by the Sicilian Mafia in Palermo after taking a public stand against their extortion demands. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libero_Grassi

1996:

Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801 crashed on approach to Svalbard Airport, Norway, killing all 141 on board. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vnukovo_Airlines_Flight_2801

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

ex contractu: (law, postpositive) Of a legal obligation: arising from a contractual relationship. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ex_contractu

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

War is wretched beyond description, and only a fool or a fraud could sentimentalize its cruel reality.   --John McCain https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_McCain