Raiders of the Lost Ark (soundtrack)

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Raiders of the Lost Ark
Film score by John Williams
Released June 1981
Recorded February 1981
Genre Soundtrack
Length 43:00
Label PolyGram, DCC Compact Classics/Sony Music Special Produtcts, Columbia Records (Original LP Release)
John Williams chronology
The Empire Strikes Back Raiders of the Lost Ark E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Indiana Jones chronology
Raiders of the Lost Ark Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4.5/5 stars
Filmtracks 5/5 stars
Movie Wave 5/5 stars

The soundtrack to Raiders of the Lost Ark was released by Columbia Records in June 1981. The music was composed and conducted by John Williams, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Orchestrations were done by Herbert W. Spencer with additional orchestrations done by Al Woodbury.[citation needed]

Track listing[edit]

  1. "The Raiders March" (a.k.a. "Indiana Jones Theme")
  2. "Flight from Peru"
  3. "The Basket Game"
  4. "The Map Room: Dawn"
  5. "The Well of the Souls"
  6. "Desert Chase"
  7. "Marion's Theme"
  8. "The Miracle of the Ark"
  9. "End Credits"

Expanded edition[edit]

The soundtrack was re-released in an expanded edition by DCC Compact Classics, Inc. in November 1995 on CD and LP, with thirty minutes of new and extended cues and a twenty-four page booklet. The LP had an extended "The Well of the Souls" sequence that was absent on the CD release.

Raiders of the Lost Ark [Expanded]
Soundtrack album by John Williams
Released November 1995
Genre Soundtrack
Length 73:35
Label DCC Compact Classics, Inc.

Track listing[edit]

  1. The Raiders March (a.k.a. "The Indiana Jones Theme")
  2. Main Title: South America, 1936†
  3. In the Idol's Temple‡
  4. Flight from Peru
  5. Journey to Nepal†
  6. The Medallion†
  7. To Cairo
  8. The Basket Game‡
  9. The Map Room: Dawn
  10. Reunion and the Dig Begins†
  11. The Well of the Souls++
  12. Airplane Fight†
  13. Desert Chase‡
  14. Marion's Theme
  15. The German Sub / To the Nazi Hideout†
  16. Ark Trek†
  17. The Miracle of the Ark
  18. The Warehouse†
  19. End Credits

† New tracks
‡ Extended tracks
++ Extended to include "Uncovering the Ark / Marion Into the Pit" on DCC LP release.

Total Time: 73:35

The Indiana Jones Trilogy[edit]

Silva released a newly recorded version of Williams' Indiana Jones music entitled "The Indiana Jones Trilogy"[1] on January 21, 2003. It features various cues from the first three Indiana Jones films, with seven from Raiders. However, although they use the original manuscripts, this is a re-recording performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

Indiana Jones: The Soundtracks Collection[edit]

The five-disc release by Concord Records was released on November 11, 2008. The set contains the three original soundtracks to the trilogy, expanded and remastered, including material never before issued on CD. The box set also includes the standard Kingdom of the Crystal Skull soundtrack (released in May 2008, no bonus material added) plus a bonus CD that includes more music from the trilogy and an exclusive audio interview CD with John Williams.

The re-issues of the three original soundtracks are also available in Europe as a single release. The content are identical to the first three titles in the box-set.

Missing music[edit]

There are about three minutes of music from Raiders of the Lost Ark that—so far—have not been released on CD.

  1. Marion Into The Pit (Present on DCC LP)
  2. Indy Rides The Statue (Original Film Version—Concord Release is an Alternate)

In addition to the missing music, "Desert Chase" is incomplete on the Concord set. It has been trimmed down to its 1981 album length, making the 1995 release the only complete representation of that cue.