20 awesome ’80s movies you should totally see before you die

6. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

The ’80s were an incredibly busy decade for Harrison Ford. In addition to starring in the final two films of the original Star Wars trilogy, he plays archeologist and all-around stud Indiana “Indy” Jones in three films: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).

Raiders of the Lost Ark introduces audiences to Indiana Jones, who hunts down precious artifacts. He snatches them from the grasp of shady characters who are less-interested in their historical significance than their monetary worth or other nefarious uses.

Indy lives a double life: one as a sedate college professor who makes his female students swoon and another as a roguish adventurer.

Even if you don’t grasp all the details about the Ark of the Covenant (hence the title), or why it’s important, you do know: A) it melts people’s faces off; B) Nazis are bad and deserve to have their faces melted off; C) Harrison Ford looks sexy running, sweating, yielding a whip and wearing a fedora.

Directed by Steven Spielberg with a score by John Williams (who also composed the score for Star Wars), Raiders of the Lost Ark became the highest grossing film of 1981. Made for a paltry $18 million, the film grossed just shy of $390 million. It was also nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture (the only film in the franchise to do so).

Ford returns to reprise his role in 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and he’ll be back in 2021 for another Indy escapade.