Der erste Indiana Jones Film feiert dieses Jahr seinen 30. Geburtstag. Anlässlich dieses großartigen Bestehens hat einer meiner Lieblingsmenschen auf dem Planet, Damon Lindelof, einen Liebesbrief an den Film für Hero Complex verfasst.

I remember with great clarity the last time I peed my pants.

This was not, contrary to later reports, an “accident.” It was a decision I made of sound mind and body and one that I make no apologies for. Despite overwhelming opportunity to release my bladder the way most civilized people do (that would be into a toilet), I made a conscious choice to do otherwise. I offer only two points in my defense; The first is that I was 8 years old. The second, and much more relevant, is that I was in a movie theater watching “Raiders of the Lost Ark” for the very first time. And there was not a chance in hell I was missing a single second of that glorious movie. Truth be told, I had initially resisted the idea of going to see “Raiders.” I was much more interested in seeing “Clash of the Titans,” which opened the same day and had a Pegasus in it. Ultimately, however, my dad argued that “Raiders” was the superior pick because it had Han Solo. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously — “But… Han Solo is frozen in carbonite.”

“This movie happened before that.” My dad responded.

“How could it happen before a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away?” I reasoned.

“Because this was longer ago.”

“How much longer?”

My dad leaned down, quite serious, and whispered, “The 1930s.”

And thus, I was effectively duped into seeing what even now, three decades later, stands as one of the most perfect movies ever made.

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And here’s the thing: Although it’s easy to reduce “Raiders” to a “popcorn” movie — a piece of escapist adventure with fantastic action — very rarely is it appreciated for its pure innovative genius. This is something people seemed to be well aware of back in 1981 (it was nominated for a best picture Oscar), but over time, the legacy of “Raiders” seems to neglect just how incredibly revolutionary it was as a film. Therefore, as a debt of gratitude (and for everything I’ve stolen from it in my own work), I feel it’s only fitting to write a long overdue love letter to one of my favorite films ever. So without further ado…

Dear “Raiders of the Lost Ark,”

You are awesome. God, you are awesome.

‘Raiders’: Damon Lindelof’s love letter to a ‘perfect movie’.