The scene starts directly after the previous set piece (where Indy and Marion are left with the pit of snakes). We get the above sequence of shots. Indy pushes out the stone (weight added with sound) and we get our first glimpse, Ford style, of where the next set piece will take place. This shot-reverse-shot POV is repeated for Marion. We have now seen a quick outline of the next location twice.

                           

                            

Then there's a pause as our two heroes give the location another good looking over and we get this wonderful wide. Spielberg is being very insistent that we know exactly where everything is. Plane, trucks, shack. And all through this we have been hearing the engine warming up, sound adding to our understanding of what is happening, and what is waiting for us.

After the Spielbergian camera reveal of Indy and Marion, with a quick bit of exposition we cut to Belloq and the Nazis, with crate in the background. This is to undercut what Indy has just said about the Ark and to add a bit of tension. These guys aren't gone yet.

                             

The scene being set it is now time to get the action started, and the music starts up.

Looks simple. Punch this guy and get the plane. 

First hurdle is the appearance of a second Nazi. Keep an eye on that angle above, Spielberg will repeat it later.

                           

Like all classic Hollywood storytelling Spielberg cuts on the action. Above is a beautiful little sneaky one that allows him to move the camera around the plane. Note how we have moved in but not into anything other than a closer wide. We are being asked to enjoy the fight, the simple choreography, and the physical acting of Harrison Ford.

                          

                        

As the fight continues we get our first 'big man' entrance. A staple of the franchise (indeed this actor, Pat Roach, plays a similar role in Temple of Doom).

Note the move from wide to mid, the use of the low angle, the inclusion of the location in the last shot. We are given all the information we need about this guy and a reminder of where everything, and everyone, is in relation to each other. No confusion here. 

Compare this with the depiction of the latest "big guy" in Dial of Destiny...

                       

                       

This sequence introduces Marion and her entrance into the action scene. She's looking for a weapon and spots the blocks. 

Indy finally gets rid of the soldier but Pat Roach has taken his place, this time looming in a similar shot to the one earlier, thus causing less confusion for the audience as well as being a simple visual gag. Note he's more centred in the frame than the last guy.

                       

                      

Again, the shots here are wide with Roach on looming large on the right, his head nearly the same size in the frame as Ford, who is almost in the foetal position. There's a nice Indy gag, asking for a moment before the fight begins. Marion gets closer to the blocks, which are close to the centre of the frame, again, we don't have to move pir eyes too much around the frame.

Marion eventually frees the blocks.

We now have two stories going on. Indy must fight the big guy, Marion will wield the blocks.

All of this without a close-up. There will be some (although I didn't catch them for this blog) but they don't dominate. At all times we can see the action unfold. 

Which is another point to be made, we can see. That plastic, often yellow, sheen on modern films is absent. Each object is clearly defined even if the film is, at this point, mainly browns, with a splash of white.

                      

Above is the epitome of an Indy fight. The guy is too tough. Wide of the punch, cut on the action, watch Indy's legs go weak and down he falls. Ford's physical acting selling the gag perfectly. We get faux diegetic sound of 'punches'. I say faux because punches don't sound like that, and we, the audience, understand this and are thus part of the gag.

And we get another shot that will be repeated later.

                      

                      

                       

Above is an important series of shots as we get introduced to a new prop, a gun. Spielberg sets up props and shots to use later. So far we have the blocks, the gun, and Indy on his arse. We may have forgotten about the truck and container also out there in the desert but Spielberg hasn't.

We get that movement from a wide to a mid to see Indy bite the big guy. Indy will do anything to win a fight. Great character moment, reinforced by the change it shot, almost as if the camera is telling us 'yes, Indy did just bite the guy'.

We also get a nice visual gag of the pilot not being able to shoot Indy because of Roach's big head (it would have ended the fight right there).

The reverse shot is a simple set up for the conclusion of Marion's first story within the fight. She uses the blocks to knock the pilot unconscious.

                                           

She's so pleased with herself. What could possibly go wrong?

               

                                           

                  

                   

So much has gone wrong....

The pilot shoots the controls and one engine goes (I think he shoots, I'm open to correction).

Because Marion has removed the blocks the plane is now circling.

She tries to fix this by moving the pilot but instead she gets locked in the cabin.

The pilot's gun has fallen onto the ground.

All of the elements get a payoff. All of the action gets a payoff. The character decisions get payoffs (Marion not thinking through her decisions). The shot of choice here is the midshot, usually with the main narrative element in the centre of the frame, we don't have to move our eyeline as the shot length gets shorter. The information needed is right there in front of us all the time.

                              

And, just in case we are feeling a bit disorientated with all of this we get a nice wideshot, or longshot, to let us know where everything is. This is important not just for the action happening now, but also for what is about to happen.

                

                

Marion's decisions have led her into the gunnery position just when she needs to be. We get midshots and some more POV shots. The POV shots are particularly interesting from our 2023 position as they're reminiscent of first person shooter video games (if that's what they're called). These games have influenced modern action scenes enormously but we see Spielberg using them here (as others had before him).

              

                                 

And now we get the beginning of our ticking clock. Action scenes are great but throw in a time limit and you have added tension, even if we know they'll succeed. And that's exactly what Spielberg is doing here. 

               

              

Marion blows up one of the fuel containers...

The clock is now ticking down, thanks to Marion's actions, the actions that started with simply looking for a weapon And we get a lovely shot of the gun (Chekhov would be proud).

               

Another wide to show us the clock ticking down, even the location has turned into one! And we get a great image of the Ark, a symbol of the potential mass destruction of the atom bomb, with an explosion in the background. This doubles as another ticking clock as now the Nazis at the base have been alerted to what's going on.

              

               

             

              

               

                

Again, repeated angles, a shot to show the clock ticking down and down, movement from one area to the next. Spielberg is still letting us enjoy the physicality of the cast as well as upping the tension.

I love the simplicity of letting the pilot run away, thus highlighting the ticking clock.

                 

I love The Graduate style shot here. Ford can do a bit of comedy acting, it's a repeated angle, and everything is centred.

                  

                 

                                          

Poor old Pat Roach gets the first of his gruesome deaths at the hands of Indy. Here Indy enjoys it, next time he tries to save him.

There are other shots of blood splattering but I prefer the one where the flags gets it...

                              

                                

                                                       

The final payoff with the gun as Indy uses it to free Marion, who got trapped in there when she stopped the pilot using it to kill Indy. 

Note the gun in centre of the frame again and the cut to the flames. Simple association.

         

                                                

                               

I love these wides.

Real explosions.

Real people running.

We can see the whole set going up in flames.

A lovely end to the sequence.

                               

And then, to tidy up, there goes the hut (the last element that we had seen at the start) and the Nazis have arrived, but too late.

The rules for Spielberg are simple:

Wides to create a clear sense of place.

Wides and mids to let the actors act.

Simple compositions to ease the audience from moment to moment.

Character based beats.

Set up the beats in advance, not in the moment.

A story structure to the action where one decision moves the plot of the action along.

Use music and sound to enhance (the set piece starts with the engine going and ends with the engine killing a Nazi and then blowing up).

At the beginning of the sequence all Indy had to do was take out the pilot.  By the end the whole place was in flames. That's how you escalate!

This is the kind of comfort with film language that makes Spielberg the master he is and we can't expect every director to have the same ease, nor do we want every director to 'write' in the same way. But we expect the director that takes over such a huge franchise to at least create coherent set pieces, especially since the language of the franchise is there waiting to be tweaked, personalised but still acknowledged.