Nostalgia is in full bloom this weekend with the release of J.J. Abrams' Super 8 -- the retro Steven Spielberg-tinged blockbuster that will have many moviegoers recalling E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Jaws. Not Raiders of the Lost Ark, though -- which is a shame if only because it prevents the possible furthering of the Abrams-Spielberg mythology; the first chapter in the Indiana Jones saga was released on June 12, 1981 -- nearly 30 years to the day of Super 8 -- alongside fellow future classics History of the World Part I and Clash of the Titans. Not bad, history! Click ahead to remember one of the greatest summer movie weekends ever.
First up, the trailers!
Raiders of the Lost Ark
History of the World Part I
Clash of the Titans
For my money, there isn't a better summer movie than Raiders of the Lost Ark -- one of the few perfect blockbusters to ever come out of Hollywood -- but perhaps you're more of a Clash of the Titans disciple. (After all, where else can you find Laurence Olivier and Harry Hamlin in the same film?) For what it's worth: Spielberg's '30s throwback was the top choice for ticket buyers over the weekend of June 12, 1981, with Brooks' still-funny History of the World landing in second place.
So, the floor is yours, dear Movieline reader: What do you remember about these three movies? Were you old enough to have seen one -- or all -- in theaters? Will we ever see another weekend like this at the box office? Reminisce about the three seminal classics in the comments section below.