Yaaay! I get to post one of the greatest nits of all time!

In the infamous "snakes" scene, you can see the light glinting off the glass as the snake rears at Indy. Our hero is in no danger!

And while we're at it....Harrison Ford kept that hat on his head with a staple gun. Ouch.

Bloopers, from the Internet Movie Database
*The spiders in the beginning sequence appear and disappear on Indy's back.
*Indy's gun in the barfight changes from a .38 to a .45.
*When Indy throws a Bible on the table near the beginning, the clasp suffers from continuity problems.
*When Indy finds Marion gagged, the amount of hair in the gag changes between shots.
*When Indy falls near the Cobra, you can see the reflection of the glass between them.
*When Indy pushes the stone block out of the wall to escape the Well of Souls, it bounces!
*The position of the medallion's chain when Marion pulls it out changes.
*Notice the exploding truck has a pole launched out of the bottom of it to help it tip over.
*When Indy flies out of San Francisco, it appears that he is flying towards S.F.
*The sub-machine guns used by the Germans hadn't been invented yet.
*The map shows Indy flying towards Thailand, which was Siam back then.
*The Germans shouldn't have been in Egypt, since the British had owned it.
*Indy's staff should be 60 inches tall, yet when he finally inserts it, he is shorter than it, meaning that he's shorter than 5 feet. Which is wrong.
*During the basket chase, the sweat on Indy's back shrinks and grows.
*After he traps Indy in the Well, Belloq's hat jumps to the ground from his hat.
*The snakes in that sequence come from all over the world, not just Egypt.
*During the truck chase, Belloq hits his driver, who winces before he hits him.
*When Indy's truck collides with the water trough, the luggage rack falls off, but is later seen still on.
*The blood on the plane window disappears.
*When Indy slides under the truck, a trench can be seen under it.
*The submarine luckily goes blindly into the secret base, with the periscope down and everyone inside, even though they are running on the surface.

Thanks!

The Nazi shipping case has the Afrika Corps emblem stencilled on it, although the Corps was not formed and the logo not designed for another two or three years.

And, incidentally, just what was going on with those baskets? We see one being carried around a lot, and hear cries of "Indy" from inside, so we can assume that Marion is in that one. Now, between the last time we see a shot like this (one basket in shot, Marion crying out) and the basket being put on the "suicide truck", there are NO OTHER BASKETS in sight.

The explanation that is offered is "they must have switched baskets". Sure. Fine. WHEN?
And, which is more to the point, WHY??

Also, hands up all those who would have driven a truck that laden with explosives, through a country not known for the quality of its roads...

If Vulcans wrote all the action films, they would be kinda dull......

Not to say there shouldn't be some basic logic behind the story (nor to stop nits, of course!), but we should expect a higher standard from, say, Hitchcock than from Spielberg/Lucas. Old Serious Thriller v. Shoot-em-up bit doncha know.

re: the nit over Indy's gun changing - I, too, had noticed that, but I came to the conclusion that Indy has two guns, as the .45 pops up elsewhere in the movie

Is it true that Indy was supposed to take on the sword guy with his whip, but Harrison Ford was feeling sick, so he used his gun, and they decided to keep that take?

Yes indeed it's true. Saw an outtake on A&E once showing part of a sword fight between Indy & Sword-boy. It wasn't good, though, and Ford was getting severely dehydrated; he decided on the spot when they started filming to pull out the gun, and Spielberg liked it so much he used that take.

I think the scene with Indy shooting sword boy was one of the most memeorable scenes in movies. I loved it. The "Indiana Jones school of Sword Fighting!"

Of course, the final scene with the Ark in the Warehouse directly inspired the nearly identical scene at the end of the X-Files episode "Pilot".

Wow! The shoot the swordsman scene wasn't in the script? It's argueably the best scene in all the Indy movies!

I had somenits about the stickIndy was using to find the lost city... andthe diamond that he needed etc, etc... butIno longer remember. Someone wanna take a shot? or remind me the details?

When Indy uses the Staff of Ra in the Map room, the sun shines through the jewel and creates a beam of light that looks like a laser. Fine, fine.

But like all movie lasers, it makes a whine, or "shooting" sound. That shouldn't happen, now should it?

Yeah I know, it sounded cool. This nit ranks down there with the "spaceships shouldn't make noise in outer space" nit.

Oh, here's one. The story writers want us to belive that the Nazis got the ark into the secret island via U-boat. Sorry, don't buy it.

Anyone been in a WWII era sub? (The Torsk is in Baltimore harbor and the Becuna is in Philly.)

Barring being in a sub, anyone see the moive "Das Boot?" Space was at such a premium that the food was kept in hammocks overhead throughout the ship.

WWII era subs(American, British, German and Jappanese) were TIGHT! VERY very cramped and crowded! They didn't really have much of a cargo hold at all! Certianly nothing that could accomodate the Ark. They'd have to unload every torpedo and shell and work with a skeleton crew just to have space for that box.

Even if they did this, they'd need a hatch big enough to accomodate the Ark, and while U-boats had loading hatches, they were just big enough to shove a torpedo into. Not big and boxy, like an Ark hatch would have to be.

I heard that in the snake pit you can see hyroglipics of C-3PO and R2-D2.

I think that the hieroglyphics (sp?) of the droids WERE added onto the set, but I don't believe it actually appears in the film (at least not noticeably). I've looked.

Is there any reason why the German Commander talks to his aides in English? Is he aware that movie audiences might not understand him?

The jeep that is smashed over the cliff during the chase makes a very odd choice. Trying to shoot Indy, it makes a sharp turn, coming very close to the cliff. Even if it did shoot Indy, the truck (and the jeep) would just smash over the cliff, and the Ark would be destroyed.

I care not about what anybody says. This is the best adeventure movie ever. The best sequence is when indy is chasing the ark, on a white horse, And gets severly beaten by a Gray haired nazi in the Ark Truck.

What is the Germen military doing in Brittish controoled Egypt?

They are just clever. ;-)

I liked Marion's voice. If I'm in a desperate situation and need to scream, I'm not going to worry about my voice being sweet and musical. Her screaming sounding realistic. Kate Capshaw, on the other hand...I wonder what they gave her during filming to prevent laryngitis?

Anyone noticed the similarities between the truck chase in this movie and the one in Rambo:First Blood?

Another similarity between Raiders and Rambo:First Blood Part II is that they both contain a scene where the hero says "Get back. Get back." and then shoots off a lock.

This is probably my favorite Indy film, but The Last Crusade is a close-runner. I like the cinematography in The Last Crusade better (although Raiders seems more realistic--Crusade is obviously a movie), and Crusade is funnier. The acting is better in Raiders (not counting Sean Connery, of course), and so is the plot. Things are more serious in Raiders, and the action, while not as frequent, is better. Crusade has a faster pace, and more, if lesser action.

The plane the Nazis plan to fly the Ark out of Egypt look far to modern for the mid 1930's, I don't know what model was used but it looks like a Northrop "Flying Wing" design from the late 1940's. Egypt became independent of the UK in 1922, but there were still British influences until 1956. I presume Belloq told the Egyptian government that he wanted good security & had called in the German army. Some U-boats were large enougth to carry equipment to make aircraft with, & could have carried the Ark. Pat Roach seems to be the only actor apart from Harrison Ford to appear in all 3 films, in this I think he's the German who he fights with on the plane.

The Germans developed very advanced Nurfluegel aircrafts since the 30's. But this particular design is afaik fictional.
And yes, there were "Milk Cow" U-Boats used for supply and cargo transportation.

The standard German transport plane at this time (& until 1945) was the Junkers Ju52/3, which was a 3 radial engined corrigated skinned monoplane, but there arn't a lot left in the world.

Yes, but an "Aunt Ju" doesn't look too good for an Indy adventure. ;-)

Did anyone see David Letterman a couple weeks ago? At the end of the show, Dave had a skit with Dan Quayle about retiring all Quayle jokes. They were all put in a crate that was taken away by forklift, thru a stagedoor, and (as I could see coming) they used the final image from this film with the forklift driving between the stacks of crates, looking for a place to put it.

Also, I heard that Harrison Ford will play Indy again, or at least is thinking of it, if the script's good enough.

On the Subject of Ford stapling his hat to his head, that occured in "Last Crusade," not this one. Ford had to do the tank/horse chase scene, and his hat kept falling off. Watch the original trailer for "Last Crusade." It actually shows all the stapling business taking place.

1. So Indy has to find the head piece,get it translated, get a stick of the correct height, get to the map room, dig in the right spot,go through tons of snakes to finally find the ark. Only to exit through a wall with a loose brick next to an airport. Why didn't he come IN that way?

2. Didn't Indy loose his hat when he was on the boat before getting on the u-boat?

This film is a crash course in making motion pictures.

1--Don't say things to the audience if visuals can tell the same things. The opening scene uses the "telegram method", dialogue is spared like it costs money. The audience is expected to figure things out.

2--Use foreshadowing, but feel free to throw in your own little inventive touches.

3--Use your boring dialogue scenes (plot points) AFTER an action scene, not BEFORE. The longest dialogue scene in the film, the opening banter at the college, is done after one of the most exciting scenes in the film. However, the dialogue right before the truck chase is kept to a minimum.

4--The villain must have some good traits. The villain must be evil enough to make you root for the hero, but so annoying that you don't want him on screen. The henchmen should be more evil than the villain.

5--Know when to stop. The original script had a mine chase right after the end Ark opening. To me, this seems pointless.

6--If at all possible, try stringing several pieces of death-traps together. For instance, the opening has spiders, pits, poison darts, giant boulders, spikes, killer natives. Later, we start with a mechanic, make it a burly mechanic, add a runaway plane and a few shooting trucks, and immediately segue into the truck chase.

in Nepal, during the bar fight scene, someone knocks over the fire and pretty soon the whole bar is on fire. How did the fire spread so fast in a high altitude place with such thin air?

Alcohol burns, too.

Incidentally, the German mechanic who gets shredded by the propeller showed up in Temple of Doom as the big guy who got crushed by the rock-crushing wheel. Then again, you don't actually see him killed by the propeller, but why did he end up in India?

Some more info on the "shoot the swordsman" scene from an urban legends website (http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/raiders.htm):

Claim: A case of the trots led to one of Raider's of the Lost Ark's most memorable scenes.
Status: True.

Synopsis: In the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, one particular scene consistently brings the house down -- Indiana Jones, having survived an elaborate chase through the casbah, is confronted by a swordsman whipping through a flashy routine with a scimitar. With a look of infinite fatigue and disgust, Indy simply pulls out his gun and blows the bad guy away.

That bit flowed not from the pen of a screenwriter but from the desperation of Harrison Ford. His desire to spend less time on this scene and more in a washroom led to an actor-inspired script change that was ultimately worked into the film.

Origins: Three months' of shooting in the blazing heat in Tunisia had resulted in a terrible bout of dysentery for Harrison Ford. The original scene, as called for in the script, would have required approximately three days to shoot. Not looking forward to another lengthy shoot under that blistering sun, Ford persuaded Spielberg to try the scene this much shorter way. (One could say Ford was given "the runs" of the place.)

Occasionally, some confusion surfaces as to who -- Ford or Spielberg -- had the notion for this script change. The principals themselves don't appear to disagree on it being Ford's baby, but those who've heard the diarrhea story second- and third-hand have been known to get muddled on this point. (In a 1995 interview, George Lucas attributed the creative spark to Steven Spielberg, for example.)

As for whose idea it was, according to a 1981 interview with Steven Spielberg:


Ford developed dysentery in the blistering 130-degree heat of Tunisia, where the cast and crew had to fan their mouths constantly to keep out flies looking for shade (one crawled into chief villain Paul Freeman's mouth during a crucial scene). Too weak to swing his whip, Indy was slated for a 3 1/2-page fight when Ford had a better idea. "We had Indy pull out his revolver and dispatch the dude," says Spielberg of the film's funniest scene.

At the beginning of the movie, when Indy is talking to the govt. agents, he pulls out a very thick book (I'm talking 500 pages at least) to show them a picture of the ark. Amazingly, he opens it right to the exact page with the picture of the ark. There's no bookmark. Actually, if there was it would be a nit. Why would he have it marked? Granted, this could happen, but what are the odds?

Did Paul Freeman actually swallow that fly, or does it just look that way? What a trooper!

Regards shooting the guy with the scimitar:
It was indirectly Ford's idea. I believe it was in his unauthorized biography (I *think* it's called "Forgettable Hero") in which I think I read that the Doctor on the set said that Ford shouldn't work more than another hour that day, but was scheduled to do the extensive fight scene.
Ford off-handedly said something to the effect of, why not just "shoot the f#cker."

They did the scene, Ford could go get rest, Spielberg got his scene, and the Doctor was happy.

The rest is history.

There are a lot of different versions of this story. Even Spielberg and Ford change the story constantly. Sometimes it was Ford's idea. Sometimes Spielberg's. This is the first I heard a doctor involved.

But whether it was Ford's idea or Spielberg's, it's probably safe to assume that the shot was improvised on the set to wrap up filming quickly (many of the cast and crew, including Ford, were suffering from bouts of stomach aches from the change in their diets).

In any case, they provided us with a perfect example of how violence can be funny.

Yes, the sub machine guns the Germans used were either MP 38 or MP 40 ("Schmeissers) which were not used until....1938 or 1940. The Germans designated small arms based on the year it was adapted. The pistols used were P38, again not adapted until 1938. Put Lugers in their hands, looks more Nazi. The U-Boat was a Type VII which was the version seen in Das Boot, so one has an idea of how a crate could be loaded into the sub. The Afrika Corps symbol was not adopted until 1941 when the Germans went into Libya to support the Italians. Rommel helped design the symbol.

While Indy is in the Map Room and the sun shines through the Staff of Ra, the film shows a "close up" of some Egyptian buildings. At one point there is writing in red colored ink on one of the buildings. It may be in German but my copy of the film is a bit fuzzy so I cannot tell.

It is either something that got past the editors or perhaps made by the Germans in the film to mark where they would start digging for the Ark.

Josh G - Temple of Doom is set before Raiders, so really we should be asking how the big guy survived the rock crushing wheel and managed to get employed as a mechanic by the Nazis.
p - That writing used to puzzle me, too, and I could never work out what it said. I seem to remember the novelisation saying that it was Belloq's notes.

He's also in The Last Crusade, I guess someone like Pat Roach's "Meatheaded thug" acting ability. He best known role (In the UK)is the gental giant Bomber in Auf Wiedersan (sic) Pet.

*Indy sneaks up on the Flying Wing. A mechanic spots him, and Indy knocks him out. A second, muscular mechanic then arrives. He calls out to Indy, and BOTH Indy and the pilot turn around. So, the pilot couldn't hear the loud, big fight going on behind him? And what does this pilot do? Does he sound the alarm? Nope. BTW, the pilot is played by producer Frank Marshall.

*During the truck chase, it looks great, but what in heck is the second jeep (the one with the machine gun) trying to accomplish? It sneaks up (on the cliff side, mind you) of the truck, and fires at Indy. First, I fail to see, given the twists and turns, how this jeep is going to make the turn anyway. Secondly, if Indy is hit by the gunfire, the truck AND jeep are going to go splat, destroying the Ark.

I may be missing something, but I've never understood just how Indy and Marion get off that island after the Ark liquifies the Nazis. And for that matter, who untied them?

I think that all that energy whizzing around burned the ropes off--without touching them. Convienient, hah?

Dictum 6 of the Nitpicker's Bible: "fair" is for the weak.

With that in mind... take a look at First Samuel in the Old Testament. Search for "Ark of the Covenant" in... oh... let's say chapter 4. Interesting, hmm?

That's right, boys and girls, when the Israelites took the Ark of the Covenant into battle on the theory that it made them invincible, the Lord said, "Yeah, right!" and THEY LOST! The Philistines mowed them into the ground, took the Ark, and kept it for nine months!

So why are the Nazis so hot after it?

Maybe they just skimmed the Bible and missed that important plot point.

"Secondly, if Indy is hit by the gunfire, the truck AND jeep are going to go splat, destroying the Ark."

The Nazis were probably thinking better that than the Americans get it.

In the Map Room when Indy is figuring where to put the staff in the platform said platform is thickly covered in sand as if it hadn't been disturbed in a while. He brushes away a narrow band and blows the stray particles away. However, in the close ups most of the sand on the platform is gone with only a light dusting of sand on it, consistent with the Nazis having gone over it recently.

While Indy and Salah are descending ito the snakepit to retrieve the Ark, a loud thunderstorm can be seen and heard in the background. At the same time, Marian and Bellocq are sharing a bottle of wine, and there's no sign of a storm outside their tent.

Bellocq says of the wine, "I grew up with this. It's my family label." Why, then, does he have such a hard time swallowing the first glassful?

Maybe because he tossed it back like a shot? I drink wine on a semi-regular basis, but I've never swallowed a shot, or swallowed any liquid as though it *were* a shot. I think anyone who wasn't used to drinking shots would probably cough a little if they swallowed their wine the way he did.

In the novelization of "Lost Ark" (a junior version, dunno about the adult thing), the truck chase is changed to be more realistic (and far less exciting). At one point, the lead jeep with Belloq and Commander Dietrich stops so that Dietrich can pump Indy full of lead with his gun. Belloq says that if he does that the truck will crash, killing Indy and destroying the Ark, and der Fuhrer would not like that. Later, the last soldier tries to shoot Indy through the truck window, but is shot by Dietrich so that the truck will not go out of control.

How does the pilot not notice the monkey wrench striking the propeller, but later is made aware of Indy when "Beefguy" (As my brother likes to call him) challenges Indy to a fight.

In addition to the Great Bible Nit that renders the entire movie pointless, I humbly present these too:

1. The unit of measurement as described on Marion's amulet is entirely fictional. Biblical distances are measured in "amot."

2. There is no need for Indy to sneak into the dig in order to test his new staff and dicover the Ark's real position. If his staff is six fictional units long and theirs is seven, he should be able to take the distance of the position where they are digging, construct a similar triangle with identical angles, and calculate the exact amount of extra mileage to be subtracted. Then he can just measure out the correct distance along the same line that the Germans were using, and dig. Or were we too busy taking gymnastic lessons to study basic Euclidean geometry?

3. After escaping from the Well of Souls, Marion runs barefoot across many meters of desert sand heated by the mid-morning sun and yet does not burn her feet.

4. The airplane targeted by Indy and Marion is sitting smack in the middle of abosultely nothing: fifty yards of open sandy waste. Now I can understand that the German commander is able to snooze through everything but a whupping explosion (a requirement for a command level position in the German army, at least according to the movies), but didn't anyone else notice a guy in a trademark hat of the hero and woman in the sexily-torn white gown of the love interest running towards the plane?

5. I want a horse that can keep pace with a truck for at least half a mile and trot down inclines of greater than 45 degrees without slipping once.

6. Watch the commander in the truck that Indy runs up a cliff. He very clearly slips out of his fake-German and mouths "SH********T!"

7. The U-26 submarine was completely outdated in 1936. And Electron may even be able to confirm that it was not a "Milk Cow" class.

8. Indy sure is lucky that the sub decided to remain on the surface and head for a nearby island instead of resuming and underwater course to a more populous German military base. What were they thinking?

9. It is quite clear that Belloq wants the Ark open now-now-now to satisfy his curiosity, and his bit about "what if the tablets aren't inside" is just a blind. What beats me is why Dietrich swallows this nonsense. They don't have a mandate for the tablets, they have a mandate for the Ark of the Covenant, and they've got it! I guarantee you, the Fuhrer will be pleased!

And.......
Lest I omit.........
10. No ruler of Egypt, Pharoah or Ptolemite, in alliance with Canaanites or alone, lambs or no lambs, milk or water, ever made a sucessful campaign against the kingdom of Judea. Solomon's Temple was breached once and only once, and that was by the Babylonians, who promptly looted it and burned it to the ground. The Ark of the Covenant was "lost" during the Babylonian siege, when a farsighted priest took it (and several other objects of religious value) and hid them away from harm in one of the labyrinthine underground tunnels and caves deep under the Temple mount. Build in the days of the Davidic dynasty, this endless warren served the priests and levites as shelters, storehouses, aquaducts, and means of escape in times of trouble; they were vast, uncounted, and quite unnavigable except to the trained priest, and now lie buried under the centuries in the heart of a maelstrom of jealousy and violence, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Putting the Lost Ark in Egypt was an amazingly inaccurate touch of Orientalism. And (sigh), I suupose, a reasonably good cinematic move. Who wants to see all the action enveloped in a hail of stone-throwing from the local devout? J

7. The U-26 submarine was completely outdated in 1936. And Electron may even be able to confirm that it was not a "Milk Cow" class.

According to uboat.net the real U-26 was a Ia class boat. It was commissioned a few months before the events of the movie (probably November 1936) and was sunk in 1940. Interestingly they used for the production the model of a VIIc class boat, in fact it was "Das Boot" itself and afaik they filmed some island scenes in the same French U-boat hangar used there.

OK. My bad source.

No problem. That was probably because many boat designation numbers were used at least twice or even three times - first for a boat in WWI, then for a boat in WWII and now for the recent boat.

It seems strange to me that Indy, Salah, and the boys were able to dig for the Well of Souls for hours on end, while remaining uninterrupted by the Nazis. Sure, there are lots of people digging all over the place, but I would think that nearby there would be someone directing things who would know that Indy's guys are not supposed to be there.

Speaking of the Well of Souls, it has a lot of snakes in it. Could so many snakes live together in such tight quarters? Would they have enough food?

Indy sure is lucky that the sub decided to remain on the surface and head for a nearby island instead of resuming and underwater course to a more populous German military base. What were they thinking? Kira Sharp

I heard that before nuclear subs were developed, submarines routinely stayed on or near the surface, because they were unable to remain submerged for extended periods. They would submerge in order to attack, and what not, but if stealth were not an issue, there would be no reason to leave the surface. I could be wrong, though, getting all my historical knowledge second-hand, as it were...

No Duke you are quite correct old diesal subs ran on the surface unless they were in a threat area most of the time. Although the German eventually developed the snorkal which let them stay just below the surface and still run their diesals. The other thing is a diesal sub goes faster on the surface than it does submerged, unlike a nuclear sub which goes faster underwater than on the surface, which makes the end of down periscope all the more ••••••. the only thing is if they stayed on the surface there would have been lookouts posted and normal watches plus other surface details working which indy couldn't have avoided.

The Marvel Comics adaptation of this film resolves the U-boat issue by having the submarine run at periscope depth for the trip to the island... Indy lashed himself to the periscope with his whip.
Realistic? Maybe not. But it does explain how he avoided detection.

By the way, if you look closely as the U-boat approaches the island, you can just make out a figure (Indy) moving around on the conning tower, as if trying to find a place to hide. I'm guessing he jumped into the water and clung to the U-boat's side as it docked. (It's been a few years since I've seen this film...were Indy's clothes wet when he knocked out the guard in order to steal the uniform?)

In an early draft of the script, Indy survived by clinging to the periscope the entire trip. The periscope submerges completely when the sub reaches the island so that it can enter an underwater cave. But Indy uses his jacket to create a pocket of air for him to breathe during this time.

Interesting...
I can see why the scene was cut, though. I suspect audiences may have thought the air bubble trick would have been stretching credibility a bit too far, even for this film. Of course, there would be terrible logistics in trying to film such a scene, too.

Please vist my page about the films.

I love the scene when Indy is in too much pain to get his shirt off and lay down. It showed how human he was in regards to having the day he had.
By the way, remember the Nazi that Ford threw out the window? He tried to do the same thing Indy did and ride under the truck, but was run over. Well, that Nazi was Terry Leonard ... who actually DID the riding-under-the-truck stunt for Harrison Ford! Ironic, isn't it?

By brother used to think it was Paul Hogan, but at the time he was still doing his Australian TV show.

Grab your whip & fedora!
The "Raiders" trilogy comes out on DVD Nov. 4!

Now let's just hope they release the full, unedited versions of all three in the UK.

Grab your whip & fedora!
The "Raiders" trilogy comes out on DVD Nov. 4!

Actually, two weeks before that, John. Like tomorrow!! All three films, in one boxed set, with a fourth DVD of extras (like Tom Selleck's screen test.) Unfortunately, the films won't be sold individually.

I guess they changed their minds on the release date.

They didn't want to compete with Nemo.

Is there going to be any kind of "double-dipping" with this set? I mean, in a couple months are they going to come out with the super-definitive-expanded edition? (Like they did with Lord of the Rings.)

And not warn us? That would just be mean.

Some Paramount marketing dweeb put the title on the Raiders DVD as "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark." I realize that was done for uniformity in the boxed set, but as that's not the title of the movie, it comes across a bit, shall I say, "pinheaded."

It's been like that for a few years now.

Oh, really? What is the title, then?

Or, do you mean that there was no "Indiana jones and the" in the original title?

Correct. The title is "Raiders of the Lost Ark".

In the DVD of "Raiders", you can NO LONGER see the glass that separates Harrison Ford (Indy) & the snakes! MAJOR KUDOS!

You noticed that, too, Lang? Cool! I was looking so closely for it, too. However, you can still see the ditch that Nazi truck is driving over when Ford's stunt double goes underneath the truck. I was half-expecting them to work some kinda movie magic to make that no longer obvious.

So far I've only watched this one but will watch the others tomorrow unless called in to work.

They have also kept the giant brick whose shadow bounces at the bottom of the screen (because it's made of foam, doncha know) when Indy and Marion escape the Well of Souls.

Well, tonight I learned something that was new to me from watching the DVD set: Pat Roach is the same guy who, in an admitted running gag from Lucas or Spielberg (I forget which), played the Giant Sherpa and 1st Mechanic in "Raiders", the Chief Guard in "Temple" and the Gestapo agent in "Last Crusade" (the one who runs with the Nazi general into the zeppelin looking for both Dr. Joneses, who are already on board.

Yes. And he also played General Kael in Willow.

During the fight in the Cairo souk (spelling?) between Marion and the knife wielding thug, the knife turns over in the thugs hand depending on the camera shot used.

Also, when the explosives truck turns over later, you can see the telegraph post they fired through the bottom of the truck to roll it.

And according to the credits, the guy who played the monkey's owner also had another role in the movie.

MAJOR NIT ALERT!
When Marion is alone in her bar, she holds up the necklace she's wearing. Suddenly, she's not wearing it anymore. Did she do a magician's trick and pull it through her neck?

I find the whole Biblical nit entirely plausible, as Hitler confidently believed that the Spear of Destiny would give him the power to rule Europe, despite not being a Christian. In the same way, the Nazis seem to have ignored the fact that the Ark only assisted the Israelites when they were being faithful to the LORD, and when the Philistines captured it it gave them cancer...somehow I think killing millions of Jews may not exactly ingratiate yourself with the LORD.

While Indy is in the Map Room and the sun shines through the Staff of Ra, the film shows a "close up" of some Egyptian buildings. At one point there is writing in red colored ink on one of the buildings. It may be in German but my copy of the film is a bit fuzzy so I cannot tell. It is either something that got past the editors or perhaps made by the Germans in the film to mark where they would start digging for the Ark.
The words were "Nicht hier" (not here), which was presumably placed there by the Germans responsible for using their staff copy to locate the Well of Souls.

2. There is no need for Indy to sneak into the dig in order to test his new staff and dicover the Ark's real position. If his staff is six fictional units long and theirs is seven, he should be able to take the distance of the position where they are digging, construct a similar triangle with identical angles, and calculate the exact amount of extra mileage to be subtracted. Then he can just measure out the correct distance along the same line that the Germans were using, and dig. Or were we too busy taking gymnastic lessons to study basic Euclidean geometry? - Kira Sharpe
Part of the map room was a calendar laid out on the floor. As Indy described it, the staff had to be placed at a certain calendar location at a certain time of day to get an accurate reading. In this case, simple geometry would not have helped him, as the Nazi's staff was not only too long, they used it on a differnt day and time.

6. Watch the commander in the truck that Indy runs up a cliff. He very clearly slips out of his fake-German and mouths "SH********T!"- Kira Sharpe
He might have been saying it in German- "Sheisse!!"

8. Indy sure is lucky that the sub decided to remain on the surface and head for a nearby island instead of resuming and underwater course to a more populous German military base. What were they thinking? - Kira Sharpe
WWII subs often ran on the surface and at periscope depth to maximize the efficiency of their engines and to keep fresh air circulating. They only dove deep to avoid other warships in the area.

Back than subs were powered by dissel fuel and had to spend most of the time on the surface whenever the engines were on (because they need lots of fresh air to burn fuel.) They charged batteries to run under water, which would only last for a few hours at best, meaning they only dived for attack.

And at that point war hadn't been declared, so there was probably no reason whatsoever to dive while en route to the island.

The camera adds at least 2 feet.

When Indy and Omar are having the headpiece of the staff read, the old man says the staff should be 6 kaddam, which Omar identifies as about 72 inches, which means a kaddam must be about 1 foot, then he says take back one kaddam, so the total length of the staff is about 5 feet. However, later on, when we see indy with the staff, the staff is a lot taller than he is, it's at least a foot over his head. This must mean that indy actually very short.

Special Edition DVDs are out today. Only four and a half years after the original DVD release. The price is right (Shop-Rite is selling the first three "Indy" films for $9.99 each.) But, is there any real difference between the "Special" and original editions? From what I hear, any differences are minimal.

"Throw me the idol. I'll throw you the whip."

Yeah, Adam, Belloq shoots first in the "Special Edition".

Can someone list all the actors in all the Indy movies and who they played?

I recommend the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com).

Indy Jones vs. Han Solo

There are major similiarities between the two characters.

(Besides both being played by Harrison Ford)

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Indy does not believe in the power of the Ark

Han does not believe in the power of the Force

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Indy knows how to drive all types of vehicles

Han can pilot any type of ship

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Indy is not afraid of a good fight

Han is not afraid of a good fight

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Indy gets betrayed by one of his friends

Han gets betrayed by one of his friends

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Indy went up against an evil empire

Han went up against an evil empire

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In the end, Indy gets the girl

In the end, Han gets the girl

In the end, Indy gets the girl

In the end, Han gets the girl

Yeah, but watch Indy 4 (or any other incarnation of Indy) and you realize that "Indy gets the girl" ... but only for a small period of time. Indy is a dead-end as far as "true-love" is concerned, unless you count Indy 4 and his rekindling with Marion - but then, without Indy 5 we'll never know.

Han Solo, on the other hand, is gah-gah for Leia from the start, and has no other target but her.

Han Solo, on the other hand, is gah-gah for Leia from the start, and has no other target but her.

Well, if we are being fair Leia was the only woman Han had anything to do with in the films. Off the top of my head only five women have anything to say in the original films, and only two of them talk around Han; Leia and Mon Mothma.

Wow. You can now read a 125-page transcript of the original 1978 story conference between Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Lawrence Kasdan in which they hashed out the plot and character details. Cool.

Here's a cool photo gallery from the New York Daily News, in celebration of this movie's 30th anniversary. The article states that George Lucas had no interest in directing again; that would eventually change.

In the opening sequence, Indy is seen walking through the south american jungle accompanied by a sizable group of men, with lots of equipment carried by donkeys. Later, as Indy runs from the natives trying to kill him, he goes straight to a river where an hydroplane is conveniently waiting for him.

Why was the plane there? It sure is not big enough have ferried everybody and their equipment. And if the temple with the idol is just a short running distance from that river, why bother bringing all the men and the donkeys? Just fly to the river, walk to the temple, fetch the idol, go back to the plane and leave. No need to bring all those shady characters along and risk being betrayed by them.

Also, to escape the natives and reach the plane, Indy has to jump in the river and swim to it. Yet, after he climbs aboard and gets to his seat, his clothes, hair and skin are perfectly dry.

In the map room, as Indy is waiting for the sun to reveal the location of the ark, you can hear a low rumbling sound as sunlight creeps across the room's floor.

The map room has a vaulted ceiling. I may be wrong about this, but I don't think the Egyptians of the time knew about vaults and arches. Their architecture used flat ceilings supported by straight wood or stone beams.

I can't remember where, but I read that the 'Guy avoids a sword fight by shooting the guy with the sword' scene had appeared in an earlier film.

filmed - but cut - for 1941 with Christopher Lee

Not only was the Nazi's staff too long, but so was Indy's.

The old man said that the staff was 6 kadans in height, at which point Indy says "72 inches", and then they are to remove one kadan. So it should be about 5 kadans (or 60 inches -- 5 feet) tall.

Yet Indy's staff is AT least a foot taller than he is. Harrison Ford is 6'1". Therefore the staff is at least 7 feet tall, and is WAAAAAAAY too long to point to the right place.

When Indy is in the map room, the first thing he does is brush away the sand covering the calendar on the floor, so he can read the symbols telling him where to put his staff. However, Belloq was there the day before for the same reason, so shouldn't the sand already have been cleared off of that stone slab?

The holes on the calendar, presumably one for each day of the year, are arrayed in a regular rectangular grid pattern. But the way the sun moves in the sky, they should have been arrayed on a long figure eight curve instead, the analemma shape familiar to anyone using the Sun to mark time.

The truck where Indy thinks Marion has been killed was full of explosives and ammunition. It should have killed Indy and easily leveled a couple of city blocks when it exploded.

Patrick Troughton playing Indy is a fun thought. Especially how Troughton would've played the shooting the swordsman.

After coming out of the map room, Indy walks through the camp trying to go unnoticed by the germans. At one point, he ducks into a tent to avoid detection, where he finds Marion tied up and gagged. She is a valuable prisonner to the germans, shouldn't the tent have had guards posted and have had restricted access?

Indy and Salah are superhuman. From its depicted dimensions, I estimate that the stone lid covering the Ark in the Well of Souls weighs around two metric tons, at least. This means each man would have had to handle one metric ton. Yet, they are able to lift the lid and push it away using only their own strenth.

Another entry in the "Bullsh*t Or Not!" department: According to this, Steve Martin turned down the role of Indy, to make Pennies From Heaven. Also, Bill Murray and Chevy Chase were considered as well.

Steve Martin turned down the role of Indy, to make Pennies From Heaven. Also, Bill Murray and Chevy Chase were considered as well.

So, once again, Ford beats Chevy.

Groan

One of the places that Indy briefly visits, during the map trace thing, is St. Johns, Newfoundland.

That had led a few Canadian viewers to say that, "Hey, he was here in Canada."

I'm afraid he wasn't. This movie is set in 1936, while Newfoundland didn't become part of Canada until 1949.

Indy must have thought Belloq was in Canada.

I always took those to be fuel stops, since planes of that era didn't reach as far as they do now. Just long enough to stretch and get back in the air.

At the time this movie was set, 1936, Egypt was under British control. There is no way that the Nazis would have been allowed to come up and start digging around the way they did in this movie.

Remember how in the episode of
The Big Bang Theory
"The Raiders Minimization" which aired on October 10, 2013
Sheldon and Amy debated what role if any Indiana Jones had in
Raiders of the Lost Ark , who was
Right, Sheldon or Amy ?

Jeff, your above post belongs in The Big Bang Theory thread, not here.