Raiders of the Lost Archives: A Shot-by-Shot Comparison

Stoo

Well-known member
Here?s an entirely different way to watch the first 13 minutes of ?Raiders of the Lost Ark?, the opening sequence which blew me away in 1981 and continues to do the same today. Behold a shot-by-shot comparison of ?Raiders? vs. an assortment of various adventure flicks. This took me 2 DECADES to assemble but it?s finally finished! A labour of love...

30 films were used. Who can name them all? Since the shots of the Paramount logo would be impossible to determine, I?ll begin by saying that they are Rudyard Kipling?s, ?The Light That Failed? and the great, ?Secret of the Incas?. (So there?s 2 out of 30 for ya.;))

Raiders of the Lost Archives

Some sequences from the other Indy movies are possible to duplicate using old clips and I plan on doing some more in the future. In this one, there are a few, tiny glitches here & there but I grew tired of tinkering and let them be...Enjoy (and be sure to watch it fullscreen)!:D
 

Goodeknight

New member
Stoo! Absolutely incredible.

I can see it truly was a labor of love.

My favorite clips are those where the dialogue seems to match up.

Amazing work. Thanks so much for sharing this!

Spielberg and Lucas would certainly enjoy it. I hope they get a chance to see it. It captures exactly what they wanted to capture.
 

Lance Quazar

Well-known member
Wow, this is REMARKABLE.

Please list the movies! I'd like to see some of these jungle adventure films from days gone by.
 

lao che & sons

New member
Wonderful. Absolutley wonderful. I've got treasure of the incas as one of the films used. But I can't even guess the others(y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y) (y)
 

James Byrne

New member
Tremendous Stoo!!!

Stoo,
I thought it was amazing. What a really wonderful 13 minutes of pure nostalgic entertainment. Its safe to say that Charlton Heston is the real precursor to Indiana Jones, with great clips from SECRET OF THE INCAS and THE NAKED JUNGLE. I looked and looked for John Wayne .... and thought I may have glimpsed him as one of the pilots towards the end ... but I may be wrong.
It was well worth the wait Stoo, a tremendous acheivement. Thanks for posting it.
 

AnnieJones

New member
Wow Stoo! You really went all out! I loved it!(y)
Kind of reminds me of these videos.

"Premakes" Raiders of the Lost Ark (1951)... A frame by frame breakdown
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eE9-FcJnQGA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eE9-FcJnQGA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

"Premakes" Raiders of the Lost Ark (1951)
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GUPDuQq9GsM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GUPDuQq9GsM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
 
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Dr Bones

New member
Really great job.

I really enjoyed watching it.

It was a bit freaky how some were almost identical....

Worth watching over again to see what I missed It really draws you to watch side to side as the original is so great but the clips you found are so interesting.

Ver well done.

(y) (y) (y) :hat:
 

Ska

New member
Wow, Stoo!

Even though I shouldn't be surprised at how good the "compilation" is (seeing as you did it), it still amazed me.

I can see how that took years to accomplish. But the end result is great and really payed off.

Now I want to go home and watch some of the old adventure movies on my shelf!
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Thanks so much to everyone for all your comments. They are much appreciated. Glad you enjoyed it!:D

@Montana: Glad you like it, Matt.

@goodeknight: Thanks for your kind words. Yes, I would love it if George or Stevie ended up having a glimpse.

@indyclone: Thanks, Mark. I know what you mean about "the magic" in Raiders.(y)

@Indy?s brother: Thanks, bro'. The Belloq part could have been better but I was tired of working on it and needed to clear some space on my computer. I?m still not enitrely happy with the final thing...maybe I'll do a re-dux for the 2-part YouTube version!

@Lance: I will eventually post all the titles but would like to have a little contest*** first!;) Thanks, all the same, Lance.

@lao che & sons: Hi, Lao. Thanks but it's ?SECRET of the Incas? not ?TREASURE?!;):whip:

@Inexorable Tash: My man, Tash! Thanks a lot, bud.

@Annie: Glad you liked it, Annie. Yes, the thread about those videos was the main impetus to finish mine. Chuck Heston is Indiana Jones

@Dr Bones: There are numerous identical shots which remain untouched but, to be honest, there are many which have been flipped, cropped, darkened, slowed down, de-colourized or run backwards for a better match. (I cheated a little bit.:eek:) Glad you enjoyed it enough to watch it again.

@Ska: Was hoping you?d see this thread, Ska. If there?s anyone out there who can figure out what the films are, it should be you! Appreciate your compliments. As you well know, collecting the films takes many years. I started pulling stuff together on the computer in August 2007 so had been editing it on & off in my spare time for 2 ½ years. On deck...the TRUCK CHASE!

...and finally to Mr. Secret of the Incas, himself, James of http://www.secretoftheincas.co.uk/
James Byrne said:
I thought it was amazing. What a really wonderful 13 minutes of pure nostalgic entertainment. Its safe to say that Charlton Heston is the real precursor to Indiana Jones, with great clips from SECRET OF THE INCAS and THE NAKED JUNGLE. I looked and looked for John Wayne .... and thought I may have glimpsed him as one of the pilots towards the end ... but I may be wrong.
It was well worth the wait Stoo, a tremendous acheivement. Thanks for posting it.
Thanks for your kind words, my friend. It would be my honour to have a link to it through your equally amazing website. Or I could send you the original file.

My collection of early Indy-type films started in the ?80s but it wasn?t until the early ?90s, after recording ?Incas? on TV, that I realized a shot-by-shot retelling would actually be possible. I had made really, crude versions on VHS but in the digital age of non-linear editing, it was possible to finally bring my plan to fruition. Anyway, I really appreciate the fact you felt it was a 'tremendous achievment'. Thank you very much.:hat:

Re: John Wayne?DING DING! You found him! Good eye, James! He is also in 2 other scenes which I forgot about. The Duke can be briefly seen running from the boulder at 9:45 and leaving the mouth of the cave at 9:52.

***A prize of 100 Swiss Francs (roughly $100) to whoever can name all the films!:D
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
Stoo said:
On deck...the TRUCK CHASE!
Finally got to view it. Amazing! You have to have had an eye for those shots all these decades. I don't know how you managed every last one.
 

Mickiana

Well-known member
That was great. I loved how the dialogue from Raiders almost fitted the mouth movements of the comparison shots. Just brilliant. It goes to show plagiarism is only a legal term. In art it's necessary.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
Tohtally Indy said:
Just FANTASTIC!!!
Thanks for sharing!(y)
Thanks for coming out of lurkdom to say that! Cool username, by the way.:)
Mickiana said:
That was great. I loved how the dialogue from Raiders almost fitted the mouth movements of the comparison shots. Just brilliant. It goes to show plagiarism is only a legal term. In art it's necessary.
Thanks, Mickiana. Glad you enjoyed it. I may just actually work on improving the lip-sync.
Moedred said:
Finally got to view it. Amazing! You have to have had an eye for those shots all these decades. I don't know how you managed every last one.
Very pleased to hear from you, Moedred. Call me crazy but I sketched out every frame (+250:eek:) and also did the same for the truck chase. Took me a looooong time...

RaidersArchives_1_Sketch1.jpg

RaidersArchives_1_Sketch2.jpg

RaidersArchives_1_Sketch3.jpg

RaidersArchives_1_Sketch4.jpg

RaidersArchives_1_Sketch5.jpg

RaidersArchives_1_Sketch6.jpg
 

Yure

Well-known member
That is an INCREDIBLE work. Congrats!
Do I detect more than a couple of shots from 33's King Kong?
 

Stoo

Well-known member
4 Down - 26 To Go

Grazie, Yure!:) I've been to Italy 6 times but have never visited Naples.:( Been close, though...POMPEI!(y)

Glad you liked it and you are indeed correct. Shots from "King Kong" were included. I had other options for some of the clips used in the jungle run but the "Kong" stuff was far superior since it's one of the greatest adventure movies ever made. Here's the breakdown:

00:45-00:49 men walking away from camera into jungle
00:52-00:53 Robert Armstrong walking away from camera into fog
01:20-01:22 long, side shot of men trekking through jungle
02:10-02:11 men approching riverbank
08:39-08:42 "Throw me the idol!" Bruce Cabot
08:43-08:44 "No time to argue!" Bruce Cabot (CROPPED)
08:56-08:58 Bruce Cabot climbing up chasm cliff
09:16-09:17 Bruce Cabot climbing over chasm edge (FLIPPED/MIRRORED)
11:23-11:26 2 shots of Bruce Cabot running through jungle (1st dissolves from a thicket of bamboo in another film.;))
11:52-11:54 Robert Armstrong running away from camera into jungle

Thanks to Yure, that's the 4th title out of 30 (I think it's actually 32:eek:). C'mon guys & gals, can you pick out the flicks?:whip:
"The Light That Failed" (1939)
"Secret of the Incas" (1954)
"The Naked Jungle" (1954)
"King Kong" (1933)
 

James Byrne

New member
"...and finally to Mr. Secret of the Incas, himself, James of http://www.secretoftheincas.co.uk/
Thanks for your kind words, my friend. It would be my honour to have a link to it through your equally amazing website. Or I could send you the original file.

My collection of early Indy-type films started in the ?80s but it wasn?t until the early ?90s, after recording ?Incas? on TV, that I realized a shot-by-shot retelling would actually be possible. I had made really, crude versions on VHS but in the digital age of non-linear editing, it was possible to finally bring my plan to fruition. Anyway, I really appreciate the fact you felt it was a 'tremendous achievment'. Thank you very much.:hat:

Re: John Wayne?DING DING! You found him! Good eye, James! He is also in 2 other scenes which I forgot about. The Duke can be briefly seen running from the boulder at 9:45 and leaving the mouth of the cave at 9:52."

Hi Stoo
I would be honoured to link your great work to my site ... if I only could!!
Unfortunately, after the computer crashed, everything has been lost, and the site will be rebuilt from scratch in a month or so. As soon as the new site is up and running, the first thing that goes on the links page will be your little masterpiece. A colleague from work is rebuilding the site, and he has told me that you can reach him at -

phish451@hotmail.com

for the original file.

ps. The John Wayne clip is from THE THREE MUSKETEERS serial, isn't it, Stoo?
 
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