"Twenty-Five Reasons to Watch Raiders Again"
- Thread starter Goodsport
- Start date
roundshort
Active member
IndyJohan said:
Yeah . . but still fun to read. I didn't know the thing about R2-D2's head as a light fixture!
From the web archives.
Twenty-Five Reasons to Watch Raiders Again
June 12, 2006
Exactly 25 years ago today, audiences were thrown headlong into what has become the most celebrated adventure movie serial of all time. To commemorate Raiders of the Lost Ark's 25th anniversary, indianajones.com has collected 25 little-known facts for you to share with friends while watching the movie that redefined the action-adventure genre we know today:
1. Learned scholar Indiana Jones knows a lot about the Chachapoyan culture, but he seems to have trouble judging the weight of gold. If the idol was supposed to be solid gold, you would think he'd be a bit more generous with the amount of sand he put in the sack that was to serve as its counterweight. There are a few untold facts that absolve Indy of bad weight estimates -- originally, the golden fertility idol was to have moving eyes that followed his hopscotch approach to its altar. This would suggest inner clockwork mechanisms that meant the idol had to be hollow. However, the moving eye gag was cut from the film, despite the fact a motorized prop was prepared for the scene.
2. One fabled scene cut from Raiders featured a German soldier ordered to execute Sallah after the expert digger had splashed water on him. The soldier, played by a young German tourist who was enlisted ad hoc on location, did actually appear in the final film. He's shown eating among the Nazis at the Tanis dig site and is also the soldier who calls Sallah off the hill above the map room.
3. A well-publicized image of Marion about to kiss Indy in the Raven bar is actually from a scene cut from the film. The kiss was likely removed to maintain a measure of sexual tension between the two characters.
4. When Indy is grieving the loss of Marion at the Marhala bar, look carefully in the background on the left hand side of the screen. An extra, wearing some rather anachronistically modern t-shirt and jeans, walks towards camera.
5. There must be something about the Marhala bar that attracts distracting extras. As Indy sits down to talk with Belloq (and says the line, "These Arabs don't care if we kill each other...") on the right hand side of the screen is a rather animated extra resting his elbows on two flanking compatriots, vigorously chatting with his buds. As is often the case with background extras, he's not actually saying anything -- he's just moving his lips.
6. The Well of Souls set was the first to be built on the Elstree stage after being ravaged by fire during Stanley Kubrick's The Shining shoot (which incidentally caused filming delays for The Empire Strikes Back).
7. When Indy and Marion emerge from the Well of Souls and make their way to the airstrip, a distant shot reveals an unconscious Arab worker slumped against the wall. This is a residual trace of a cut scene where the superstitious worker was to faint upon seeing Indy and Marion emerge from the fabled tomb.
8. Many know that Magnum P.I.'s Tom Selleck was originally the favorite to play Indiana Jones, and that an eleventh-hour pick up of the Hawaiian private detective series prevented him from taking the role. But, did you know that a Hollywood actors' strike occurred just as Raiders' shooting began, essentially freeing up Selleck's schedule so he could have portrayed the action adventurer after all?
9. ILM effects legend Dennis Muren portrays the Nazi spy seen eyeing Indy from behind a Life magazine aboard the Pan Am clipper.
10. The Life magazine that Muren reads is only the second issue of the series. On the cover is a photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt of a West Point Cadet. The back cover has a Stetson Hats advertisement. The cover date for this issue is November 30, 1936, which suggests a date placement for the movie... however, this date is difficult to reconcile with the warm weather shown in Connecticut and Washington D.C. elsewhere in the movie.
11. Other cues that the timeline in Indy's world is slightly different from history is a rather complete looking Golden Gate Bridge, which did not see completion until 1937. However, by November of 1936, enough of it was built to match what is seen in the film. The more problematic issue with the shot of the bridge is that careful inspection reveals that the Pan-Am Clipper is flying east, toward the Bay, and not west, as the superimposed map shows. Bay Area residents will tell you that the presence of Fort Point on the right hand side of the screen and the Marin Headlands on the left means the plane is eastbound.
12. Sallah's memorable line to Indy after spying the deadly asps in the Well of Souls -- "You go first" -- does not appear in the script's fifth and final draft, making it a likely on-set improvisation.
13. Raiders producer Frank Marshall portrayed the Flying Wing pilot who was knocked out by Marion with a pair of chocks.
14. To tip the German munitions truck over during the climax of the basket chase, the special effects crew rigged a thick pole to launch upward and knock the truck off its tires. As the truck wobbles and falls over, you can see the pole jutting out from the underside, just in front of its rear tires.
15. Though many viewers believe actor Paul Freeman (Belloq) swallowed a fly during the standoff in the canyon, as he mutters about Indy's persistence, the image clarity of the DVD release proved otherwise. You can see the fly land on Dietrich's lapel, who is standing just behind Belloq.
16. The biblical artwork of the Hebrews carrying the Ark of the Covenant in the film was illustrated by none other than famed Star Wars concept artist Ralph McQuarrie.
17. The late Michael Sheard, the actor known to Star Wars fans as Admiral Ozzel in The Empire Strikes Back and to Indy fans as Hitler in The Last Crusade originally had a brief role in Raiders. He was to be captain of the Wurffler, the Nazi U-boat that stops the Bantu Wind steamer. Though his role was cut, he can still be seen atop the conning tower when the submarine is docked at the island, and Belloq and Dietrich discuss the upcoming Ark ceremony.
18. According to dialog spoken in the film, the staff Indy uses to uncover the location of the Well of Souls should measure five feet high. However, the staff appears to measure closer to seven feet (unless we assume Indy is four feet tall!). The discrepancy was allegedly caused by two lines changed in post-production which allowed for a change to the map room topography but also caused the staff to appear too tall (more on this subject will be explored in the coming months at indianajones.com).
19. As the Monkey Man sneaks into the Imam's kitchen to add lethal seasoning to a platter of dates, a peculiar movement suggests that his eye-patch may not be a hundred percent genuine. The stealthy assassin peers over his shoulder to see if he was followed -- but his glance leads with his eye-patch side, when it would be more likely he would look over his shoulder with his good eye.
20. As Ben Burtt was sound designer for both the Star Wars and Indiana Jones series, the same source material can often be heard in both trilogies. Star Wars fans know that the dreaded Tusken Raiders from Tatooine were actually voiced by ill-tempered donkeys, but it becomes very apparent to the ear when Indy runs past a pack-donkey while being chased by the Hovitos. Listen carefully.
21. The film's sadistic Nazi agent, Toht, is never actually mentioned by name in Raiders. According to the novel, the sinister interrogator's first name is... Arnold.
22. Pat Roach, the actor who portrayed the shirtless Nazi mechanic who confronts Indy on the Flying Wing airstrip, also played the giant Sherpa who battles Indy in the Raven bar, Mola Ram's chief guard in Temple of Doom, and a briefly seen Gestapo agent in The Last Crusade. He's not the only Indy "utility villain" seen in Raiders. Vic Tablian plays both Barranca and Monkey Man, and would return to harass Indy as Demetrious a.k.a. Claw in the pilot episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.
23. A popular rumor among Lucasfilm fans is that the light fixture dangling above the stake to which Indy and Marion are tied during the opening of the Ark is actually a spare R2-D2 head. R2-D2 Operator and former Lucasfilm Archivist Don Bies, though, shoots some holes in that theory by pointing out the holes in the dome -- the number of openings in the dome is not consistent with the number of openings found at the top of R2-D2's head.
24. There's no meaner villain than one who is cruel to a dog, even an off-screen one. As the Nazi staff car comes to a stop in the Cairo roundabout in front of Omar's garage, it is surrounded by a swarm of merchants trying to sell the surly villains some wares. Among the crowd chatter, we can hear a barking dog. Dietrich, losing patience, grabs a melon and hurls it at the off-screen canine, which we then hear squeal.
25. In early edits of the film, the story was essentially to end in the Washington D.C. conference room, as a frustrated Indy and Brody try to ferret out details as to the Ark's location from taciturn capitol bureaucrats. This scene would then cut to the iconic shot of the mysterious warehouse. However, when it was realized that closure was needed for the character of Marion Ravenwood, a late revision and addition created the scene on the Washington steps between Indy and Marion. The classical architecture in the background actually belongs to San Francisco's city hall, and the extras shuffling up and down the steps are ILM and Lucasfilm employees in period clothes.
Twenty-Five Reasons to Watch Raiders Again
June 12, 2006
Exactly 25 years ago today, audiences were thrown headlong into what has become the most celebrated adventure movie serial of all time. To commemorate Raiders of the Lost Ark's 25th anniversary, indianajones.com has collected 25 little-known facts for you to share with friends while watching the movie that redefined the action-adventure genre we know today:
1. Learned scholar Indiana Jones knows a lot about the Chachapoyan culture, but he seems to have trouble judging the weight of gold. If the idol was supposed to be solid gold, you would think he'd be a bit more generous with the amount of sand he put in the sack that was to serve as its counterweight. There are a few untold facts that absolve Indy of bad weight estimates -- originally, the golden fertility idol was to have moving eyes that followed his hopscotch approach to its altar. This would suggest inner clockwork mechanisms that meant the idol had to be hollow. However, the moving eye gag was cut from the film, despite the fact a motorized prop was prepared for the scene.
2. One fabled scene cut from Raiders featured a German soldier ordered to execute Sallah after the expert digger had splashed water on him. The soldier, played by a young German tourist who was enlisted ad hoc on location, did actually appear in the final film. He's shown eating among the Nazis at the Tanis dig site and is also the soldier who calls Sallah off the hill above the map room.
3. A well-publicized image of Marion about to kiss Indy in the Raven bar is actually from a scene cut from the film. The kiss was likely removed to maintain a measure of sexual tension between the two characters.
4. When Indy is grieving the loss of Marion at the Marhala bar, look carefully in the background on the left hand side of the screen. An extra, wearing some rather anachronistically modern t-shirt and jeans, walks towards camera.
5. There must be something about the Marhala bar that attracts distracting extras. As Indy sits down to talk with Belloq (and says the line, "These Arabs don't care if we kill each other...") on the right hand side of the screen is a rather animated extra resting his elbows on two flanking compatriots, vigorously chatting with his buds. As is often the case with background extras, he's not actually saying anything -- he's just moving his lips.
6. The Well of Souls set was the first to be built on the Elstree stage after being ravaged by fire during Stanley Kubrick's The Shining shoot (which incidentally caused filming delays for The Empire Strikes Back).
7. When Indy and Marion emerge from the Well of Souls and make their way to the airstrip, a distant shot reveals an unconscious Arab worker slumped against the wall. This is a residual trace of a cut scene where the superstitious worker was to faint upon seeing Indy and Marion emerge from the fabled tomb.
8. Many know that Magnum P.I.'s Tom Selleck was originally the favorite to play Indiana Jones, and that an eleventh-hour pick up of the Hawaiian private detective series prevented him from taking the role. But, did you know that a Hollywood actors' strike occurred just as Raiders' shooting began, essentially freeing up Selleck's schedule so he could have portrayed the action adventurer after all?
9. ILM effects legend Dennis Muren portrays the Nazi spy seen eyeing Indy from behind a Life magazine aboard the Pan Am clipper.
10. The Life magazine that Muren reads is only the second issue of the series. On the cover is a photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt of a West Point Cadet. The back cover has a Stetson Hats advertisement. The cover date for this issue is November 30, 1936, which suggests a date placement for the movie... however, this date is difficult to reconcile with the warm weather shown in Connecticut and Washington D.C. elsewhere in the movie.
11. Other cues that the timeline in Indy's world is slightly different from history is a rather complete looking Golden Gate Bridge, which did not see completion until 1937. However, by November of 1936, enough of it was built to match what is seen in the film. The more problematic issue with the shot of the bridge is that careful inspection reveals that the Pan-Am Clipper is flying east, toward the Bay, and not west, as the superimposed map shows. Bay Area residents will tell you that the presence of Fort Point on the right hand side of the screen and the Marin Headlands on the left means the plane is eastbound.
12. Sallah's memorable line to Indy after spying the deadly asps in the Well of Souls -- "You go first" -- does not appear in the script's fifth and final draft, making it a likely on-set improvisation.
13. Raiders producer Frank Marshall portrayed the Flying Wing pilot who was knocked out by Marion with a pair of chocks.
14. To tip the German munitions truck over during the climax of the basket chase, the special effects crew rigged a thick pole to launch upward and knock the truck off its tires. As the truck wobbles and falls over, you can see the pole jutting out from the underside, just in front of its rear tires.
15. Though many viewers believe actor Paul Freeman (Belloq) swallowed a fly during the standoff in the canyon, as he mutters about Indy's persistence, the image clarity of the DVD release proved otherwise. You can see the fly land on Dietrich's lapel, who is standing just behind Belloq.
16. The biblical artwork of the Hebrews carrying the Ark of the Covenant in the film was illustrated by none other than famed Star Wars concept artist Ralph McQuarrie.
17. The late Michael Sheard, the actor known to Star Wars fans as Admiral Ozzel in The Empire Strikes Back and to Indy fans as Hitler in The Last Crusade originally had a brief role in Raiders. He was to be captain of the Wurffler, the Nazi U-boat that stops the Bantu Wind steamer. Though his role was cut, he can still be seen atop the conning tower when the submarine is docked at the island, and Belloq and Dietrich discuss the upcoming Ark ceremony.
18. According to dialog spoken in the film, the staff Indy uses to uncover the location of the Well of Souls should measure five feet high. However, the staff appears to measure closer to seven feet (unless we assume Indy is four feet tall!). The discrepancy was allegedly caused by two lines changed in post-production which allowed for a change to the map room topography but also caused the staff to appear too tall (more on this subject will be explored in the coming months at indianajones.com).
19. As the Monkey Man sneaks into the Imam's kitchen to add lethal seasoning to a platter of dates, a peculiar movement suggests that his eye-patch may not be a hundred percent genuine. The stealthy assassin peers over his shoulder to see if he was followed -- but his glance leads with his eye-patch side, when it would be more likely he would look over his shoulder with his good eye.
20. As Ben Burtt was sound designer for both the Star Wars and Indiana Jones series, the same source material can often be heard in both trilogies. Star Wars fans know that the dreaded Tusken Raiders from Tatooine were actually voiced by ill-tempered donkeys, but it becomes very apparent to the ear when Indy runs past a pack-donkey while being chased by the Hovitos. Listen carefully.
21. The film's sadistic Nazi agent, Toht, is never actually mentioned by name in Raiders. According to the novel, the sinister interrogator's first name is... Arnold.
22. Pat Roach, the actor who portrayed the shirtless Nazi mechanic who confronts Indy on the Flying Wing airstrip, also played the giant Sherpa who battles Indy in the Raven bar, Mola Ram's chief guard in Temple of Doom, and a briefly seen Gestapo agent in The Last Crusade. He's not the only Indy "utility villain" seen in Raiders. Vic Tablian plays both Barranca and Monkey Man, and would return to harass Indy as Demetrious a.k.a. Claw in the pilot episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.
23. A popular rumor among Lucasfilm fans is that the light fixture dangling above the stake to which Indy and Marion are tied during the opening of the Ark is actually a spare R2-D2 head. R2-D2 Operator and former Lucasfilm Archivist Don Bies, though, shoots some holes in that theory by pointing out the holes in the dome -- the number of openings in the dome is not consistent with the number of openings found at the top of R2-D2's head.
24. There's no meaner villain than one who is cruel to a dog, even an off-screen one. As the Nazi staff car comes to a stop in the Cairo roundabout in front of Omar's garage, it is surrounded by a swarm of merchants trying to sell the surly villains some wares. Among the crowd chatter, we can hear a barking dog. Dietrich, losing patience, grabs a melon and hurls it at the off-screen canine, which we then hear squeal.
25. In early edits of the film, the story was essentially to end in the Washington D.C. conference room, as a frustrated Indy and Brody try to ferret out details as to the Ark's location from taciturn capitol bureaucrats. This scene would then cut to the iconic shot of the mysterious warehouse. However, when it was realized that closure was needed for the character of Marion Ravenwood, a late revision and addition created the scene on the Washington steps between Indy and Marion. The classical architecture in the background actually belongs to San Francisco's city hall, and the extras shuffling up and down the steps are ILM and Lucasfilm employees in period clothes.
ResidentAlien
Guest
"Vic Tablian plays both Barranca and Monkey Man, and would return to harass Indy as Demetrious a.k.a. Claw in the pilot episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles."
....I never knew that. Awesome!
....I never knew that. Awesome!
