Raiders of the Lost Ark
Short description
Raiders of the Lost Ark follows Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, a college archaeology professor who also works as a globe-trotting treasure hunter. In 1936, after a failed expedition in South America, United States government agents hand him a mission: find the Ark of the Covenant, the ancient chest said to have held the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, before Nazi Germany can claim it. The legends hold that whoever possesses the Ark commands absolute power, so Jones races agents of the Third Reich across several continents to reach it first, with the French archaeologist René Belloq working against him. He is joined in the search by Marion Ravenwood, an old acquaintance he encounters in Nepal, and by the Egyptian excavator Sallah.
The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, released in June 1981, and written by Lawrence Kasdan, with Frank Marshall producing. It was Spielberg's eighth feature as director, following 1941 and preceding E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Harrison Ford plays Jones, Karen Allen plays Marion, and Paul Freeman plays Belloq, among a credited cast of fifty-one; the credited crew numbered 198.
Making the film cost about 18 million dollars, and it took roughly 390 million dollars worldwide, a return far beyond its production outlay, indicating a major commercial success. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.9 out of 10 from 14,006 votes, while the film critics' rating stands at 9.4 out of 10 from 157 reviews, notably higher than the audience score.
What's left behind the scenes
- In the script, the main character's name is Indiana Smith. He received the surname Jones on the first day of filming.
- In the list of the 100 best American films of the 20th century compiled by the American Film Institute, this film ranked 60th.
- The film’s producer, Frank Marshall, plays the role of the pilot, and Marion tries to hit him.
- In the scene where Indiana Jones runs from the giant stone, Harrison Ford worked without a stunt double. The ball was made of fiberglass and weighed about 100 kilograms.
- In the set of "Well of Souls", if you look closely at the wall painted with hieroglyphs behind the Ark of the Covenant, you can see that two robots – C3PO and R2D2 – are depicted among the "ancient writing". Smaller images of them are also present on the altar supporting the Ark.
- Thailand appears on the map of Indy's flight from the USA to Nepal. But until 1949, this country was called "Siam".
- When Indy threatens to destroy the Ark, he is holding a grenade launcher similar to the RPG-7, which was adopted by the USSR only in 1961.
- On the globe in Dr. Jones' classroom, Africa is depicted with countries that did not exist in 1936.
- Egypt was controlled by Great Britain in 1936. Therefore, the Nazis could not have carried out such a large-scale military operation as depicted in the film.
- The route of Indy's first flight is as follows: Los Angeles, USA — Hawaii — Wake Island — Manila, Philippines — Nepal. The final leg is too long – in 1936, no aircraft could have made such a flight without refueling.
- The events of the film take place in 1936, however, the Nazis and their mercenaries use MP-40 submachine guns and Walther P-38 pistols, while this weaponry did not enter service with the Wehrmacht until 1938 at the earliest.
- The idea for the film came to George Lucas and Steven Spielberg while on vacation in Hawaii. They were building a sandcastle on the beach and suddenly decided to make an adventure film based on the television series of the 1940s. They eventually began working on the script together with Lawrence Kasdan.
- During the preparation for filming the scene in the Well of Souls, the filmmakers bought all the snakes available in pet stores in London and Southern England. Nevertheless, Spielberg still didn't have enough snakes, so they had to make imitations out of hoses. If you look closely, you can see which snakes are real and which are fake.
- During filming in Tunisia, almost all the actors and crew members fell ill, with the exception of Steven Spielberg, who, unlike others, only ate what he had brought with him (mainly canned spaghetti).
- Jock's plane registration number is OB-CPO. These designations use the names of characters from "Star Wars": Obi-Wan and C-3PO.
- The film contains a reference to Spielberg's first film, "Duel" (1971). In the scene where Indiana looks in the rearview mirror at the Nazi truck driving behind him, it appears there is no driver.
- The episode in which the monkey raises its paw and says "Heil Hitler" in its own language was conceived by George Lucas.
- The scene in Cairo, where Indiana shoots a revolver at an Arab wielding a saber, was initially conceived as a complexly staged duel in which Jones, using a whip as a weapon, was to fight a man ready to strike him with a saber. Harrison Ford, suffering from dysentery at the time after three months of filming in Tunisia, was unable to film this physically demanding episode for another three days. Therefore, he suggested a shorter and simpler version. Some sources claim this was Spielberg's idea.
- The scene in which Indiana Jones attempts to blow up the Ark by firing a grenade launcher was filmed in Tunisia, in the same canyon where scenes from 'Star Wars' (1977) were shot.
- The state of Iran appears on a map of a single flight. However, although this name became official in 1935, 'Persia' was indicated on maps for many years.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
