Raiders of the Lost Ark

Continuity mistake: When Belloq traps Indy in the Well of Souls the sky keeps swapping between a dim yellow dawn sky, and a brilliant morning blue sky.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: In the bar, the Nazi plays with the fireplace and threatens Marion, who takes a cigarette to her lips. A frame later, her hand is in a totally different position.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: After the guy with the patch and the monkey greets the Nazis, Marion and Indy are seen walking through town, passing by an arched door. A frame later, from a different angle, they are passing by again and the amount of people around has increased.

Sacha

Raiders of the Lost Ark mistake picture

Continuity mistake: As the ghosts dance around the pole to which Indy and Marion are tied, large clouds can be seen in the sky behind them. However, after a ghost circles Dietrich and passes in front of the camera, it can be seen in the background that the clouds behind Indy and Marion have disappeared.

Big Game

Raiders of the Lost Ark mistake picture

Continuity mistake: As the ghosts dance around Dietrich, Belloq, and Toht, the Frenchman slowly looks up as the column of mist ascends upwards from the Ark, almost looking straight ahead. In the next shot, Belloq is looking down again; the shape of the mist has changed, and the column of mist is now moving to the right.

Big Game

Raiders of the Lost Ark mistake picture

Continuity mistake: As the truck pulls up next to the Command Tent, four soldiers lift the Ark's box and a fifth soldier, positioned between the two wooden posts of the Ark's box and to Gobler's right, picks up the sticks that Indy and Sallah had used. In the next shot, that soldier is now to the left of Gobler and the Ark's box. (01:21:40)

Big Game

Raiders of the Lost Ark mistake picture

Continuity mistake: The distance between Otto and the Nepalese changes between shots, just as Toht begins saying "Surely he told you..."

Big Game

Continuity mistake: When Indy sits down in the seat of the plane look behind him, there is nobody holding a Life magazine or fitting the description of the man later shown watching him from the other seat.

jbrbbt

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Suggested correction: This is not true. Dennis Muren enters just before Indy and sits down. The camera focuses on Indy, giving Muren enough time to grab the magazine and cover his face.

Big Game

Continuity mistake: In front of the idol, Indy shows Satipo the trap on the floor. Satipo's head position is different in all 3 shots in barely 2 seconds: First he's looking downwards, then straight, then his head is turned sideways, and then back to straight. (00:08:20)

Sacha

Continuity mistake: Arnold holds a hot stick of metal to Marion's face in her bar, threatening her. In the opposite angle, the metal is nowhere to be seen when it should be right next to her face. Cut back to the other angle and we see it again.

manthabeat

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Suggested correction: This entry is incorrect; the poker is always on screen, it never disappears.

Big Game

Continuity mistake: In the marketplace standoff between Indy and his would-be attacker, in shots from behind Indy, he's facing one way, but in frontwards shots, he's facing a different way and when it cuts back to behind him, he's facing the other way again.

Clerk13

Raiders of the Lost Ark mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Indy goes to save Marion in the tent he removes the handkerchief gag. But when he decides to leave her there, he puts the gag back on and some of her hair gets caught underneath the gag on one close up shot from the left. But when the camera goes to the back of Indy, her hair is no longer caught underneath the gag. (00:56:00)

More mistakes in Raiders of the Lost Ark

Indy: There's a big snake in the plane!
Jack: Oh, that's just my pet snake Reggie.
Indy: I hate snakes, Jack! I HATE 'EM!
Jack: Oh, come on! Show a little backbone, will ya?

More quotes from Raiders of the Lost Ark

Trivia: When a Nazi falls from the back of the truck carrying the Ark, a "Wilhelm scream" can be heard. (01:24:00)

More trivia for Raiders of the Lost Ark

Question: I first saw "Raiders" at the cinema when it was released in Australia and I distinctly remember a scene which has never appeared on video or DVD. After the end credits, there's a cut back to the crate housing the Ark in the warehouse, and the U.S Govt. stamp on the side of the crate is slowly burning off, as if a fire within the crate is scorching it. One other friend (also in Australia) also remembers. Does anyone else remember this, and can anyone shed any light on what happened to this scene?

Answer: I also remember this scene. After the ark is sealed, the camera performs a close up of the side of the crate. The stamp reads "Top Secret Army Intel 9906753 Do Not Open" This stamp is burned off just like the swastika is in the scene on the submarine, because in the eyes of God, no nation is holy or worthy enough to claim ownership of the ark. However, this final scene was cut (the burning of the stamp) from the film for a variety of unclear reasons. While it was in theaters, this scene was not included on the DVD version.

Add me to this. We saw the movie in a "pre release" version in Orlando Florida. No advance warning of the movie. We went to see another flick and at the end were "invited" to see this if we were willing to critique it afterwards. This scene was included. I also always wondered why the change.

I also remember seeing this mysterious 'burning' of the logo, most likely it was on a VHS copy of this movie. Yes, it did exist.

I saw it in former Czechoslovakia in the second half of 80's in cinema (west movies came to the east countries' cinemas years later). And I thought it was a great joke that burning out the swastika wasn't just because the Nazis are bad but because nobody is great enough to own the arc. Then after the Velvet revolution I saw the film again on TV (beginning of 90's) and said everyone around: watch it until the end, wait on the post-credit scene, there will be a surprise.

And there was a surprise. The scene was cut off! I was angry on the TV they didn't show the scene. I cannot be influenced by internet discussion or urban legend. The internet didn't exist yet.

I saw it in Portland, Oregon, and was so impressed with the message it carried, that I told friends and we went several times just to see it. Funny thing was when I mentioned it a few years ago, many people said I was a LIAR that it never happened. I could not convince anyone. It was removed because it wasn't Politically Correct. USA is a force for good, God would not burn off AMERICAN TEXT! BUT WE DID SEE IT. Thanks to our Australian eye witness, we know we did not imagine it.

Answer: I also remember that scene.

Answer: This scene never existed. Plus, the crate never has a US Govt logo stamped on it. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbr.com/movie-legends-revealed-alternate-ending-for-raiders-of-the-lost-ark/amp/.

Bishop73

Answer: I remember the side of the crate being "charred" when it was in the ship's cargo hold, in the scene when the Nazi's arrived in the submarine. It was the Nazi swastika on the side of the crate that was burned off. It also showed a rat keeling over dead from the energy it emitted. (I just watched this again on the Paramount cable channel.)

raywest

More questions & answers from Raiders of the Lost Ark

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