Revealing mistake: While Indy and Marion are in the Well of Souls, and they encounter the snakes, Indy falls to the ground only to be confronted by a hissing Cobra rearing its head. Look carefully and you'll see the snake's reflection on the safety glass between it and Indy. Briefly you can also see the torch's reflection while he's waving it around. You can also see Marion's reflection when she falls in later on and is face to face with the cobra. [This has been corrected in the new DVD set. You can only see it if you have the original VHS. I think it's visible in the "making of" on the DVD as well.]
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Ending / spoiler
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Alfred Molina, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliott, Paul Freeman, Karen Allen
After the Nazis snatch the Ark out of Indy's hands, they throw him and Marion into the Well of Souls to die. Indy quickly finds a way out, only to encounter various fights against the Nazis. Once he sees that the Ark is being taken away and Marion has been taken prisoner, Indy infiltrates a Nazi base on an isolated island near Greece and threatens to blow the Ark up with a Bazooka. However, his nemesis Belloq urges him to watch what's inside the Ark before he does. Indy submits and is taken prisoner, along with Marion. While they are cuffed to a pole, Belloq, interrogator Toht, and Colonel Dietrich open the Ark. Realising that one cannot watch the power of God, Indy orders Marion to keep her eyes shut. Spirits come out of the Ark, beautiful as they can be-only to turn into demons on Earth. The Nazis all scream with fear as the power of God is unleashed upon every Nazi around. Toht's face melts; Dietrich's face is disfigured, and Belloq's head explodes. All of the corpses fly to the sky. Then the Ark is closed. Marion and Indy survive the event due to Indy's advice. In America, the Ark is taken into a warehouse, another box in the middle of nowhere.
Grappa
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?
Question: After the scene where Indy first goes onto the German U-boat, he runs around apparently looking for something, then the scene changes to the inside of the sub where you can hear that the order has been given to dive. Was there an actual scene cut out of the film where Indy lashes himself to the periscope? (When Raiders first came out in Aus, I vividly remember seeing it with this scene.)
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Answer: The scene you describe was indeed filmed. It was cut out of the US release of the film although I cannot speak for the Australian version. The scene also appears in the Marvel Comics adaptation. http://www.theraider.net/films/raiders/deleted_scenes.php has a list of this and the other deleted scenes.
Phil C.