Trivia: During filming of the fight scene around the German flying wing, Harrison Ford slipped and fell down and the plane's wheels rolled over his left knee, tearing his ACL. Rather than trust in the local medical care, they simply wrapped the knee up tightly, applied ice, and kept on going.
Trivia: For your entry concerning Indy's bazooka ambush and the fly on Belloq's face, there is an interesting additional item: not only does the actor not react to the insect, but the audio guy attempts to cover for him by adding two subtle buzzes - one on the right channel for its arrival, one on the left for its "departure". Best heard with headphones. (01:42:20)
Trivia: The mine chase that happens in Temple of Doom was originally supposed to appear in Raiders. Unfortunately there was so much material in the film that they had to shift it to the prequel.
Trivia: The German submarine is the same sub that would later be used for Wolfgang Petersen's "Das Boot".
Suggested correction: The sub wasn't later just used in 'Das Boot', the full-size prop was actually built specifically for its production. Steven Spielberg only rented it for 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', apparently much to the surprise of the German film crew, who one day found their boat 'missing' as it was on loan to Spielberg.
Trivia: For the well full of snakes, Spielberg didn't have enough when they had the scene prepared, so he had several hoses cut up and disguised as cobras. (01:00:20)
Trivia: Sallah is a tall man, but his name can be translated to mean 'sprout'. (This is probably because Lucas and Spielberg were offering the part to Danny DeVito who is considerably shorter than John Rhys Davies and only didn't take the part because of scheduling conflicts.)
Trivia: When Belloq and his men reach the town of Cairo after being swiped by Indy and the van with the Ark inside, notice Ronald Lacey's character Toht. In this entire scene you don't see his face, totally shadowed by his hat - his head doesn't even move! Was Ronald unavailable for filming and hired a double...?
Trivia: Indiana Jones could have escaped the rolling ball of rock by simply standing still, because the boulder started out about 15 feet over his head. Even if the boulder ended up blocking the entrance, there are several shafts of sunlight visible throughout the tunnel, indicating several potential points of escape.
Trivia: The rolling boulder in the opening scene was actually 22 feet in diameter and was made out of fiberglass. (00:09:20)
Trivia: The German soldier that Indy punches out of the truck is played by Terry Leonard, a stunt double of Harrison Ford.
Trivia: Actor Pat Roach is listed separately twice in the end credits: 1) Giant Sherpa 2) 1st Mechanic.
Trivia: The scene in Temple of Doom where Indy cuts down the gong and jumps behind it to avoid being shot is actually a reject scene idea from Raiders, just like the mine car chase.
Trivia: When Indy swims to catch the U-Boat, the DVD and video cut out the part which ran in Canadian theatres (if not wider) where he lashes the whip to the periscope. This is probably due to the fact that just previously, Indy used the whip while he was dragged at the back of the Nazi truck and never picked it up. It was loosely hanging and about to fall away from the truck. I am assuming this was pointed out to the producers and they cut out blatant evidence of the whip being used.
Trivia: Producer Frank Marshall has a cameo as the pilot of the flying wing.
Trivia: When "Raiders of the Lost Ark" premiered in France in 1981, audiences there honestly believed that it was an adaptation of the 1964 French adventure film "L'Homme de Rio" (That Man from Rio), directed by Philippe de Broca and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo. The French film is about a soldier on-leave who gets mixed up in a museum heist and kidnapping and goes on a wild intercontinental chase to track down three museum pieces. The action is similar in both films, as are some of the plot twists (such as both heroes being rescued from certain death by a crowd of children, for example). Although French audiences immediately recognized the similarities between the two films, Steven Spielberg denied ever seeing "L'Homme de Rio".
Trivia: Producer Frank Marshall is also listed in the end credits as "Pilot" - Steven Spielberg often uses his film crew and producers as extras.
Trivia: At the end of the movie, when they lift the top off the Ark, this was actually the sound of a toilet top being pulled off.
Trivia: During the chase with the ark, the truck Indy is driving comes around a turn. The sound effect the truck makes is a lion roaring.
Trivia: Although it lasts for six minutes on screen, the truck chase sequence took five weeks to film.
