Raiders of the Lost Ark

Trivia: Actor Peter Coyote auditioned in costume for the part of Indiana Jones, but he tripped and stumbled over power cables during the audition (conveying an awkward and nervous image, just the opposite of the confident and sure-footed Indiana Jones image that Steven Spielberg wanted). So, Coyote didn't get the part. But Spielberg never forgot Coyote's earnestness, and he later cast Coyote as the compassionate Agent Keys in "E.T. The Extraterrestrial".

Charles Miller

Trivia: Tom Selleck was chosen for the main role but he was already involved in Magnum P.I. The show had a chapter named Raiders of the Lost Art as a nod to this, showing him playing Indiana Jones.

oswal13

Trivia: Because of his commitment to the film, Harrison Ford was unable to play Han Solo in the NPR radio dramatization of Star Wars. The role was taken over by Perry King, who had been among those auditioning for the role in the movie before Ford was cast.

Cubs Fan

Trivia: Arnold Toht has only 16 lines in the entire film.

Trivia: Originally, the golden idol had moveable eyes that were supposed to follow Indy's moves when he is about to snatch it. Compare the idol inside the temple to the one Belloq later holds in his hands.

Trivia: Frank Marshal, producer of the film, has a cameo as the German pilot who shoots Indy.

oswal13

Trivia: In the original script, instead of all dying together in the infamous scene during the opening of the Ark, Belloq, Toht and Dietrich were to die at different points in the film: Toht was to die together with Gobler during the truck chase, Belloq would die during the opening of the Ark (which was shorter), and Dietrich was to die in the mine cart chase through Geheimhaven that took place after the closing of the Ark and was cut from the film.

Big Game

Trivia: Some characters in this film had other names during its development, before retaining the ones that appeared in the film. Some of these names were: - Rene Belloq's original name was Victor Lovar. - Toht's was Belzig. - Dietrich's was Schliemann. - the Imam's was Amir. Several characters were also deleted, such as Eric Davona, Calvin Stansbury, Tengtu Hok, Bang Chow, Buzz Kehoe, Stanton, Abu (not the Imam's apprentice), Jules Spencer and Petrovich.

Big Game

Trivia: The main ghost was played by receptionist Greta Hicks, made up and dressed in a white robe. She was suspended with wires and filmed flying away from the camera. The footage was reversed for the film (this can be spotted in the ghost's hair). For the Angel of Death, a life-size skeletal dummy dressed as Greta was filmed and superimposed on the film.

Big Game

Raiders of the Lost Ark mistake picture

Continuity mistake: Near the beginning of the movie where Indiana is running away from the tribe of South American Indians after Belloq robs Indiana of the gold statue, in one shot you can see that the Indians are only a few meters behind Indiana, but in the next shot, they are at least 50 meters behind. (00:11:20)

More mistakes in Raiders of the Lost Ark

Marion: You're not the man I knew ten years ago.
Indiana: It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.

More quotes from Raiders of the Lost Ark

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.)

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.

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