But I'm not here to waste time writing about crap the everyone already knows ... I'd rather write about the crap that NOT everyone knows. And yeah, I'm a huge nerd for bothering with this stuff, but I, like Columbo, need things to make sense. Not everything adds up in this movie. Even as a child, there was always one thing that bothered me about Indy's first screen adventure. I didn't even know what it was back then, but years later I finally figured it out.
Toward the end of "Raiders of the Lost Ark", when the Nazis took the Ark from the cargo ship, (the Bantu Wind) Indy decides to swim out to the submarine. The glorious Indiana Jones theme music is played, and everyone on the cargo ship is seen cheering. The captain even gives him a salute! I don't know why though, he just swam out to a submarine that's about to dive under the water ... This begs the question: What did Indy do when the sub went down? Did he swim after it? This makes no sense, and bugged me for years.
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CLICK PLAY ON THE QUICKTIME BELOW TO SEE THE PART OF THE MOVIE IN QUESTION !
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As a child, I seem to remember seeing an image of Indy lashing himself to the periscope, but throughout the days of adulthood, and of my continuing fascination with this film, I could never find out anything about this sequence. In the film, they cut from Indy standing on the submarine, to Indy hiding behind a stack of crates soaking wet, ALREADY INSIDE the secret Nazi base, which is also crawling with guards. MMMMMkay ... So what did he do here? Swim right into the docking area, and waltz inconspicuously past a dozen guards? It makes absolutely no sense to see Indy behind that stack of crates. It is a major cheat, and I think the only reason the audience is letting ol' George and Stevey get away with it, is because everyone is basically still high from the fucking amazing truck sequence that took place a few minutes earlier in the film. I was hoping that when the DVD FINALLY came out for this movie, that there'd be some explanation for this. None. Zip. Nada. It's a great DVD, but when it comes to deleted scenes and stuff, Lucas really irritates me sometimes. He's always acting like he meant things to be the way they were, when it's very easy to sense the truth: They did the best that they could with what they had at the time. It's the same thing with the Star Wars movies ... |
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ME: Why did you make ObiWan lie to Luke about his father in the original Star Wars film? Wasn't it because you weren't really sure that you wanted Darth Vader to be his father? GEORGE: No, no ... I always knew he was his father. ME: But what about the interview footage where you say that you weren't sure up until the last minute ... but that you decided to do it because it was the story option that you liked the best? GEORGE: No, no ... I always knew he was his father. ME: Isn't it kind of gross that Luke is making out with Leia during the Empire Strikes back, but it's then revealed that she's his sister in the next movie? GEORGE: No no, it's not gross ... I mean, she only kissed him once. I kept it to a minimum. I always KNEW she was his sister. ME: But there's this alternate footage of them making out that made it into the Empire trailer! GEORGE: No, that's just the actors rehearsing! Unfortunately, the editor tossed that into the trailer. ME: What about this silly business of having Anakin building C3P0? GEORGE: Yeah, I always meant to have Darth Vader be the guy who built C3P0. Also, I always meant for the kid who played Anakin in episode one to be a little whiny dipshit who totally fucks up the movie. ME: And Jarjar? GEORGE: Jarjar was always meant to be an annoying alien whom I basically edited out of the storylines for the next two movies. I planned it that way. I wanted it to LOOK like I had made a mistake. ME: Why didn't Uncle Owen ever tell Luke that his dead grandmother was buried ON HIS FRONT LAWN on TATTOINE? GEORGE: Luke never asked. ME: Isn't it more likely that you just made some mistakes? And that you're kind of disconnected with movie audiences these days? Especially after taking a 22 year break between directing movies? GEORGE: No, no ... I always wanted the second trilogy to suck. I wrote it that way. Just like I always meant for you to get the fuck away from me right now. Boba? GET OVER HERE! |
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So what can you do when DVDs of films like this are released, but they still don't contain the lost or missing scenes? Where can you find those scenes? Read the novel! Okay, I read the novel ... but I can't scan those pages in and put them here for people to enjoy can I? It just wouldn't do. It's much more effective to scan the COMIC BOOK, and put THOSE pages here. Also, reading comic books is much easier on my juvenile brain. I like pictures. |
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So indeed, it turns out Indy DOES lash himself to the periscope with his bull whip. The sub goes underwater, but only to periscope depth ... which really doesn't make much sense. Submarines of that era moved much more slowly underwater, and you gotta think that Belloq would have a major hard-on to see the Ark opened as soon as possible. Even if they DID go down, it's an unusual move to leave the periscope up ... but that wouldn't get our hero to the Ark now would it? I also managed to get my hands on a copy of the original shooting script for this film. Whilst most of it plays out more or less as the movie does, there are a few strange exceptions ... Read on Indy nerds! NOTE: If you are not a film nerd who is totally into this kind of thing, you might as well click here, and skip to the end of the article. And now, I present myself as a ... |
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First off, the "Headpiece of the Staff of Ra" is actually separated into two halves. The first half is in possession of a Chinese gangster. Upon retrieving it from it's hiding spot, Indy is discovered and fired upon by two thugs with machine guns. To escape, he cuts a giant gong loose and runs behind it as it rolls along the floor and out the window. Does any of this sound familliar? This idea was later used in "The Temple of Doom" The other half of the staff's headpiece is still at the Ravenwood bar in Nepal. This version of the script also has Indy tie himself to the periscope, but when the submarine approaches the secret docking bay, INDY MAKES A BUBBLE OF AIR WITH HIS JACKET, AND DIVES ALONG WITH THE SUBMARINE. MmmmmmKay. Suddenly, I'm seeing why they just skipped this idea and put Indy behind those crates in the final film. Aside from that, in this version of the script, the secret base is actually a giant underground Nazi weapons stockpile ... with crates of ammunition piled very high. |
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When the Ark is opened, only Belloq sees what is inside. It burns him to death, and sets fire to the tent they are in. Indy and Marion free themselves, grab the ark and throw it INTO A MINE CAR. Several Nazi troops pursue them as they escape and a MINE CAR CHASE SEQUENCE takes place. (Sound familliar? - This idea was also later used for "The Temple of Doom") Meanwhile, the fire from the burning tent has started a chain reaction with all of the ammunition within the crates, and the final part of this sequence has Indy and Marion flying out of the side of the island in a mine car -- Millennium Falcon style - escaping the interior of the exploding Death Star .. er, the Secret Nazi Island. SOME OTHER GROOVY TIDBITS ABOUT RAIDERS THAT YOU MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW: - There is an R2-D2 and C3P0 hieroglyphic in the Well of the Souls. Although I believe it is NOT really visible in the film, you can see it on the special features DVD. - Actor Danny Devito was Speilberg's first choice to play Sallah. - There is an episode of MAGNUM P.I. titled: "Raiders of the Lost Art" where actor Tom Selleck (who was Lucas and Speilberg's first choice to play Indiana Jones) stars as a character who dresses exactly like Indy, and the plot is essentially a satire of Raiders of the lost Ark. - The submarine used in the film was built for Wolfgang Peterson's fantastic World War 2 epic "Das Boot". - Actor Denholm Elliott had buttseks with a monkey while on location in Tunisia. (not confirmed) Why do I care? Good question. For some reason, this kind of detail fascinates me. Reading the script gives you insight into what was going through the author's minds when they originally conceived the character, and the story. Do these flaws take away from what I tend to think of as a perfectly crafted film? Not really. Raiders is the kind of film that is every bit as enjoyable today as it was that summer back in '81 when it was first released. COMMENTS? EMAIL ME AT: groomej@hotmail.com |
