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(#1) Spielberg Originally Wanted Toht To Be A 'Heavy-Metal' Villain
Toht, an antagonist in RotLA, is already an unsettling presence with his high-pitched giggling and burned hand. But Spielberg originally wanted him to be even creepier with a mechanical hand that could turn into an automatic-firing device or projectile torch - a look he described as "heavy-metal."
Lucas eventually talked Spielberg out of the idea by convincing him it was too close to science-fiction for what they had intended.
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(#2) Spielberg Extended The Temple Sequence At The Beginning Because He Loved The Boulder Prop
The opening sequence to RotLA is often hailed as one of cinema's best, and the giant boulder that Indy runs from is part of movie history. The scene was originally supposed to be brief, featuring Indy immediately before he exits the temple. Spielberg, however, loved the boulder so much he delayed filming and requested that its track be extended another 50 feet.
The RotLA crew obliged and the extended version made it into the film.
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(#3) Stanley Kubrick's Daughter Delayed The 'Well Of Souls' Scene
The infamous "Well of Souls" filled with thousands of snakes took a long time to start shooting. When Spielberg arrived on the set he felt the 2,000 snakes didn't fill up enough of the floor and asked for more. The crew flew in as many as 4.500 more snakes from all over Europe and used hoses to fill in the gaps.
Production team members noticed the movie's stock of anti-venom had expired, and they needed time to locate more. When the shoot began, Vivian Kubrick - the daughter of famed director Stanley Kubrick - visited the set and called the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) to ensure the snakes were safe.
When all was said and done, the scene had undergone a delay of several days.
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(#4) The Opening Of The Ark Sequence Almost Warranted An R Rating
When the Ark of the Covenant opens, it exacts a punishment against the villains - a scene that has haunted young audiences for decades. Originally the sequence was an uncensored view of Belloq deflating. The MPAA felt Spielberg was already pushing the PG rating to its limit and, with no PG-13 rating at the time, they were ready to hand down an R.
Spielberg and the other crew members placated the MPAA by superimposing a thick pillar of flame over Belloq's face to hide some of the effects.
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(#5) They Needed A Female Touch To Make The Tarantula Scene Even Creepier
When Indy and Satipo (Alfred Molina's first role) explore the temple at the start of RotLA, they find themselves covered in tarantulas. At first, the gentle spiders were creepy but not crawly - they refused to move and frustrated Spielberg who thought they appeared fake. The tarantula wrangler explained the spiders were all males and had no reason to be active. A female spider was introduced, exciting the others and sending them skittering.
Molina later recalled, "They're running onto my face, and Steven is going, 'Shoot! Shoot! Alfred, look scared!' and [I'm all], 'I'm scared! I'm scared!'"
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(#6) Water Puppets And A Receptionist Portrayed The Ghosts Of The Ark
The movie's script was not specific about what happened after the Ark opened, so it was up to the Industrial Light and Magic special effects crew (ILM) to figure it out. The ghosts that ended up as part of the supernatural effects had to be created with puppets.
The ILM crew ran the puppets through water to give them an ethereal look, but in the end, they decided one "lead" ghost named Gretel, played by a real woman, would need to approach the camera. They recruited a receptionist for the part.
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(#7) The Same Dog Inspired Both Indiana Jones And Chewbacca
George Lucas and his then-wife Marcia owned an Alaskan malamute during the 1970s and '80s. The dog was more than simply cute - it was named "Indiana" and inspired the action hero's nickname. This fact was even referenced at the end of The Last Crusade with the line, "We named the dog Indiana."
Indiana also inspired Harrison Ford's beloved counterpart in Star Wars, Chewbacca. Thanks to Indiana's habit of sitting in Lucas's passenger seat, the filmmaker decided Han Solo should have a furry creature for a co-pilot, too.
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(#8) Karen Allen Had To Improvise An Entire Scene For The Movie
Spielberg and Lucas wanted Marion to change into a dress before the "Well of Souls" scene so she would appear more vulnerable and heighten the tension of the swarming snakes. But the script offered no reason why Marion would change clothes. Actress Karen Allen, who plays Marion, decided to invent a scene to explain the move, as well as better tie in both Marion's bravery and drinking prowess introduced earlier in the film.
With the help of Spielberg and Paul Freeman, the scene made it into the movie and enhanced Marion's character and cleared up a potential plot hole.
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(#9) It Took 50 Takes To Get A Monkey To Salute
One of the movie's funnier moments reveals a monkey as a far-right spy with the creature's salute. The crew had to film over 50 takes to make the salute, however. The monkey's wrangler tried to get the shot by tapping him on the head, but the monkey's defensive gesture didn't appear quite right.
They eventually accomplished the feat by holding a grape on a fishing pole just out of reach above the monkey's head.
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(#10) Spielberg Recycled A Gag From '1941' To Introduce Toht
Before directing RotLA, Spielberg experienced a minor career setback when his movie 1941 received mediocre reviews. In a deleted scene from the film, a far-right soldier played by Christopher Lee appeared to unfurl a device that promised excitement, but it ended up being a simple coat hanger.
Spielberg must have liked something about the gag because he used it for Toht's introduction here as well.
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(#11) Several Strange Aircraft Inspired The Plane From The Famous Fight Scene
When Indy duels with a mechanic in the desert, they are simultaneously avoiding being hit by a nearby plane. This aircraft was made up just for the movie. Though planes with similar features existed in real life, there was nothing quite like the one in RotLA.
Prop designer Norman Reynolds created the prop with inspiration from actual aircraft, such as the Horten Ho 229, the Northrop N1M, and the Vought V-173.
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(#12) The Same Actor Pilots The Rescue Aircraft In Both 'RotLA' And 'Jurassic Park'
When Indy narrowly escapes doom at the beginning of RotLA, he does it with the help of his pilot buddy named Jock. Fred Sorenson, who plays Jock, is a professional pilot who brought the plane into the air. Though Jock doesn't appear for the rest of the film, Sorenson pops up in another Spielberg classic. He's the helicopter pilot who saves the survivors at the end of Jurassic Park.
When Sorenson filmed the Jurassic Park scene, he apparently sang the RotLA theme off-mic during the helicopter take off.
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Raiders Of The Lost Ark is an action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, released in 1981. The film tells the story of archaeology professor Indiana Jones who recovered the long-lost Ark of the Covenant. As the first film of the Indiana Jones series, it opened a new era of adventure films and achieved extraordinary results. The leading actor became one of the most successful actors, and Indiana Jones became one of the most successful movie characters.
This page includes 12 items, including 12 stories that prove the making of Raiders Of The Lost Ark was an adventure behind the scenes. Every cast made great contributions. There is something that people don't know. Welcome to check the interesting collection.
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