The script for Raiders of the Lost Ark went through various different drafts, in which a number of scenes and concepts came and went. A lot of those ideas would later be reused in the second movie (which was technically a prequel ), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom . These include Indy traveling the Shanghai and avoiding machine gun fire by hiding behind a gong and a high-speed chase on mine carts. Originally, in Raiders , the trip to Shanghai was to recover a piece of the Staff of Ra and the mine cart pursuit followed the opening of the
Akira Kurosawa practically set the template for the modern Hollywood action movie with his 1954 masterpiece Seven Samurai . This three-hour epic sees some quaint villagers being threatened by a gang of bandits and a samurai assembling a team to protect t
But like the serial adventures that inspired Spielberg and George Lucas to create Indy, some parts of Raiders of the Lost Ark mounts Ark didn’t age well. None of these detract from the movie’s cultural impact and its entertainment value, but they cast some harsh light on what is normally seen as an adventurous and light-hearted throwback. Here are 10 things from Raiders of the Lost Ark that didn’t age w
Since he’s based on the likes of Doc Savage, it shouldn’t be surprising to say that Indiana Jones is an outdated archetype. This isn’t just because explorers aren’t famous, but because of his attitude and manneri
Raiders of the Lost Ark and the rest of Indy’s adventures were inspired by the pulp serial that Spielberg and Lucas enjoyed as kids, which explains the movies’ many anachronistic elements such as unintentional rac
Generally, action movies that jump from one action beat to the next can feel hollow or, even worse, forgettable, but that's never the case with Raiders. Interestingly, the story was so jam-packed with action sequences that some were remo
As the children who have grown up loving Indy have aged, so too has their ability to peel away at some of the series' racially problematic elements. One of these elements is the insensitive makeup jobs of various characters, seen in set-pieces like the bar gunfight in Nepal and the Cairo ch
Indy is a stereotypical man’s man, someone who’s so manly that even as an academic his forte is punching people. Because he’s the hero, he gets away with casual misogyny, violence, and has to heroically dodge women’s affection (ex. One of his students). This doesn’t make him terrible, but his example is better left in the confines of cinema and mythmak
It has everything a Bond fan could hope for : globetrotting action sequences, quippy one-liners, crazy gadgets, a megalomaniacal villain with a ridiculous plan, and a distinctive quirk — Goldfinger is the quintessential James Bond mo
In The Ten Commandments , which bombed in theatres , Molina breathes life into Ramses, who was Pharaoh during the days of Moses. While God challenges Ramses to free the Hebrews, Moses receives messages from Heaven that culminate with his titular tabl
Indiana Jones might travel all around the world for ancient artifacts, but the character was created in Hawaii. George Lucas went on a vacation with his friend Steven Spielberg when Star Wars was released __ and Spielberg revealed that he had always wanted to make a 007 mo
From Weird Al Yankovic’s UHF to The Simpsons to even Disaster Movie, imitating Indy’s action-packed introduction is practically a cottage industry. Chicken Little took this to the extreme by literally showing the scene before the boulder rolled
This turned out to be one of Woo’s greatest movies, Hard Boiled , starring Chow Yun-fat as badass cop Tequila Yeun. The climactic hospital shootout is one of the most iconic action sequences ever s
Simply put, people of non-Western nationalities are shown as exotic caricatures at best and non-white bad guys at worst. The Hovitos tribe, Toht’s Nepalese gunmen, and the Egyptians only exist to hinder or help Indy, having little to no agency to speak of. While their depictions are a product of the archaic adventurer genre’s trappings, the racially insensitive subtext can’t be igno
Along the way, the pair cross paths with one bizarre character after another, including a drug dealer portrayed by a young McConaughey. Cheesy and dull, Scorpion Spring tries to be way too big for its britc
One of the most iconic scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark is when Indiana Jones steals the Golden Idol and triggers booby-traps in the temple. One of these traps was a giant boulder, which Indiana Jones barely escapes. While you would think they would have used a stunt-double here, it was actually Ford himself who had to outrun the prop, which weighed over 300 pou
