Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation (1989) (V)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Eric Zala

Writers:

Lawrence Kasdan (writer)
Philip Kaufman (story)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Plot:

A shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark started by three 12-year-olds and completed over a period of six years.

Plot Keywords:

Remake | Obsession | Indiana Jones | True Life Adventure | Coming Of Age

Cast

Chris Strompolos	...	Indiana Jones
Angela Rodriguez	...	Marion
Eric Zala	...	Belloq
Ted Ross	...	Toht
Alan Stenum	...	Sallah
William Coon	...	Brody
Kurt Zala	...	Gobler
Clay LaGrone	...	Satipo
Sam Cummings	...	Barranca
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Bales	...	Dietrich

Runtime:

USA:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Biloxi, Mississippi, USA

Company:

Rolling Boulder Films

Trivia:

Because Raiders was yet not available for rental or sale in video stores when the boys started in the summer of '82, they had no reference copy of the movie they were seeking to remake shot-for-shot. So, they got everything Raiders that they could get their hands on - photos from magazines, the published screenplay, storybooks, making-of publications, action figures, an illicit recording of the soundtrack from smuggling in a cassette recorder into a movie theater showing Raiders when re-released in 1982. With the amassed material, and by memory of seeing Raiders in the theater, they cobbled together a composite reconstruction of the original Raiders, shot-by-shot, laying it out in storyboard form. Before Raiders, Eric Zala wanted to be comic book artist growing up. This prepared him to hand draw over 600 individual detailed storyboards that became the blueprint they used for seven years, only rarely deviated from.

Movie Connections:

Remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

A tribute to the fire of youth

I was dumbstruck watching this. Yeah, it's obviously not as well-executed as the original, but you have to admire the dedication and energy.

At the end, after the lid on the ark comes down and Indy and Marion hug, I cried. I didn't cry at this point when watching the original. I was just so touched at the love and passion these kids lavished on trying to pay honor to the wonderfulness of the original.

Well! All that gushing aside, anything else? This was certainly a worthwhile enterprise, but I do sincerely hope these kids have gone on to create and wrangle media. It'd be nice to see them get a budget and bring something fully of their own to marvelous fruition.