RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK: THE ADAPTATION
Jeez!! I can't believe I hadn't already seen this.
What with Raiders of the Lost Ark being my favourite all time film bar none it is almost criminal that I haven't sought out and watched this little gem until now.
A brief history lesson:
Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation is a 100 minute, almost shot for shot recreation of Spielberg's classic movie put together by three young friends - Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala, and Jayson Lamb from Mississippi, USA - over a seven year period starting in 1982 and finishing in 1988. The boys were all just 12 when they started. It was filmed in and around family homes, cost hardly anything, and got made through sheer ingenuity, enthusiasm and a deep love for the material. On its completion the movie had one local showing in 1989 and was then largely forgotten until 2003 when somehow director Eli Roth got hold of a copy, loved it and sent it to Spielberg. Spielberg also loved it and contacted the now grown up boys to congratulate them, saying he'd watched it twice on the trot and felt deeply inspired by what they had done all those years ago. The film has since gone on to have a few limited screenings at festivals around the world and made international news when Paramount and producer Scott Rudin purchased the rights to the boys story.
So what of the film itself?
As I said earlier, this is almost a shot for shot remake. It's shot on 80's video so the overall picture quality is not great (fuzzy image, picture rolls now and again). But that by no means detracts from the sheer fun and charm of the whole enterprise. Yes, some of the kids look ridiculous in their roles (Toht and Sallah spring to mind) and the long overall filming time means actors often look older/younger/different hair etc. from scene to scene. But their enthusiasm shines through and more than compensates. Also the three kids playing Indy, Marion and Belloq are actually pretty good. As Indy Chris Strompolos has some presence and gives some good Harrison; as Marion Angela Rodriguez delivers some of the same two-fisted spunk as Karen Allen; and as Belloq Eric Zala manages to be nicely slimy with added French accent. Technically the film is also quite the wonder - especially being made in an age long before desktop computer effects were available. For starters the lighting is often a remarkably good match to that of Raiders DoP Douglas Slocombe's. And the recreated sets are either eerily similar to those of the original (Belloq's tent, the Cairo cafe) or are smaller yet still wonderfully accurate versions (South American idol temple, Marion's bar, Well of Souls). Of the location work, the kids skilfully utilised local alleyways for the Cairo market/basket chase, and what seems to be a huge quarry/sandpit for the desert stuff and end island sequence. And most impressively, they used a real ship and a real WW2 submarine for Captain Katanga's ship and the Nazi sub.
All the way through watching this, I was wondering, "How the hell are they gonna do..?" re. upcoming scenes and sequences. But virtually every Raiders sequence is recreated as accurately as humanly possible. The only major sequence sadly missing is the Indy/German mechanic fight at the flying wing. Guess they couldn't find/recreate a giant flying wing. Still, everything else the kids managed to recreate is nothing short of spectacular. Don't believe me? See their version of the legendary truck chase. It is virtually identical - even Indy going under the truck and being dragged along behind it. This and the earlier fire gags in the Tibetan bar fight looked so incredibly dangerous. I'm amazed their parents let them do it. But then maybe they didn't know. Probably the latter. Heh.
Anyway, I absolutely loved Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation. Huge respects to those three then lads and their friends from Mississippi. What they set out to do and what they achieved is in perfect keeping with the same spirit of 'just get out there and do it' adventure epitomised by Indy himself.
Indy: "I don't know, I'm making this up as I go."
Jeez!! I can't believe I hadn't already seen this.
What with Raiders of the Lost Ark being my favourite all time film bar none it is almost criminal that I haven't sought out and watched this little gem until now.
A brief history lesson:
Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation is a 100 minute, almost shot for shot recreation of Spielberg's classic movie put together by three young friends - Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala, and Jayson Lamb from Mississippi, USA - over a seven year period starting in 1982 and finishing in 1988. The boys were all just 12 when they started. It was filmed in and around family homes, cost hardly anything, and got made through sheer ingenuity, enthusiasm and a deep love for the material. On its completion the movie had one local showing in 1989 and was then largely forgotten until 2003 when somehow director Eli Roth got hold of a copy, loved it and sent it to Spielberg. Spielberg also loved it and contacted the now grown up boys to congratulate them, saying he'd watched it twice on the trot and felt deeply inspired by what they had done all those years ago. The film has since gone on to have a few limited screenings at festivals around the world and made international news when Paramount and producer Scott Rudin purchased the rights to the boys story.
So what of the film itself?
As I said earlier, this is almost a shot for shot remake. It's shot on 80's video so the overall picture quality is not great (fuzzy image, picture rolls now and again). But that by no means detracts from the sheer fun and charm of the whole enterprise. Yes, some of the kids look ridiculous in their roles (Toht and Sallah spring to mind) and the long overall filming time means actors often look older/younger/different hair etc. from scene to scene. But their enthusiasm shines through and more than compensates. Also the three kids playing Indy, Marion and Belloq are actually pretty good. As Indy Chris Strompolos has some presence and gives some good Harrison; as Marion Angela Rodriguez delivers some of the same two-fisted spunk as Karen Allen; and as Belloq Eric Zala manages to be nicely slimy with added French accent. Technically the film is also quite the wonder - especially being made in an age long before desktop computer effects were available. For starters the lighting is often a remarkably good match to that of Raiders DoP Douglas Slocombe's. And the recreated sets are either eerily similar to those of the original (Belloq's tent, the Cairo cafe) or are smaller yet still wonderfully accurate versions (South American idol temple, Marion's bar, Well of Souls). Of the location work, the kids skilfully utilised local alleyways for the Cairo market/basket chase, and what seems to be a huge quarry/sandpit for the desert stuff and end island sequence. And most impressively, they used a real ship and a real WW2 submarine for Captain Katanga's ship and the Nazi sub.
All the way through watching this, I was wondering, "How the hell are they gonna do..?" re. upcoming scenes and sequences. But virtually every Raiders sequence is recreated as accurately as humanly possible. The only major sequence sadly missing is the Indy/German mechanic fight at the flying wing. Guess they couldn't find/recreate a giant flying wing. Still, everything else the kids managed to recreate is nothing short of spectacular. Don't believe me? See their version of the legendary truck chase. It is virtually identical - even Indy going under the truck and being dragged along behind it. This and the earlier fire gags in the Tibetan bar fight looked so incredibly dangerous. I'm amazed their parents let them do it. But then maybe they didn't know. Probably the latter. Heh.
Anyway, I absolutely loved Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation. Huge respects to those three then lads and their friends from Mississippi. What they set out to do and what they achieved is in perfect keeping with the same spirit of 'just get out there and do it' adventure epitomised by Indy himself.
Indy: "I don't know, I'm making this up as I go."