This past weekend marked the 30th anniversary of Raiders of the Lost Ark. To celebrate the anniversary, here are some of my personal memories of Raiders, with a few random trivia facts thrown in for good measure.

Raiders of the Lost Ark was directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starred Harrison Ford. As a kid, nothing could have been more exciting. Of course I knew George Lucas and Harrison Ford from Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, and Steven Spielberg from Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (E.T. wouldn’t come out for another year). George Lucas had a deep love of the serials of the 30s and 40s, which both Star Wars and Raiders were extensions of and tributes to.

According to legend, Lucas had originally named the title character “Indiana Smith”. Indiana was the name of George Lucas’ dog. (Spielberg convinced Lucas early on to change the character’s last name from “Smith” to “Jones”.) As many people know, George Lucas was originally hesitant to cast Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones as he had already starred in three of Lucas’ previous films (American Graffiti, Star Wars, and Empire), but … things worked out okay. Lucas originally offered the role of Indiana Jones to Tom “Magnum P.I.” Selleck, who turned it down. In a recent interview, Selleck said he was “still haunted by his decision.”

(For what it’s worth, Debra Winger turned down the role of Marion Ravenwood, which Karen Allen gladly accepted. Danny DeVito was also offered the role of Sallah, but dropped out due to time conflicts.)

Raiders of the Lost Ark had several connections with Star Wars. The scene in which Indiana Jones threatens to blow up the Ark with a bazooka was filmed in the same Tunesia canyon that the Jawas attacked R2-D2 in Star Wars! Also in Raiders, Indiana Jones, with blow dart-shooting natives close on his tail, makes his escape by diving into a river and hitching a ride on a seaplane. The name of the plane is “OB-CPO”, a reference to Star Wars characters Obi-Wan and C-3P0. C-3P0 and his counterpart R2-D2 also appear as heiroglyphics in this film. I was never able to find them in theaters, but you can spot them easily on the DVD.

Click to Enlarge

One of my greatest memories from that era was a TV special titled “Great Movie Stunts and the Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark”. I was (and still am) very interested in movie special effects and (not as much today) stunt work. I recorded this special from television and it seems like I watched it every day! The special contains lots of classic stunt performers, and lots and lots of behind the scenes footage from Raiders. Based on the stunt work in this film I used to precariously balance my desk chair on the verge of tipping over and then throw myself into it repeatedly, “perfecting” my stunt work in case Hollywood ever called. (Hollywood never called.) I believe the special is included on the Indiana Jones DVD Box Set (I just went upstairs and looked; it is!) but if you don’t own that, someone has uploaded the entire thing to Youtube, starting here.

Here’s a trivia fact I didn’t read about until the advent of the Internet. You know the opening scene from Raiders, in which Indiana Jones touches a trapped idol and accidentally sends a boulder rolling after him? Apparently, this scene was inspired by a Scrooge McDuck comic! In Uncle Scrooge #7 (“The Seven Cities of Cibola”), the Beagle Boys nearly suffer the same fate!

Click to Enlarge

One of the most memorable scenes of the film is the climax, when the Nazis open the Ark and meet rather gruesome fates. Because of this scene the film originally received an R rating, but was changed to PG prior to release. The second Indiana Jones film (the Temple of Doom) pushed the boundary of PG ratings so far that it is credited for the creation of the PG-13 rating — however, it wasn’t the first PG-13 movie released. (That was Red Dawn.)

On of my favorite lines from Raiders of the Lost Ark was when Satipo “convinces” Indiana Jones to trade him the gold idol for his whip. “Throw me the idol. No time to argue! Throw me idol, I’ll throw you the whip!” Thirty years later, I still occasionally use this line whenever I need to exchange something with someone. “Throw me the idol, I’ll throw you the whip.” Another quote I sometimes reference is Sallah’s less well-known comment: “Asps … very dangerous. You go first!”

Here’s a trivia fact that I’m sure some of you will find hard to believe: I have never owned a single “Indiana Jones” toy. Although several action figures and a few playsets (including “Streets of Cairo” and “Map Room” — who wouldn’t want to find those under their Christmas tree?), but I never owned any of them. I’m afraid my toy collecting was focused on a galaxy far, far away. :)