Paul Freeman Interview: Raiders Of The Lost Ark 40th Anniversary

Many Raiders fans like to point out an obvious mistake that appears in the very first act of the film when Indiana Jones is running away from a band of natives out for his blood. He manages to attract the attention of his pilot Jock Lindsey, who is busy fishing as he waits for Indy to ret


"Who shot the couch?" Cancer will quip upon seeing these duds, which look unrealistic on the uninterested actors. There's no adventure here past the romantic relationships, which doesn't help, and there's virtually no chemistry here between certain couples. Cancers will yawn all the way through


We're looking back at a movie that came out 40 years ago and has had such an impact. When you hear that movie name, what is the thing you think of? Do you think of the shoot? Do you think of the reception it got? What is the one memory that you take from this mo


One of my favorite scenes in all of movie history is the scene in the valley where he's about to destroy it, and you get that amazing speech about the ark and humanity passing through history. I just want to dive into that: how it was written, how you approached it on set, what direction you were given. I'd love to just learn a bit more about that sc


Instead, the filmmakers used Mexican Redknees tarantulas for two possible reasons. First, they're native to Mexico, which is closer in geography. Second, Mexican Redknees are very docile spiders that rarely bite or kick up a fuss, making them much easier to han

From Jaws to Jurassic Park , Spielberg's films demonstrate a great appreciation for "movie magic." This is evident in an anecdote from production designer Rick Carter , who asked Spielberg during production on Jurassic Park how the T-Rex suddenly appears in the Visitors Center during the finale. Carter was asking logically, but Spielberg responded "from the top of the fra


But that thing with Harrison doing the shooting instead of the sword sequence, which was rehearsed, was because he got ill. It wasn't for time purposes. We all got dysentery from Tunisia, working there. I think the only people who didn't get ill were Steven, who had his food flown in cans from Fortnum & Mason, and Howard G. Kazanjian, the producer. Everyone else at some point or other got ill, I think - I'm trying to remember whether Karen got ill. Anyway, I got ill right at the end of the picture. But Harrison got ill when he was meant to do that sword fight that he'd rehearsed the day before, and he just couldn't move that much. If he'd moved, he'd have had a terrible accident. So he said, "Why don't I just shoot the f*cker?" And that's how that wonderful moment came aro


The search for justice doesn't always end well, and that's not what our stubborn crustacean wants to hear, no matter how wise it is. By the time this movie is over, Cancers might have thrown something at the screen and burst into tears more than o


In a roughly 40-second opening shot, Spielberg introduces the audience to everything they need to know visually about Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford). As the Paramount Pictures logo fades into a real mountaintop, our hero walks into the frame, allowing the audience to take in the iconic visage that'll define him for decades: a leather jacket, bullwhip, and fedora


We didn't get together and invent any backstory, which perhaps we should of rather, but we didn't. It didn't seem necessary; we both liked the script. The script was good enough - not good enough, it was a terrific script. But as for playing between each other, we had such a nice accord of batting stuff backwards and forwards, and mutual respect and everything. I think that just came across; the easiness of it. Although there was a time constraint, there was never any constraint on getting something right. For instance, after the first or second week, Steven decided to reshoot a lot of the second unit stunt stuff, because he just didn't think it was good enough. And they all went away and reshot it without a question. While we were going to start doing the snake pit, he was unhappy with these rubber snakes that they started with - with just a few real ones. He said, "No, no, no. We won't shoot that today. No, we'll get some more snakes," which all came over from a snake farm in Holland in a couple of days' time, "and then we'll shoot


One of the most iconic scenes of Raiders of the Lost Ark Leveling guide Ark is when Indy falls into the Well of Souls and encounters a massive cobra that flares its hood. It's a deeply tense scene that helps convey Indy's paralyzing snake phobia. Unfortunately, like the aforementioned tarantulas, the cobra in question is geographically incorr


There are some cinematic goofs and mistakes that people never notice until they're pointed out. One of the most hilarious of these occurs during the scene when a group of thugs force Marion onto the back of a truck and inside a large wicker basket. In an attempt to stop them from driving away, Indy shoots the driver, which causes the truck to overturn and expl