|
Deleted
Scenes |
Not all filmed scenes made it
to the final cut of Raiders
of the Lost Ark.
Here follows a list of 7 scenes that
have been left out and why. |
Marion
Kisses Indy |
In the uncut conversation
between Indy and Marion
at the Raven Bar, Marion
explains the cause of Abner's
death and tells Indy about
the difficult last two years
of her life. After having
arranged the following day's
appointment for the delivery
of the medallion, Indy turns
to leave, only to return
under Marion's urge; she
grabs his jacket and pulls
him close for a kiss.
The whole Raven Bar scene
was cut because it was considered
too long. The kissing part
can be seen in The
Making of Raiders of the
Lost Ark documentary.
The scene appears in a script
draft, the novelization
and the Marvel
Comics movie adaptation. |
|
|
The
Cairo swordfight |
The action scene set in
Cairo in which Indy simply
shoots the Arab swordsman
was originally planned to
become a long attack with
Indy's whip versus the Arab
his sword. The crew started
filming that long attack
scene as it was storyboarded
but were unable to finish
it because actor Harrison
Ford couldn't stay on set
for long. He was suffering
from fatigue and intestinal
illness, so Spielberg took
a decision that would eventually
become the biggest laugh
in the Indy Trilogy: he
ordered Ford to simply pull
the gun from his holster
and shoot the swordsman
down, and that's how we
saw it. |
|
|
The
dangers of the Ark |
A plot element involving
the Ark of the Covenant
was cut from the film
and is only hinted at
during the finale when
the Ark is opened. Basically,
there were 2 rules about
the Ark not mentioned
in the final cut of the
film:
- If you touch the Ark,
you die.
- If you look at the
Ark when it is opened,
you die.
This is
first explained in additional
dialogue for the scene
when Indy and Sallah visit
Imam. Before translating
the writings on the headpiece
that give the height of
the Staff of Ra, Imam
warns Indy not to touch
the Ark or look at it
when it is opened.
The next scene involving
this Ark subplot is when
Sallah and Indy remove
the Ark from the Well
of the Souls. When Sallah
first sees it he reaches
out to touch it. Indy
stops him before he does
and reminds him of Imam's
warning. Then they insert
long poles through each
side of the Ark to lift
it out of its crypt.
Notice that nobody ever
touches the Ark throughout
the rest of the film until
the finale. |
|
|
Sallah
in a state of panic |
While
Indiana Jones is in the
Map Room trying to find
the exact location of
the Well of the Souls,
two German soldiers approach
Sallah and order him to
help them remove their
truck that had been stuck
in the sand. In the process
Sallah looses the rope
with which he was supposed
to help Indy get out of
the Map Room. In a continuing
scene we see Sallah entering
a German tent looking
for something to substitute
his missing rope and awhile
later he comes up with
a "rope" made
of bed sheets and a German
flag.
What we don't see is Sallah
in a state of panic wandering
in the Nazi camp at breakfast
time. A group of German
soldiers ask him to serve
them water from a marmite.
Sallah spills the content
of the marmite on the
German officers' uniforms
and leaves promising to
return with fresh water.
The scene called for smoke
in the background but
unfortunately the tires
used to produce the smoke
were too many, thus making
the scene too dark. Spielberg
opted to cut this scene
instead of spending half
a day shooting it again. |
|
|
Sallah's
execution |
With
Indy and Marion left to
suffocate in the Well
of the Souls the Germans
decide that Sallah should
be executed. A young German
soldier was supposed to
carry out the dirty job
but things changed when
the later started having
second thoughts. A German
youth vacationing in Tunisia
had been hired for the
part of the young soldier.
The funny thing is that
this inexperienced young
man managed to express
brilliantly the moral
dilemma of a young soldier
forced to decide whether
or not to kill a harmless
stranger; this is the
business of foreign wars,
and this unknown German
boy was able to convey
it as well as any actor.
The result was beyond
description, with this
German student playing
an intensely moving and
emotional scene, making
David Wisniewitz and Karen
Allen call it the greatest
moment since the film
began. Spielberg said
the bitter truth was that
brilliant and memorable
though the scene was,
it would probably end
up on the cutting-room
floor because it was just
too long. So it did. |
|
|
|
Knocking
an Arab unconscious |
There
was a small cut during
the scene where Indy and
Marion escape from the
Well of Souls. When Indy
pushes the large stone
brick out of the room
filled with mummy's, there
is an Arab guard standing
outside. When the Arab
and Indy come face to
face, Indy simply knocks
him unconscious.
Evidence of this scene
still remains in the film.
As Indy steps out of the
chamber, he pauses and
looks off to the left
side of the screen. In
the following shot, when
Indy and Marion run from
the building to the German
plane, that Arab is visible
lying on the ground by
the building. |
|
|
The
periscope ride |
This
is the most well-known
of the Indy cut scenes,
by virtue of being the
one most crucial to the
plot. This scene explains
how Indy survived his
trip at sea attached to
a submerged submarine.
As the sub descends, he
climbs up and grabs hold
of its extended periscope.
He then lashes himself
to it with his whip for
the long trip.
In the final film, the
plot hole goes largely
unnoticed. Most people
seem to assume either
that Indy snuck inside
the sub or that it stayed
on the ocean surface for
the duration of the trip.
This cut scene did appear
in the Marvel Comics adaptation.
The few pictures that
we have found prove that
they indeed film part
of this scene. |
|
|
Sources |
- From Star
Wars To Indiana Jones - The
Best of the Lucasfilm Archives
- Lucasfilm Magazine: July/August
2001 - Number 30
- Raiders of the Lost Ark: A
Marvel Movie Special - Numbers
1 & 3 - 1981 |
|