Raiders of the Lost Ark

Visible crew/equipment: As the bad guys are leaving the dig site for Cairo, there is a shot of the black vehicle (lead car) looking right at the driver. On the bottom of the shot is a shadow of film equipment that shouldn't be there. The shot lingers, so the shadow is very visible. (01:22:50)

manthabeat

Other mistake: In the bar shootout, a man is shot in the head. The bullet hits him in his hat right in the middle of his forehead, and then his hat falls off. But we then see a close-up of his face, and there's no bullet wound in his forehead or anywhere else.

MikeH

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Wound easily could be on a hairy part of the head.

Even in a close up a bullet wound would still be visible due to the size of the wound.

Ssiscool

Continuity mistake: In the bar shootout, a man is shot in the head, and as Marion screams in shock she's holding onto the table. In the very next shot her hand is much lower.

MikeH

Continuity mistake: When chasing Indy in the truck that he has driven into a fruit market, the Germans in their car are surrounded by fruit sellers. One gives a German soldier a melon, who promptly throws it to the ground on the left side of the car. When the car pulls away, the broken melon lies on the right side.

Movienut1

Revealing mistake: As the truck tips to the left, the stunt driver is seen steering, and appears to be activating the ram to finish the stunt.

Movie Nut

Continuity mistake: Indy swings on the vine, and his bag is on his hip. As he gets up on the plane, it disappears, but the strap is on his shoulder again in the cockpit.

Movie Nut

Continuity mistake: While Indy is chased while running towards the plane, he is in an open field where Jack the pilot can perfectly see him, but when the angle changes Indy is suddenly next to a forest.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: The huge rock rolls down to ground level, but when the angle changes it's back on a levelled position.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: The position of the door through which Satipo escapes with the idol is inconsistent in every shot, sometimes it's higher, then almost closed, then back to open.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: As Marion initiates the drinking challenge with Belloq, from the front she quickly tosses the drink back, tipping her head back then forward. From behind she repeats the motion.

Movie Nut

Revealing mistake: When the thug with the blade sticking out his back is standing still, there is some kind of squared device on his back under his clothes, presumably to retract the fake blade to end the sequence.

Movie Nut

Audio problem: In Marion's bar, she uses a burning log to knock one of the goons out. As his face changes, you hear "ow!" then he moans as he falls over. However, his mouth doesn't match any of the sounds.

Movie Nut

Visible crew/equipment: At the beginning of the ark chase sequence, Indy jumps into a truck off a horse and fights the driver. He pushes the driver up against the door. At the bottom of the frame you can see the camera shadow. (01:23:35)

manthabeat

Continuity mistake: When Indy is shot in the arm in the car, there's no blood on the windscreen at first, but in the very next shot there is.

MikeH

Audio problem: While Indy tries to escape from the Well of Souls a stick in his mouth falls on Marion, who starts to cry very loudly; however, her mouth doesn't move an inch.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: After Marion's been thrown in the Well of Souls, a net and pair of sticks over the crate behind Belloq appear or disappear randomly between shots.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: After the kids save Indy at the bar, he exits and there's a man on the right carrying a load on his shoulder. He appears and disappears randomly depending on the angle.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: When Indy's crew is lifting the stone door to access the Well of Souls, big clouds of white smoke come out from every corner. A frame later, from a wider angle, they're gone.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: About to grab the idol, Indy passes a stick over a pile of sand on the ground which has a leaf on the center. A frame later the leaf is on the left side.

Sacha

Other mistake: In the opening scene Indiana is with horses and scouts. A few minutes later he is running for his life and in a few moments he's at a waiting plane. Why does he need scouts and horses for the cave is in walking distance from the plane and how did the scouts and horses get there?

Marion: You're not the man I knew ten years ago.
Indiana: It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.

More quotes from Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark trivia picture

Trivia: In the Well of Souls, you can see hieroglyphics of C3PO and R2D2 on the wall.

More trivia for Raiders of the Lost Ark

Question: Considering how powerful and dangerous the Ark is, why would Indy hand it over to the United States government, instead of putting it back where it was found and to ensure it's never located, lie to them and say him or the Nazis never found it?

Answer: Indy and Marcus Brody believed that the Ark needed to be studied. They certainly didn't want to put it back where it was found. They believed that the U.S. government would find the best archaeologists, researchers, and scientists in the world to study the Ark. They are both upset that instead, the government has decided to simply lock the Ark away. This is why Indy says, "Fools. They don't know what they've got there," as he is leaving the building.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: To add to the previous answer, there is no way that the ark could have been secretly returned to where it was found and then conveniently forgotten. Too many people already knew of its existence and location. It would only be a matter of time before someone more sinister would retrieve it.

raywest

More questions & answers from Raiders of the Lost Ark

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