Corrected entry: As Indiana and Marion escape the Well of Souls (via pushing the large stone block at the end of the mummy tomb adjacent to the Well), there is a person distinctly propped up against the side of the stone walls, apparently napping. Even if this was supposed to be a watchman/worker falling asleep on the job, why didn't he notice the crunch and rumble and resulting loud THUD of a stone block being moved not ten feet away?
Phil C.
22nd Mar 2004
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
27th Aug 2001
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Corrected entry: In the big chase scene where Indy is driving the truck a Nazi manning a stationary gun on the back of another truck fires several rounds point blank into the tarp covering the cargo hold of Indy's truck until he rams them off the road. That tarp must be strong since they show no bullet holes for the rest of the scene.
Correction: The gun is only shown onscreen while firing once, and during that shot the barrel is pointing at an angle which would send the bullets over the hood of the target truck. There are some other incidents when it is heard firing, but we don't see it onscreen at those times, only hear it as the trucks crash together. Given the velocity of the chase and the violence with which Indy keeps ramming the chase truck, it's easy to assume that the gunner couldn't keep the gun aimed at the target long enough to hit it.
3rd Jul 2003
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Corrected entry: In the very first scene of the movie when Indiana Jones comes back to Marion to save her from the bad guys, he snaps his whip on one guy, then pulls out a gun. Indiana Jones is invincible, but still it's a little hard to believe that even the great Indiana Jones can make a 6-shooter shoot 10+ times.
Correction: It is a common filmmaking technique to not show the hero reloading, particularly in the serials which this movie takes its inspiration from. There are plenty of times when Indy isn't actually onscreen when he could be reloading.
27th Aug 2001
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Corrected entry: When the Well of Souls is opened it makes a vacuum sound. This would be impossible if the snakes were entering from outside, or if they were to survive.
Correction: If it were a "vacuum" sound, air would be rushing INTO the vault, not out of it as the escaping mist obviously shows. Given the atmospheric effects that appear when the Ark is finally opened later, this seems to suggest the sounds and the mist escaping are manifestations of spirits that are angry at the disturbance of the Ark's resting place.
27th Aug 2001
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Corrected entry: When Marion is being chased by the Nazis, she hides in a basket, but doesn't shut the lid properly. When the monkey screeches to let the Nazis know she is there, the lid is completely shut.
9th Sep 2003
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Corrected entry: During the process of escaping from the Well of Souls after being entombed there by the Nazis, Jones ends up shoving out a large concrete block from the inside of an aboveground concrete structure, through which Jones and Marion crawl to freedom. How is it that the Germans and Belloq wouldn't have thought to investigate this aboveground structure themselves in their search for the Ark?
Correction: The Germans didn't because they were following Belloq's lead. Belloq didn't because he was so sure of himself that he didn't want to admit his directions might be incomplete or wrong. Even if they had investigated the building, they would have found nothing; the burial passageway would have led to a blank wall. The Well of Souls was on the other side of this wall; it was only opened when Indy knocked the statue through it.
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Correction: This is actually a visible remnant of a deleted scene. As originally shot, when Indy pushed the block out, it startled a worker who was standing nearby. When Indy emerged, he had to silence the worker before he alerted the rest of the camp. See http://www.theraider.net/films/raiders/deleted_scenes.php. Not really a mistake, as the subsequent startling is just not shown.
Phil C.