Corrected entry: While they are in the German camp around the well of souls, Sallah is trying to blend in with the other native workers. As he passes a long table of Germans eating, a few call out in German for water (Wasser) yet he replies in English "I'll go and get you some water" a number of times. Not very undercover.
lionhead
14th May 2003
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
11th May 2025
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Question: In this film, German soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht incorrectly wear uniforms of the Afrika Korps, which was actually created in 1941. What would be the correct real-life uniform these characters should have been wearing in the desert by 1936?
Chosen answer: In real life, the Wehrmacht had no presence in Northern Africa in 1936. So whoever they were, they shouldn't have been there. Having said that, since there were no olive or khaki coloured desert uniforms yet (1940), the Wehrmacht soldiers should wear regular Heer field uniforms, which are grey-green ("field grey") and had the same style and looks from 1934 to 1945.
They were there on a personal mission for Hitler. It had nothing to do with the war. It was strictly an archaeological dig. The uniforms were relevant.
The British are not going to let armed and uniformed Wehrmacht soldiers and SS, trucks and warplanes walk around Egypt. Certainly not digging for treasure. There may not be war yet, but they were not exactly on good terms either.
9th Jun 2024
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Other mistake: The Angel of Death attacks the altar and Toht and Dietrich scream because of its revelation, but Belloq, for some reason, doesn't seem to see it. Just before the fire column rises, he's still calm. (01:47:10)
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Suggested correction: If you don't know the reason, perhaps you should ask a question instead of assuming it is a mistake. Belloq studied the ark and probably better predicted what might come out of the ark. He is also looking directly into the ark and is mesmerized by what he is seeing, until eventually he does scream before his head explodes. The other two are terrified at seeing the apparitions.
Actually, it's pretty impossible that Belloq studied the Ark. If he knew what would come out of it, he literally committed suicide by opening and watching the Ark open, which doesn't make sense. He believed during the whole movie that the Ark contained the Ten Commandments tablets, not some kind of ghastly things.
He didn't know what would come out, but it doesn't mean that he, like Indy, expected just 2 stone tablets. He expected power, for him mostly.
7th May 2020
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Question: The scene where everyone's getting burned and exploding, why didn't the ark burn Marion and Indy too? Is it because they didn't do anything wrong to it?
Answer: They were protected because they did not directly look at the Ark. Indy told Marion to look away. That is what saved them.
Anyone who looks upon what is inside the ark perishes. The ark is used as the wrath of god against anyone who doesn't show respect to it, by not looking at what is inside. Even if what is inside goes outside.
Correction: The scene is set in Egypt, and Sallah is Egyptian, so when the German soldiers want water, he is not going to reply to them in German. He would reply to them in Arabic, but for the sake of expediency with the dialogue, Sallah is speaking in English. Since he is also native to the area, he is also dressed accordingly.
Will
It would not be conspicuous for an Egyptian digger to speak a few words in another language (here English), as they would have worked with foreign archaeologists in the past.
Or the fact that Egypt was then still a British protectorate, so natives learning that language was probably not uncommon.
lionhead