If there’s something Indiana Jones can’t do – we’d like to see it!
Whether it’s recovering archaeological treasures or evading Nazis, he’s the man who could
do no wrong and has been immortalized in 5 great films – starting with the classic
Raiders of the Lost Ark.
The character and the universe were created by George Lucas.
The script was written by George Lucas and directed by Steven Spielberg.
With a great team, they could only make a perfect film, right?
Well, not quite.
Even in the great film “Raiders of the Lost Ark” there were quite a few bloopers that
can change your experience of looking at the film.
It’s still a great film, but looking at these bloopers show that even great filmmakers
can make a blunder or two or three or more!
Join FactsVerse to see some of the most popular Indiana Jones Blooper scenes you may have
missed…
WHERE DID YOU FIND THOSE TARANTULAS?
Raiders of the Lost Ark starts off somewhere in South America.
In one scene, Indy gets bombarded with many tarantulas.
However, this is where we see one of the first bloopers.
Indy wasn’t being crawled upon by South American tarantulas but rather Mexican tarantulas.
If you’re an expert on arachnids, perhaps Mr. Spielberg owes you an apology for this
blooper.
But there might be a reason as to why Mexican tarantulas were chosen.
One was the convenience of course.
Mexico was closer to the United States where most of the cast and crew were from.
But also the Mexican tarantulas weren’t as harmful and were much easier to handle.
I guess they had to give Indy a break from dodging the natives by giving him a weaker
type of tarantula to contend with.
“WHERE ARE YOU FROM, MR.
COBRA?”
We don’t recommend you ask such a question if you come across a Cobra but some more discerning
viewers might have become puzzled when Indy is facing a cobra directly.
Indy is in Egypt but he is facing a cobra that has its origins in Southeast Asia.
Perhaps the Egyptian cobras were on strike at the time?
No one knows why this particular cobra was chosen or whether there was even a particular
reason.
But no matter, what we do know, is that this became one of the most tense scenes in the
film.
We don’t blame you if you shut your eyes so tightly, that you didn’t notice where
the cobra was actually from!
DON’T MISS YOUR FLIGHT
In the first part of the film, Indy is running away from the natives and trying to escape.
When he’s in the deepest forest he’s trying to find his plane where his pilot will help
him escape.
By the time he reaches the plane, the pilot has already started it up.
But how did the pilot know that Indy was on his way – how could he possibly see the
man from such a distance?
Just pay attention the suspense of the scene and the blooper won’t get to you I suppose!
SAY THAT AGAIN?
An expert archaeologist like Dr. Indiana Jones wouldn’t make a mistake in giving a lecture
to others and he’d know his Bible rather well.
And yet, there was a major blooper when he’s explaining the Ark of the Covenant to his
colleagues.
He states that Moses took the shattered tablets on which the 10 Commandments were written
and placed them inside an Ark – that ark being the Ark of the Covenant.
However, the story is actually different.
In the actual Biblical story, God instructs Moses to put the broken tablets in a brand
new Ark that he has to build.
One wonders if any archaeologists and theological experts stormed out of cinemas during this
scene!
NO ASSIGNED SEATS IN DR.
JONES’ CLASS
Early on in the film, we see Dr. Jones teaching a class to his students.
If you look closely, you’ll see that during this scene, the students keep changing positions
and are always in different seats.
This is a continuity error and the script supervisor didn’t pay as much attention
to where the students were sitting.
In fact, the young student who has “Love You” written on her eyelids and sits at
the front to show Dr. Jones moves around quite a lot during the scene.
Perhaps she wanted to see him from different angles or maybe she just moved after she saw
that he was clearly not interested!
In fact, even the student who gives Dr. Jones the apple at the end of the class moves his
seat several times.
Perhaps finding the right seat was his first priority and giving the apple was secondary.
NO TIME FOR PLAYING WITH SWORDS
One of the funniest and most memorable scenes from the film is when a swordsman is waving
his sword to strike fear in Indy’s heart.
He is preparing for a duel, ready to behead this foreigner who has entered his land.
Indy simply doesn’t have the time or the energy for a sword fight so he simply takes
out his gun and shoots the guy and then moves on.
This hilarious scene is actually a blooper!
Harrison Ford wasn’t feeling to well on that day and he truly didn’t have the energy
to get into a long fight which is what was originally scripted.
So he just took out his prop gun and fired and the actor playing the swordsman fell down
– remaining in character.
The scene may not have been what was originally intended, but it made a great scene.
NAP TIME
One of the tensest sequences in the film takes place in the Well of Souls.
When Indy and Marion enter the Well of Souls, they speak to a guard watching over the well.
And then when they escape, if you look closely, you’ll see the guard sleeping!
It’s easy to miss because your focus is on Indy and Marion are escaping but the man
was just taking a nap!
I guess we can’t really blame him – it was apparently a very hot day!
BLINK AND YOU’LL MISS IT
Now let’s end with a few quick Indiana Jones blooper scenes that happened so fast and you’ll
need to watch several times to realize that you missed it.
For example, fast forward 38 minutes into the movie and you’ll see a vicious swordfight.
A sword goes through a man’s body – yet when the sword gets removed we don’t see
any sort of stain on the sword.
Perhaps the sword wasn’t as bloodthirsty as it’s attacker.
The character Satipo, played by Alfred Molina, has crooked teeth.
When Indy finds the idol he smiles and shows these ugly teeth.
But once the man dies, you can clearly see that he has perfect straight teeth.
Maybe there was a dentist hiding about in the jungle somewhere.
When the Ark is being carried away, it’s in a box that has bars and a huge lock to
protect it.
But in another shot, the bars and lock disappear.
I suppose you just have to write TOP SECRET on the box and that’s good enough!
Some fans have also stated that the Ark would be so heavy that it wouldn’t really be easy
for just Indy and Sallah to carry on their backs.
Then again, do we really know about Harrison Ford’s and Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ workout
regimes?
In the film, the Germans are present in Egypt and control large parts of it.
However, in reality, the British Army had a huge military stationed in the country.
There’s no way they would have allowed the government of Nazi Germany to just turn up.
If this historical innacuracy bothers you, just remember Hitchock’s famous words “it’s
only a movie!”
In the temple where Indy has to face his fear and is surrounded by an army of snakes, in
reality this wouldn’t have been possible.
A huge number of snakes wouldn’t be able to last as long without being able to eat
food.
They’d simply die off.
It could be that these snakes were on a diet of course – that is until Indiana Jones
turned up!
In the scene where there’s a bar fight at Marion’s Bar when Indy is in Nepal, a bottle
of Jack Daniel’s is lit up.
However, in reality, the alcohol content of a bottle of Jack Daniels is too low to get
used as a Molotov cocktail.
It couldn’t light up as it does in the movie.
But please don’t try to find this out for yourself – just take our word for it!
Now, do you feel a bit disappointed with these bloopers?
Don’t be!
It makes the film more fun and it remains a classic.
While there was the occasional blunder, there was also a lot of research done to remain
as accurate as possible.
So much so, that there are some parts of the movie that are regarded as bloopers but are
not!
For example, in the film, you’ll see the Nazi officers smoking cigarettes.
Many history buffs have said this is inaccurate as Hitler banned smoking.
However, he banned it in 1939 whereas the film takes place in 1936 when it was still
very much legal.
Also, while few Nazi soldiers spoke English at the time, there were a few officials who
were fluent in the language.
Those were chosen to serve in parts of the world that Hitler wanted to take over.
So, the soldiers speaking English in this film isn’t inaccurate after all.
Now go on, finish watching this video and then watch Raiders of the Lost Ark!
It remains a classic to this day!
Are you a fan of Raiders of the Lost Ark?
Did you know about these bloopers and did they affect your perception of the film?
In fact, here’s what we’d like to hear from you:
Do you think that it was wise for the most recent 2 Indiana Jones films to be made?
Or did it ruin the trilogy since there was such a big gap between the third film and
the fourth and fifth film?