Indiana Jones Adaptation

Spurred by an article in the Austin Chronicle, we decided to see the Raiders of the Lost Ark - Adaptation at the Alamo Drafthouse. It had been a while since I had seen the original movie, so we rented and watched it on Saturday night.

We got to the Alamo almost 45 minutes early and there already was a line. Apparently the first showing on Friday was a hit and the AICN review didn't hurt sales, either. I was glad to have gotten tickets online, since the show had sold out.

The movie was thoroughly enjoyable and I was glad to have watched the original the night before. Two of the guys who made it were at the screening and answered questions after the movie. The movie is a shot for shot remake of Spielberg's original (with the exception of the fight scene by the airplane). The film makers were nine and ten years old when they saw the movie (int 1981) and decided to re-shoot it. It took them 8 years and you could see them change in age from scene to scene. In one scene, Indy's voice changes between two shots. The kids incredibly ingenious in their special effects and in substitutions and staid true to the original. It was fun waiting for the next scene and wondering how they'd do it. And they never took an easy way out. The funniest part was their using a puppy (Snickers, according to the credits) as a substitute for the monkey. They even had it do the Sieg Heil gesture (with a nylon string, as they told us in the Q&A). Definitely a great movie to see, if you ever get the chance.