Raiders of the Lost Ark

1936. Indiana Jones, an archaeology professor and relic hunter, is recruited by the US government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis, who are digging in Egypt. The key clue is held by Marion Ravenwood, his old flame, who runs a bar in Nepal. With Marion and his friend Sallah, Indy finds the Well of Souls, but his rival Belloq, working for the Nazis, takes the Ark. The chase runs by sea to an island. When Belloq opens the Ark in a ceremony, the power inside destroys the Nazis, and Indy and Marion survive with their eyes shut. The Ark ends up in a government warehouse.

1. Behind the scenesThe hero is named after a dog

   George Lucas first called it "The Adventures of Indiana Smith", after his Alaskan malamute. The idea sat on a shelf until May 1977, when Lucas fled to Hawaii, afraid Star Wars would flop, and pitched it to Spielberg on the beach.

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2. ReferenceR2-D2 and C-3PO on the wall

   Look at the hieroglyphs in the Well of Souls. Carved into the wall are R2-D2 and C-3PO, a wink from Lucas to Star Wars.

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3. Behind the scenesThe sword fight that got cut short

   The Tunisia shoot was brutal: heat over 130 F and more than 150 crew members down with dysentery. Harrison Ford got sick too, and the sword fight planned for the Cairo scene was cut down drastically.

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