20 Things You Didn't Know About Raiders Of The Lost Ark

2. Three Teenagers Remade The Entire Film

Raiders Of The Lost Ark
Eric Zala

There is no question who are the biggest fans of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Eric Zala, Chris Strompolos, and Jayson Lamb loved the film so much, they reshot the entire movie themselves. In 1982, these 11-year-olds worked tirelessly to recreate every shot from their favourite movie.

Since they had no money, they had to ask for props for Christmas and their birthdays. Zala asked for a fedora, Lamb asked for a whip, Strompolos asked for... the boulder, and so on. Because none of them had a tape of the film at first, they had to recreate scenes from action figures, magazines, and their own memories. Before they got a copy of the film, they relied on a storyboard with 600 pictures to shoot their scenes. It took them seven years to complete 95% of the movie and another 25 years to shoot the scene where Indy fights a hulking brute beside a plane's propellers.

Their work, Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Lost Adaptation, inspired the documentary, Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made, which shows how the trio adapted the film.

Contributor

James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows