Raiders: The Adaptation

Jim of Seattle · Post by **Jim of Seattle** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 5:46 pm

I am SO STOKED to get to see this movie next week.

Three kids aged 12 decided to re-create the entire movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, shot by shot. It took them over 6 years. They did it in their basement on a borrowed video camrea. It's playing at a local movie club in town next weekend.

(If you look in the credits, my name is in there playing the Messenger Pirate. This is not me. I have never been to Mississippi.)

erik · Post by **erik** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 6:07 pm

Gawd, I really really liked this. People of a certain age all have some horrid thing from their past involving a tape player or a video camera and a script that reimagines you and your friends as the lead singers, or big name actors in a movie. Girls were likely to sing along to a Prince song, or that one song from Dirty Dancing, and record it, to unknowingly embarass their future selves. Boys would film some sort of bastardization of Aliens, or Terminator. This movie is like the ultimate in Cinéma Imité.

As you watch it, in your head you keep thinking of all the stunts and effects and props that are coming up, and you snicker silently to yourself, thinking that there's no way they're going to be able to pull it off. And then they do, repeatedly, and you're just blown away. It's like every bit as awesome as the original, although for different reasons.

I would recommend this movie to anyone, as long as they are over 30 and not a female.*

*People who are under 30 or who are females may still enjoy this film.

Jim of Seattle · Post by **Jim of Seattle** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 6:42 pm

Why not females? Or people under 30 for that matter? And how did you get to see it?

erik · Post by **erik** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 7:11 pm

I have no first hand experience of whether Raiders is some sort of magical experience for people who are under 30, or female.

I saw it because I live in Austin, and we have badass movie theaters. This movie "re-premiered" in Austin some time last year.

Jim of Seattle · Post by **Jim of Seattle** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 7:05 pm

So I saw this thing the other night. Pretty damn amazing. These kids really did do the entire movie. With tons of detail. The big scene with the plane and the gasoline and the bald guy was the only thing they didn't do. My favorite part was the monkey, which was played by the lead guy's beagle. This really was just a summertime project done by kids with no aspirations to stardom. Just something to do. VERY COOL.