An Animated RAIDERS Opening That Took Six Months

Here's a fun Friday clip to end the week with. In honor of the 30th anniversary of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, one serious fanboy by the name of Jeff Gurwood created a stop-motion redo of the first 6 minutes of the film.  It took him six months of painstaking frame by frame animation to (I'm guessing that torch in the beginning took a lot of time!). He used real Indiana Jones action figures but what is most impressive is that he created the sets and props himself.

As a follow-up, think it would be great if Jeff gave the crazy opening sequence of TEMPLE OF DOOM the same treatment.  However, that could possibly take somewhat more time than six months given all the insane action going on in that nightclub and ensuing chase. That is definitely one my favorite Spielberg set pieces...maybe due to all the dancing girls!

Kickin' It Old School With "Raiders Of The Lost Ark"

When I was flying Virgin America recently, I checked out their in-flight RED entertainment system. They had a channel for BoingBoing.net, one of the first and foremost sites for pop culture junkies like myself which always showcases interesting geeky stuff. Yesterday, they posted a real motherlode.

Some genius editor has stitched together a fake trailer of "Raiders" circa 1951....starring Charlton Heston. All the real film nerds out there will know that "Raiders" is said to be an uncredited remake of the 1954 flick "Secret of the Incas", with Heston sporting the same fedora, pants and even half-shave as Harrison. Though there is a lot of "Secret" in this trailer, the crafty editor also used about 10 other films too, all referenced on his YouTube page. Check your movie knowledge and see how many you can name.