Everything Wrong With Raiders of the Lost Ark In 16 Minutes Or Less 

“Always overdressing for the wrong occasions” -man wearing black 3 piece suit in the desert

The part where he takes off sins for the sword guy getting shot is priceless

The "don't look at it" plot hole was actually explained in a deleted scene where the old translater told Indy that it was forbidden to look at the contents of the ark.

The iconic final scene in the warehouse is Spielberg's nod to the equally iconic final scene of Citizen Kane which pans over thousands of the title characters collected possessions until we see the one object that defines the plot and meaning of the film.

When Cinemasins takes off a sin for logos: A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one

They actually tested whether or not a whip could tie itself around a log and support a man's weight on mythbusters, and it was plausible.

The Steven Spielberg Das Boot joke works on several levels, because that’s ACTUALLY the submarine from Das Boot.

If the swordman HAD actually fought Jones, cinemasins probably would’ve said something along the lines of _”you have a gun, just shoot the motherf*cker already”_

The sword guy getting shot scene is literally what I always think of when someone says, "don't bring a knife to a gun fight".

I mean...the instructions for the Ark are included in the Bible, and they clearly indicate the entire thing is supposed to be gilded. It was to be about 51 inches long, 31 inches high, and 31 inches wide, and completely gilded. The rods / staves to carry it were never to be removed from the rings, so, yes, they should have been with the Ark. The prop used in this film is actually a pretty decent replica of what the Ark supposedly looked like. Meanwhile, the Holy Grail isn't referenced in the Bible at all; the first recorded mention of the thing is from more than 1000 years after Jesus' death. Indy's supposition that it would be plain is based on the idea that Jesus of Nazareth was a simple carpenter, and, according to the Biblical accounts, never behaved as a king...which is one of many reasons the Jewish leaders of the day rejected him as the Messiah. Since there are actual instructions for the Ark's creation free for anyone to read, there's no reason for the Ark to look as plain as the Grail from _The Last Crusade._ Finally, Indy knew not to touch the Ark or look inside it because he had studied the lore around the Ark. The stories surrounding the Ark in the Bible clearly indicate that no one is to touch the thing (hence the hardware for carrying it by poles), and in one story, seventy people are killed for just looking inside it. Based on the supernatural things he had already observed, I've always assumed he was erring on the side of caution when he told Marion not to look at the thing when the Nazis opened it. (Yes, I'm aware that the sins in these videos are largely tongue in cheek and that CinemaSins is just having a laugh.)

1:35 Honestly I have to agree with that. Characters with funny dialogue and quips between each are great sometimes, but watching a stoic character doing what he does best can be even better.

Upon rewatching the opening scene, I noticed something pretty funky. I can imagine a lot of people missed this, but in the beginning of the movie, there are two very prevalent bird sounds. The first is a kookaburra, which is a common trope when it comes to rainforests in movies. However, it is endemic to Australia and New Guinea and should not be in South America. The second bird call that sticks out to me, happens right after the dart scene (the dart they found in the tree). It is the call of a willow ptarmigan... which is native to the tundras of Canada and Scandinavia.. they also should not be there.

In case you missed it in the movie, the floor of the map room has many holes to account for time of day/year. Indy has notes that tell him which hole to use. Not a sin at all.

“You Americans always overdress.” -guy wearing a 3 piece suit in an ancient crypt

The tent/Marion sequence is totally important!, are you nuts? It sets up the contrast to with Well of Souls sequence. It reveals a lot about Belloq's character, Marion's character, the rivalry between Indy and Belloq, and there is also the payoff from the drinking competition in Marion's bar.

The thing with Belloq and the fly...I heard somewhere that it's actually a literal frame or two that's missing, which is why it looks like he swallows the fly - the fly actually flew off.

4:25 "That was Very Darude of that sandstorm." That actually got me laughing hard.

The Marion tent sequence wasnt about Belloq trying to get her drunk to get her to talk. It was about Marion drinking him into a stupor so she could escape. She's not a damsel in distress. (its why the scene of her outdrinking other drunks was there to begin with.)

I love the naming of different movies that "The Sorcers apprentice "Alfred Molina had been in

The Indiana Jones movies are the perfect combination of action, adventure, mystery and comedy. The last one was not in the same category of the first 3, but it was still fun to watch.

If you sin Temple of The Doom, you should make a bonus round every time Willie's screaming

The 5 foot tall staff, per the movie's own rules about the staff height, towers over Indy.

Indy: "Take this. Wave it at anything that slithers." CinemaSins: "This is a very dangerous thing to say to a woman you have a sexual past with." LMAO

i just realized something: the reason indy puts the staff in a different hole then Belloq is because that grid of holes is basically a calendar telling you where to put the staff on the corresponding day. this brings up another issue with how the astronomical placement of the sun and the hole on earth would be very different 5000+ years apart. but still very impressive detail in the movie.

To answer a couple of the sins phrased in the form of questions: 1) The Ark of the Covenant is made out of gold when the Holy Grail is made out of wood for two reasons. First, because the makers of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade wanted to be clever and do something about Jesus being a carpenter, so they conveniently forgot the Holy Grail is the cup Jesus drank from at the Last Supper-- a meal which occurred after his arrival in Jerusalem, during which he was said to have been greeted by many followers, and a city in which he had never lived, since Jesus was from Galilee, not Judea-- and which Joseph of Arimathea, the local member of the ruling council who had accepted responsibility for burying Jesus after his death, caught his blood in... meaning it almost certainly wasn't the cup of a carpenter because there's very little chance Jesus lugged a complete dinner set around with him everywhere he went so he could throw impromptu banquets. Second, it's gold because Exodus 25: 10-16 details how God instructed the Hebrews to build the Ark, and those verses can be summed up as "and God said, let there be bling." It says the entirety of the Ark is either to be made out of gold or completely overlaid with it. 2) There's a deleted scene in which the holy man Indy and Sallah speak to explains the rules of handling the Ark, and in the Well of Souls, another scene confirms Indy remembers this and takes it seriously. However, it's not really necessary to resort to that, because it's already been demonstrated to us earlier in the movie that Indiana Jones knows his Bible very well, and the Bible says God commanded the Hebrews not to do three things with the Ark of the Covenant, on penalty of death-- they could not touch the Ark of the Covenant, they could not let the Ark of the Covenant touch the ground, and they were not allowed to look inside the Ark of the Covenant or upon anything in it. If you pay close attention, for all he acts like an irreverent cynic the rest of the time, Indiana Jones is obedient to God's commands at all times when dealing with the Ark. He only uses the poles Exodus instructs the Hebrews to use to carry it, and makes sure no one touches the Ark itself. He partially assembles the crate the Ark is to be moved into before moving it from its resting place in the Well of Souls, so he doesn't have to set it on the ground, but rather can set it on the bottom of the crate and build the rest of the crate around it. And third, when they open the Ark and he sees that something is going to come out, he doesn't look and makes sure Marion doesn't, either. That's what he's doing; he's obeying the Bible. The Nazis, on the other hand, break all three commandments. They set the Ark on the ground when Indy threatens to blow it up, and then again for the opening ritual. They touch the Ark to take the lid off, and Toht, Dietrich, and Belloq all look directly into the Ark once the lid is removed. The rest of the Nazis look at the spirit that comes out. As for what the spirit is, there are two possibilities, but in all likelihood what you're seeing is supposed to represent a manifestation of God, since no one dies until the spirit shows its face. In Exodus 33, when Moses asks God to reveal His glory to him (in other words, let Moses see what He looks like), God replies "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The Lord.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live." Again, that's something Indiana Jones-- who has clearly studied the Old Testament-- would have known. Either way, it doesn't come out of nowhere, and as others have noted, the pillar of fire isn't Nazi mist traveling to Heaven. It's God cleansing the Earth of all who defiled His Ark and the Covenant housed inside.

"This situation with Marion requires further explanation!" "Right, so ten years ago, when Indy was 26 and Marion was 15-" "Further explanation not required!"

One of my favorite movies of all time. I grew up watching it repeatedly, again and again and again. "Satipo" is the name of a city in Peru and would be a weird name for a person. "Sapito" means "little toad" in Spanish, and I can easily imagine it being used as a nickname. Even though Satipo is the official name, I think Sapito fits better.

It always bugged me that the supposedly "lost" Well of Souls was apparently easily accessible through that side wall right next to the Nazi airstrip/small military base and nobody bothered to look in there.

This movie is truly timeless, never not in the mood for it.

Regarding the "I was a child..." line, it's as creepy as it sounds. During the story breaking sessions, where Lucas, Spielberg and Kasdan sat down to work out the story, they came up with the idea of Marion having been a young teenager she and Indy had their affair and that's why Indy fell out with Marion's father. They talked about what age she might have been and they ultimately decided to keep it vague but they were considering her being around 13 or 14 with Indy having been in his early 20s. The "I was a child" line and a line during the exposition scene about Indy and Ravenwood having fallen out are the only parts of the idea that survived. Speaking of the story breaking sessions though, there's transcripts available for them online that are really worth checking out. They work out the story, the characters, action sequences (including some like the mine cart sequence that ended up in Temple Of Doom) and it's a fascinating read. Just google "Raiders Lucas Spielberg and Kasdan story session transcript" or something like that. It's not hard to find.

You missed one. At 2:07 he carries a small bag of sand that's supposed to match the weight of the golden idol. The problem is that gold is twice as heavy as lead (per unit volume) and even heavier than uranium, so certainly a lot more than a small bag of sand half filled with air. The gold idol has twice as much volume as the bag so it should be roughly six times as heavy. If it's two litres in volume (my guess) then the idol would weigh 88 pounds. And he threw those 88 pounds across a 12 foot gaping hole during his escape. P.S. The raw material value of that golden idol at today's prices would be $2.3 million. P.S. Was the lazy eye on the idol done intentionally to make it look creepy?

I haven’t heard him this animated in a long time. And it’s nice to see them go back to their original style: genuine sins about visual details and plot technicalities.

Cinemasins: “Don’t put things on your eyelids!!” People who wear eyeliner: 👀

The ending scene is practically the premise for the Syfy show "Warehouse 13," one of my favorite TV shows of all time.

One of the things I appreciate most is the true appreciation of the craft shown by taking OFF sins where warranted. Cinema Sins is here to protect a sacred art form!

14:44 Indy's familiar with the requirements for Rabbis to be purified before approaching the ark. He knows he and Marion are not purified, and therefore should not presume to look upon the opened Ark. Old Testament 101.

Ok the “ this romance is gunna produce a kid named mutt” really got me hahaha

Regarding the "sun changes every day" thing: you're right, but that means that the series of holes on the floor has dates on it and you place it based on the date. That's why there isn't just one hole. So take off that sin. That also explains why Belloq used a different hole when he set it on a different day, and thus the sand over the place Indy is using. So...two sins off of your sin tally.

The way you can hear him smiling throughout this fills me with joy

This film was my childhood. I watched it at least 30 times. As a grown up I still love it and it fights with The Usual Suspects for the top spot.

Sapito is "little frog" in spanish, indie was probably making fun of him.

The holes on the map room floor are what day to use. Thats why belloqs was two ahead of Indy

6:16 Fun Fact: this scene was meant to be one of the longest fight scenes, but he had a really bad fever so he improvised and mad this scene

Really surprised you didn’t bring up the fact that Indiana Jones somehow managed to stowaway on a submarine A. Without being noticed and B. Somehow got onboard when it was about to dive, meaning the airtight hatches would’ve been closed and locked.

I was so hoping the part where Jones Shoots the Sword Man Got A Sin Removed It got 3 🤠

I mean the original tablets of the commandments are hand written by God, then Moses chucked them at people and God made him rewrite them. So to answer your question, yeah most people prefer to protect the original cut and not the cover song.

About the aesthetic design of the ark. In the Old Testament there’s a fairly detailed description of what the ark looked like, so they were replicating that description

Back in the 80s as a child, many saturday nights watching this with my parents. Great memories 👍🏻

Moses was upset about the golden calf because his people started worshipping it, not because it was golden.

"I was a child! I was in love! It was wrong and you knew it!" Even in 1981 this should have sounded bad! XD

The book of Exodus describes Ark of the Covenant in great detail: its exact dimensions, the type of wood it was carved out of, that it was covered in gold overlay, the position and pose of the two angel statues on the lid, the rods used to carry it, etc. The prop ark they built for Raiders is actually a very accurate recreation of the ark as described in the Bible.

Just finished watching this movie and I noticed a huge mistake. In the scenes where Indy is fighting the buff mechanic and Marion gets trapped in the cockpit, she originally is stuck in the cockpit with the dead pilot and controls to fly the plane. In the following scenes, we see her in the other cockpit with the machine gun shooting at the truck full of nazis. Indy even tries to save her the first time from that cockpit but fails. Once the mechanic is dead and Indy finally goes to save her again, she is back in the original cockpit with the dead pilot and airplane controls. Seen this movie probably 20+ times and can't believe I'm just now noticing this.

"Is this really happening? Is he really climbing out of a steam pipe like a goddamn cartoon?!" It's not a steam pipe. It's an air intake; you need a way for air to get belowdecks if you're going to not suffocate the people working down there. And also your engine. That's why the bent opening on these things always face the bow; the ship's forward motion is supposed to help force fresh air into the bottom of the ship.

6:15 "Im surprised this sword guy didn't shoot Han first".

I think the moral of all Indiana Jones movies is that some guys are just improbably lucky. Imagine you're one of those guys. What a comforting feeling.

When Indy first sees the Giant Boulder Of Death rolling towards him, all he had to do was duck under it. And CHEERS to Toonces! Could have also gone with a "The Jerk" reference.

The sword scene where he shoots the guy was Ford's idea. He and the crew ate some bad food and got dysentery so they were constantly running for the bathroom. Ford said to Spielberg, "I have a gun, I can just shoot him." The scene was originally designed to be this huge fight. Anyway after they shot it, they loved it so that is how it was put in the movie and became one of the most iconic scenes up there with "I think you are going to need a bigger boat." The sword guy was pretty pissed off though becsue he had practiced a huge scene and it was literally cut from the movie.

The "Snakes on a Plane" reference got a LOL out of me. Gotta give you credit for that one.

LOL..at the beginning, I always thought it was strange he’s walking around with the 2 guides like they hiked through the jungle, but he had the 2 seater sea plane with a pilot just a few yards away waiting just for him!!??!!??

2:37 According to IMDb, Indy says "Adios, stupido", but it's hard to hear right because of the falling sand and the music.

I’m surprised he didn’t mention the guy in literal blue jeans and a white tea shirt at 6:25

"wait, THAT's his burn?" no, his burn is on his hand

Add one sin to 6:20 for Indy casually hip firing into a crowd of civilians, hitting his target, and the fact that no one got hit with the bullet when it exited out of the back of that guy. The scene is awesome and deserves to have sins taken off for it, but less than what actually was.

IM sure it's already been pointed out, but the map room does have specific holes to use for the staff based on the date you're using it. Indy references the translation then seeks out the hole, so you DID kinda give them an undeserved sin for it.

Its hard to believe but that ending scene with the ARK actually spawned a great TV Show Warehouse 13.

One thing that stuck in my mind for decades was the "undue weight" given to Abner Ravenwood. He's established as an important character in the Army Intelligence briefing, we're told he's the expert on Tanis and not a Nazi -- the latter detail is the sort of thing you only bother to mention if the person is going to actually appear in the movie. Then Indy goes off to Nepal to find him, but Marion just tells him Abner's dead, and that's it. Then, decades later, I finally watched/read some making-of stuff on the movie, and found out Abner WAS supposed to be in the movie, that Indy would find him in Nepal with Marion, but then he'd get killed in the gunfight. Now it makes so much more sense...

I lost it at the end when you added Anakin complaining about SAND!

The only one of these errors & sins that I missed when watching Raiders (the first time or any of the gazillion times since) was the shadow of bouncing granite block. Despite these goofs, Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of my 20 favourite movies.

6:18 "I can't wait for the inevitable George Lucas Special Edition where he makes the Swordsman shoot Indy first."

"This needs a LOT more explaining than it gets." Indiana met Marion and had a sexual relationship with her when he accompanied her father on an archeological dig in 1925. She was born in 1909 so she would have been either 15 or 16 years old, depending on exactly when she was born and when the two met. Indiana was 10 years older than her. When they were coming up with the story Lucas suggested that the relationship to begin at age 11 but after Spielberg objected and Lucas suggested 15. Then Spielberg wanted Marion to be promiscuous and "come on" to Indiana. The age of consent in Illinois (where Abner Ravenwood, Marion's father, lived in 1925) was 16 (it was 10 years old in the 1880s). So, depending on her exact age the relationship could be either statutory rape or just very inappropriate if it had taken place in Chicago. However, it's much more likely that the relationship took place on the expedition in the Middle East or Southwest Asia and the age of consent (if there even was one) was undoubtedly much lower. There! Now you have the whole backstory.

I’m watching this movie for probably the 100th time and it never gets old. The older I get the more I appreciate how good it is but the more I notice it’s little flaws. The main love interest of the protagonist dies in a fiery explosion, and one of his best friends says “life goes on”. Like really?

I appreciate the time and effort this undoubtedly took, and it seems you did it in fun while maintaining respect. One of my favorite movies of all time!

The "Don't look at it!" isn't completely out of the blue: when we see a picture of the ark at the start, the Jewish people have their eyes closed. It's one hell(!) of a leap to make the connection, but it was there.

"100" isn't the number of sins, it's this movie's score on the final exam.

I can’t believe that he didn’t sin the fact that the snake in the background of the snake closeup wasn’t even a snake, it’s a leg less lizard, which yes is totally different.

Spielberg's most perfect movie. He did no wrong here. It's not even 'Spielbergian'. It's just action packed, exciting, and hilarious. After his first flop (1941), he was told to be quick and efficient. On time and under budget. And boy, did he deliver. Aged like a fine wine.

CS: "That was very Darude of that sandstorm" Me: I wonder how many of these I do not get xDDD

> This "Don't look at the ark" idea comes out of nowhere. It isn't even hinted at! Actually, it was mentioned at the beginning, when Indy pointed out that the people in the drawing were looking down and not at the ark. Averting their eyes from god.

5:14 "this needs a lot more ughhhmplaining than it gets"

Sin 58 at 9:10 I've also seen the Clint's Reptiles video where he reviews movies with reptiles, and he said that half of the "snakes" in the pit aren't even snakes. They're legless lizards, which aren't the same

2:38 I ALWAYS thought he said: "Adios Stupido" 🤣

THEY must have switched baskets. The line is "THEY must have switched baskets."

You should add another sin for how the trap got reset again for Sapito or was it Satito hahah

This is one of my favorite movies. The directing, acting and cinematography is perfect. I can overlook these sins any day but great point! Suspend disbelief lol

6:24 A regular guy walks part on set (Left side)

I always thought he said “adios stupido.” Like he was stupid for trying to run away with the idol.

When I was a kid I was actually scared to look during the ark opening scene because I thought my face would melt

I noticed the fly going into the guy’s mouth years ago and it bothered me that it wasn’t a more well known fluke - thanks for the catch!

The screewriter is truly sorry, Jeremy. He meant "South America, Earth"

My brother and I couldn’t get enough of this movie when we were kids. “No movie is without sin” but this one comes close!

I saw this in theaters on it's first run, as a kid. nd even THEN, I remember several kids such as myself questioning how the traps could-reset after the previous guy had set them off, We all couldn't understand how light would trip anything that didn't involve electricity and beams like you would see on a business front door

Gotta say, as a Christian, I love how you handled the Biblical aspects of this movie! It's hard to do without expressing your own beliefs, but you knew your stuff and managed to steer clear of the religious debate at the same time. Kudos to you! As a movie lover, I've always loved the scene where Indy just shoots the sword guy, so I'm very glad to see that sins were taken off there. It makes me laugh every time.

surprised the sudden R2D2 and C3PO in the ark room glyphs didnt get a sin

I'm not sure how close the boulder was to getting Dr. Jones, but it was on a roll.

Fun fact about indie shooting the guy with the sword. Apparently there was a big fight sequence that was supposed to take place. But Harrison Ford had a head cold that day and got tired of all the choreography. So in one scene he just pulled out his pistol and shot the guy. Steven Spielberg loved it so much he kept it in the movie!

a few to add: - how did indiana hide in a submarine which was diving? - in the scene where he climbs out from the tomb (gummy stone), you can see a guy sleeping (or dead?) next to the exit in the next shot.

I’m surprised he missed the extra in modern day clothes (jeans and white t-shirt) walking in the back of the shot when Indy is drinking his sorrows away - 6:25 Definitely worth a few sins!!

How about Indy showing up in a snowstorm in the Himalayas wearing only his leather jacket, button-up shirt (with the top two buttons open) and fedora? And how about Marion besting a Sherpa in a serious drinking contest involving around 20 shots, but after he keels over, she's completely sober? And there's no way that little town in Tunisia is Cairo. Even in the 30s it was a metropolis and had several centuries' worth of monumental architecture.

“Kingdom of the Actual Skull” that’s some funny ah!t right there

1:35 This is physically correct: the frictional force between a rope and a circular-section beam increases exponentially with the number of turns. One can tether a horse to a hitching-rail in this way (watch westerns very closely) and even secure a large ship to a capstan. OTOH, it is not so easy to reverse the process.