I'm really quite disappointed I didn't make it to the Aurora earlier this month to see Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation (lousy family vacations). In case you don't know what I'm talking about, here's some more info:
The legend of the film is well-known in Indy circles. In 1982, three friends -- Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala and Jayson Lamb -- got together to begin a shot-for-shot re-creation of "Raiders," a film that had been released just a year before. Their ambitions were huge -- they committed to re-creating every single effects shot, including the giant rolling boulder at the film's beginning.
Hampered by the budget constraints of a 12-year-old's allowance and unhappy parents who learned they were setting each other on fire, the film was shut down and restarted several times over the course of seven years. In August 1989, the now 19-year-old friends finally had their premiere screening.
The guys are in their mid-30s now, and improbably, they've fashioned a bit of a second career touring the world with what "Hostel" director Eli Roth described as "the Ark of the Covenant of underground tapes." It's been much discussed, but outside of their occasional charity screenings, it's completely unavailable.
And it played in my town! As the meatiest of mea culpas, all I can offer is the following:
- This list of upcoming screenings
- My review, made possible only after I relentlessly hounded Chris Strompolos for a screener
- A collection of video links for the movie, the better to assure you that all the cool kids like it too
I can't sing enough praises for "The Adaptation." True, it looks and sounds like crap in many places (I think even the high school Shakespeare project peenman and I shot was on better quality tape), but there's enough love (and unhealthy obsession) at its heart that you really won't care. Had I any talent for directing, cinematography or set building, I might have attempted something similar.