Raiders!: The Story of the
Greatest Fan Film Ever Made
review by Bobby Blakey
There is no denying that Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the most iconic action/adventure movies of all time. The latest documentary Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made showcases the passion some have for this film, but does it do this amazing story justice or will it fall into a pit of snakes and miss the plane all together ?
Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made follows two 11-year-olds in 1981 Mississippi who set out to remake their favorite film: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. With the help of all their friends, it took them seven years to complete in their basement except one scene, the airplane scene. Thirty years later, they set out to finally finish their fan film and full realize their childhood dream. This is the story behind the making of what is known as the greatest fan film ever made. As someone who did a lot of his own home video movies and such this movie really resonates. It is amazing to see the love and dedication that these kids went through to attempt the impossible. Their journey and story is enough to make this documentary compelling and fun to watch, but the added aspect of them setting out to complete the final scene adds another layer. As this film tells the story of their making of this epic film and its rise in popularity as adults it offers up the secondary story of the actual shooting and issues getting that final scene done. This is a great story and seeing the footage of what they did is sure to make any fan of Raiders of the Lost Ark smile and want to see the finished product. On the flip side like any story that is over this amount of time there are ups and downs so they bring all of these men’s tales both good and bad to the mix making it all the better and often sad.
In the end seeing it all come together and personal struggle with both the lifetime dedication to making the original film and the current effort to finish the missing scene makes for the perfect piece to cap off their amazing story. There are some great celebs in tow and involved with this films rise to fame appearing here to speak about its history including John Rhys-Davies, Eli Roth, and Harry Jay Knowles. There is so much to love here with the exception of the actual finished film which is now on my radar to try to find to watch and will likely be on yours too if you haven’t been lucky enough to see it at a screening already.