Director: Jeremy Coon, Tim Skousen
Cast: Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala, Jayson Lamb, Angela Rodriguez
Have I Seen it Before: I mean, I’ve seen the original movie many times, but that doesn’t feel like it needs to be said.
Did I Like It: I mean, I liked the original movie, but that doesn’t feel like it needs to be said. The film is well made, but I’ll work out my specific feelings about it all down below.
The following review has been adapted from a blog post entitled “Movie Theaters of Days Past: Circle Cinema (Just Off of 1st and Lewis),” previously published on July 31st, 2016.
I saw Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made. Whoo, boy. I’ve got a lot of thoughts about this film. As the man who was once the boy that would conquer Hollywood with nothing more than his intermittently reliable wits and a camcorder, the movie struck a chord.
In fairness, that chord often led me to mutter, “Jesus, guys. Move on.”
While the documentary delves into the making of the lions’ share of the subject’s efforts to cobble together a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the main thrust of the narrative deals with their attempt, over twenty-five years after they “finished” their movie, to film the one scene** they could never finish. The level of obsession these people had for their project is something I might be able to call commitment, if it weren’t for the fact that they spent their time (and, admittedly, their love) making a movie that was made quite well before. Say what you will about my occasional forays into filmmaking, but I was absolutely making my own movie. I also never almost lost my job over it. Maybe that makes me a sell-out, but if these guys could make an original film, I would have been far more sympathetic to their plight.