Today June 12th Raiders of the Lost Ark was released!
In celebration of the 39th Anniversary of
One of the greatest movies ever made!
Today we’re sharing a crew story from “the true adventures of the world’s greatest Stuntman” by Vic Armstrong.
“In the final bit of the opening of “Raiders” Indy is chased by the Tribesmen, leaps on a vine and falls into a river,climbs aboard a plane, sits in the cockpit and famously comes face to face with a snake. I’d been running all over the jungle, with dust flying off me, when Steven decided it was time for Harrison to take over. I was sent off to stand on the skid of the biplane as it took off. Then someone reminded Steven that a camera had already been attached to the wing for close up shots of Harrison. “Ok flip that around “ said Steven. “We’ll do some more running with Vic while you go do some reaction shots of Harrison with the snake. Then we’ll set-up again for Vic.
Harrison got in the plane, leaving the door open so in the shot it looked like he’d just clambered in, and took off. We watched the plane disappear behind a tree then heard the engine change note. Then we heard a bang! Jesus, they’ve crashed. We all jump into boats and roared down the river and sure enough there was plane buried in the bank, standing on its nose. Harrison and pilot Fred Sorensen were sitting next to it, looking disconsolate, but luckily unhurt.
What happened was that the open door had affected the aerodynamics and the plane banked and smashed into the ground. What made me sweat was the thought that if I had been standing on the skip at that time I’d gone straight into the propeller blade and come out like chips. It just shows you how fate lends a hand in life.”
-Vic Armstrong
