Raiders of the Lost Ark question

[Laspector]

In regard to the Headpiece to the staff of Ra. Toht gets one side of the medallion branded into his hand. The Nazis do not realize that on the back it says to subtract a unit of measurement, so they are digging in the wrong place, right?

But, the thing is, they only had half (or less) of the shape of the crystal that bends the light to shine it on the Well of Souls. That would mean that the light would shine in God-only-knows what direction. Seems to me that without the correct shape of the crystal, the medallion is worthless, no matter how tall the staff is. Also, what kind of crystal was it? Different crystal types diffract light in different ways.

I've never heard any theories on this particular part of the puzzle.

 

[sbaxter]

Regarding the shape of the crystal, I always guessed the Nazis presumed it was symmetrical and went from there. It would seem they couldn't have been TOO far off for it to have worked at all in The Well of Souls, although I often wonder if the "beam of light" the fake produced was anything like the apparent death ray Indy achieved with the real thing.

SSB

 

[Jamesfett]

Don't forget if you go by the numbers on the Iman Headpiece Indy is like 4' tall.

Six Kadam Height. About 72 Inches. 6'. Then Take back one Kadam. 60 inches. 5'. It's way over his head so it turns out Indy is very short.

 

[Lightning]

The nazis may have had access to the same info from Abner about what time of day was important. For all we know Abner published a paper on the subject. The did pick a different hole in the floor, but they also did their calculations on a different day. Anyway, I figure their crystal just sent a standard point of light on the floor. When the right time of day came, Belloq noted where it was pointing, with no supernatural beam effect.

 

[NeoRutty]

I always thought it was weird he snapped the rod in half.

They'll never figure out the length now!

 

[Probe Droid]

Another question you're not supposed to ask is: If the army that carries the ark before it was invincible, why didn't' the Americans use it to finish off the Nazis and the Japanese in weeks and avoid the whole war instead of boxing it up for storage in Citizen Kane's basement? Did they forget they had it?

I guess sometimes you just have to let art flow over you.

 

[Treadwell]

Sallah said "in the center the Frenchman had embedded a crystal".
So they probably had one cut to match the impression they had, but on both sides. Granted, that still doesn't guarantee the same optics, but it's something.

 

[Treadwell]

Come to think of it, once you have the crystal, it wouldn't be necessary to use a casting of the medallion (just the information on it). But anyway.

 

[Jamesfett]

Okay we a heading into a bad area. This is the best movie ever made, nothing will ever be better and it's perfect.

Let's move along.

Move along,...move along!!

Say that new Obi Wan series sucks.

 

[DarthWilder]

I always thought it was weird he snapped the rod in half.

They'll never figure out the length now!

I thought Indy broke the staff (loudly) to signal that he was done and for Sallah to throw down the rope?

 

[masterjedi322]

Yes, the Nazis had the staff the wrong length…

But what I never understood was it also seemed to me that they put the staff in the wrong place in the floor of the map room...

When Indy is looking at the floor, he seems to find the hole where the Nazis put their staff. He then moves on and dusts off a different hole that he uses.

So either they were way off - wrong staff length + wrong floor location

Or they could have been pretty close had the incorrect floor position offset the incorrect staff length…

Sean

 

[Jamesfett]

The discussion always comes down to length and which hole to put it in.
















I am so sorry.

 

[blewis17]

Yes, the Nazis had the staff the wrong length…

But what I never understood was it also seemed to me that they put the staff in the wrong place in the floor of the map room...

When Indy is looking at the floor, he seems to find the hole where the Nazis put their staff. He then moves on and dusts off a different hole that he uses.

So either they were way off - wrong staff length + wrong floor location

Or they could have been pretty close had the incorrect floor position offset the incorrect staff length…

Sean

It's a movie. Don't think about it too much.

But on a semi-serious note: I realize Indy and Salah were rushed and trying to avoid capture. But Indy ASUMES A LOT. He gets one shot, lets the sun hit the gem/map, makes some notes, quickly breaks the staff and gets the heck out. What if the dig were bare? What if he miscalculated? What if he needed to recheck the map room? And why break the staff and leave it in the map room, rather than take it back up with him?

 

[Usagi Pilgrim]

It's a movie. Don't think about it too much.

But on a semi-serious note: I realize Indy and Salah were rushed and trying to avoid capture. But Indy ASUMES A LOT. He gets one shot, lets the sun hit the gem/map, makes some notes, quickly breaks the staff and gets the heck out. What if the dig were bare? What if he miscalculated? What if he needed to recheck the map room? And why break the staff and leave it in the map room, rather than take it back up with him?

This is an excellent point, & this is NOT directed toward you blewis, but I'm piggybacking off your comment.

It's the exact reason I don't put much stock in the 'critical' opinions of many on here.

We watched these franchises when we were all MUCH younger, & accepted the decisions of the characters & overlooked 'plot holes & nitpiks' because we were entertained.
We hadn't seen the same story over & over again & weren't as jaded as we are now.

Yet today, kids then are adults now, & highly skilled in all things cinema since they've either seen a movie before, or have identified as a fan in the past. I hear their expert opinions & I'm reminded of the term a professor of mine used to describe some of his colleagues...

"Educated beyond their capacity for intelligence"

 

[Laspector]

I assumed he broke the staff so the Nazis couldn't use it. Tho, seems like he should've broken it into teeny tiny pieces so they couldn't just put it back together.

 

[DarkHelmet]

........
.

 

[Lightning]

Yes, the Nazis had the staff the wrong length…

But what I never understood was it also seemed to me that they put the staff in the wrong place in the floor of the map room...

When Indy is looking at the floor, he seems to find the hole where the Nazis put their staff. He then moves on and dusts off a different hole that he uses.

So either they were way off - wrong staff length + wrong floor location

Or they could have been pretty close had the incorrect floor position offset the incorrect staff length…

Sean

Indy tells Army Intelligence that what matters is the length of the staff, the spot in the room and the time of day. He doesn't mention the day of the year. So the different spots on the floor are for different days of the year. Belloq did his calculations about a day before. Now, that means Indy's hole should be basically the next one over, if any, but suspension of disbelief.

Wait, what am I missing in the math. 6 Kadam according to the Iman equals 72". Wouldn't that make a Kadam 12"??

A real kadam is 11.5". However in the universe of Raiders it's 14".

Sallah said it was about 72 inches, but he was wrong. Indy knew a Kadam is actually about 14". Thus the staff is about 7 feet tall.

The original script has different numbers, and adding not subtracting, with the staff being 82.5" tall, which is close-ish to what we see, and what the prop makers would have been going by, I expect.

 

[Axlotl]

Wait, what am I missing in the math. 6 Kadam according to the Iman equals 72". Wouldn't that make a Kadam 12"??

Or as we say in the States, a little less than half a washing machine.

 

[Captain Dunsel]

Don't forget if you go by the numbers on the Iman Headpiece Indy is like 4' tall.

Six Kadam Height. About 72 Inches. 6'. Then Take back one Kadam. 60 inches. 5'. It's way over his head so it turns out Indy is very short.

You are correct….I never noticed how short Indiana Jones was until now.

 

[David3]

Did it matter whether he broke the staff or not?
By the time Belloq had realized he was digging in the wrong spot Indy figured he'd be out of there by then anyway.