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A review by imrogers
Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made by Alan Eisenstock
5.0
As a fan of the documentary about the Raiders of the Lost Ark adaptation, I absolutely loved this book. You probably already know the story: Chris Strompolous and Eric Zala, two kids from the Mississippi Gulf coast, set out to remake Raiders of the Lost Ark shot-for-shot over seven years in the early 1980s. Their movie was eventually discovered, which led to wider releases and a meeting with Steven Spielberg himself.
While the documentary covers the basics of how the kids pulled off filming, the book takes the documentary's detail to the next level, with play-by-plays of how they figured out (or, sometimes, failed to figure out) hugely complicated effects like the boulder, Belloq's exploding head, the burning Nepal bar, and even the moving red line on the map. It's a treat for those who wondered how they did it, especially with their limited resources.
But beyond the fandom aspect, in this book author Alan Eisenstock tells a story centering not only on Strompolous and Zala's tumultuous but powerful friendship, but on their grapples with the creative process and an enormous film project they started when they were in middle school and grew to resent at times. Their mixture of pride, excitement, embarrassment, and in one critical scene, utter disgust with the project will no doubt resonate with creative people who've felt frustrated with their own projects after long periods. Unlike in the documentary, the jealous love triangle that drives Strompolous and Zala apart is vividly told with nothing held back, creating a gripping subplot, and the book's most powerful section, "Ice," chronicles the years after the movie was finally finished and the two friends began drifting apart. This recounting of the boys' later years stands out as a cautionary tale about the tumultuous paths that so many aspiring filmmakers, writers, and musicians experience in adulthood as they face the twin hazards of selling out to a corporate job (Eric) or descending into the miasma of unfocused laziness (Chris), and is something that everyone looking to forge a creative life should read.
This is a riveting, powerful, inspirational book for both adolescents and adults -- anyone who's either looking to follow a dream, or already has.
While the documentary covers the basics of how the kids pulled off filming, the book takes the documentary's detail to the next level, with play-by-plays of how they figured out (or, sometimes, failed to figure out) hugely complicated effects like the boulder, Belloq's exploding head, the burning Nepal bar, and even the moving red line on the map. It's a treat for those who wondered how they did it, especially with their limited resources.
But beyond the fandom aspect, in this book author Alan Eisenstock tells a story centering not only on Strompolous and Zala's tumultuous but powerful friendship, but on their grapples with the creative process and an enormous film project they started when they were in middle school and grew to resent at times. Their mixture of pride, excitement, embarrassment, and in one critical scene, utter disgust with the project will no doubt resonate with creative people who've felt frustrated with their own projects after long periods. Unlike in the documentary, the jealous love triangle that drives Strompolous and Zala apart is vividly told with nothing held back, creating a gripping subplot, and the book's most powerful section, "Ice," chronicles the years after the movie was finally finished and the two friends began drifting apart. This recounting of the boys' later years stands out as a cautionary tale about the tumultuous paths that so many aspiring filmmakers, writers, and musicians experience in adulthood as they face the twin hazards of selling out to a corporate job (Eric) or descending into the miasma of unfocused laziness (Chris), and is something that everyone looking to forge a creative life should read.
This is a riveting, powerful, inspirational book for both adolescents and adults -- anyone who's either looking to follow a dream, or already has.