In 1982, three 11 year-olds in Mississippi set out to remake their favorite film: Raiders of the Lost Ark. It took seven turbulent years that tested the limits of their friendship and nearly burned down their mother's house. By the end, they had completed every scene except one... the explosive airplane scene. 30 years later, they attempt to finally realize their childhood dream by building a replica of the 75 foot "Flying Wing" plane from Raiders in a mud pit in the backwoods of Mississippi... and then blow it up! This is the story behind the making of what is known as "the greatest fan film ever made."
Direction
Perfectly captures the obsessive energy of fandom
Production
The adult plane build in a Mississippi mud pit
Editing
Seamlessly weaves childhood footage with present day
Director
Tim Skousen
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Eli Roth discovered their VHS bootleg at a film convention and helped bring it to Spielberg, who reportedly loved it.
The original fan film predates internet culture—this was pure analog obsession, shot scene-by-scene from a bootleg VHS copy.
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