I saw the movie and the similarities to RAIDERS were obvious (priceless cargo keeps being exchanged between the hands of Nazis and our hero)... but is there any specific reference in Raiders to this? Or is Raiders just listed in The Train's "movie connections" b/c of the similarities to the plot?
(I also thought that one bespectacled Nazi looked a lot like Toht).
Well, I've been watching a lot of WWII movies lately, and it seems that the bespeckled Nazi is a stock character.
shareOops! Sorry about the bad spelling. That would be "bespectacled". (I hope I got it correct this time.)
shareI suspect that the bespectacled Nazi, in this and other films, was inspired by Heinrich Himmler, one of the most evil, but at the same time one of the most ridiculous-looking, of the German hierarchy.
shareI've been visiting this board off and on now for a couple of years, but just saw the "Raiders" reference. I think it's got to be something more profound than the bespectacled Nazi.
Ever notice how the bespectacled Nazi is frequently viewed as sort of an ineffective bureacratic type? The Gestapo man with specs in "Raiders" could certainly be brutal, but he kind of fouled up fairly often, too.
For a real chiller of a bespectacled Nazi, check out the movie "Slaughterhouse Five." Look for the officious fellow signing the American POWs into the camp who manages to silence the ever loud and obnoxious Paul Lazzaro with one withering glare. We know who holds the power in that scene!
Anyway, I hope somebody resolves this reference mystery. I love homage when I can recognize it. . .
"I'm not from here, I just live here. . ."
-James Mc Murtry
Remember when that French Resistance trooper bombs the truck so that Lancaster can flee across the village unseen?
There is a cut to German soldiers dining at a table when they hear the bomb, and you can see a fireball up in the background...a similar sequence in RAIDERS when I believe the Nazi airplane blows up from the lighted gasoline.
i agree with wormracer. for the longest time i couldn't figure it out but then i was watching raiders in anticipation of the new indy flick and it came to me when the plane blew up in the background. i believe that is what the reference is
shareI think I found it.
Howard Vernon played "Dietrich" in The Train and Wolf Kahler played "Colonel Dietrich" in Raiders.
While not definitive, I am quite sure that is the reference they were referring to.
If I recall correctly there is a scene in Raiders where the Frenchman is told that he would have to pick between the ark or getting revenge against Jones. There is a scene in The Train that is basically the same, where von Waldheim is told that he has to choose between the train or exacting revenge against Labiche.
share