Drafthouse films as announced that they have acquired the documentary Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made, the story of how a group of teenage filmmakers spent seven years recreating shot-for-shot Steven Spielberg’s classic Raiders Of The Lost Ark. The indie distributor is shooting to have the documentary in theaters for a limited release this summer before moving onto video on-demand and Blu-ray later in the year.
The acquisition seems particularly appropriate as it was Drafthouse President Tim League’s Alamo Drafthouse Theater in Austin, Texas where Raiders: The Adaptation first exploded into the film geek zeitgeist when it was screened at one of Harry Knowles’ annual Butt-Numb-A-Thon events. The trailer below hints a bit at the story, which the documentary will undoubtedly go into more detail.
Even with Spielberg having seen the film and meeting with the filmmakers, any attempt for a wide ranging release of Raiders: The Adaptation would still beset with numerous, insurmountable rights issues that would make such a thing impossible. Unless you happen to get to see it at the rare, one-off screenings that they are allowed to do, this will probably be the closest you will ever get to seeing the film.
