Lawrence Kasdan, the screenwriter of the original, walked away from the project because he thought it was too dark; too "mean-spirited" he actually said. Both Spielberg and Lucas wound up agreeing with him after the movie was released. See more

The Ford Trimotor of 1935 had no automatic pilot and had to be hand-flown (someone steering the plane) at all times. When the Chinese pilots left the control wheels in the cockpit, the plane was at the mercy of aerodynamics and the elements. Flying over mountains where there would be updrafts and downdrafts would have immediately upset what little equilibrium the plane would have had and immediately put it into and bank and/or dive instead of flying straight and level as it did in the movie. See more

Alternate Versions

To avoid a '15' certificate in the UK (with the sacrificial ceremony said to be bordering on '18', according to a letter sent by the BBFC to UIP in 1984), the BBFC cut 1 minute 6 secs from the film and later said that it was one of the strongest PG ratings they had ever issued. Among the cuts made were a heart ripped from a sacrificial victim and his lowering into the blazing pit, edits to a whipping scene and the fight between Indiana and the overseer, and the removal of a shot of a man's head hitting the side of a cliff. The line "Leave him alone, you bastards" was changed to "Leave him alone" and sounds of screams and violence were also considerably reduced. This PG rated print was the only version available in the UK for many years until October 2012, when the cuts were fully waived for the 12 rated Blu-Ray release. See more