Jabarkan Efek khusus dari Raiders of the Lost Ark

Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) milik George menangani efek khusus film dengan pengawasan Richard Edlund. Tim ini bekerja dalam produksi film Raiders of the Lost Ark dan film fantasi gelap Dragonslayer (1981). George merasa efek khusus adalah metode ekonomis untuk menghasilkan film yang bagus. Selama penonton menghayati alur film, dia berkata bahwa penonton akan membeli tiket film ini bahkan jika efek khusus film ini buruk. Spielberg liked practical effects because he could regularly check the raw footage during filming, rather than waiting months for the completed composite effects.

Freeman mengatakan ia tidak tahu apa yang terjadi ketika da membuka Tabut Perjanjian itu. Dia diberitahu untuk membayangkan sesuatu datang ke arahnya dan berteriak. Seniman efek khusus Steve Gawley menciptakan roh Ark dengan menangguhkan boneka berjubah kecil di tangki air keruh di depan layar biru. They were shaken to create a natural movement that was composited into the live footage. A Lucasfilm receptionist, dressed in a long white robe, was suspended in the air in front of a blue screen for the close-up of the ghost. She was filmed moving away from the camera and the footage was reversed to create an inhuman movement. Her visage was composited with a skeletal model for the monstrous transformation.

Adegan kematian Freeman, Lacey, dan Kahler dibuat dengan menggunakan model yang berbeda. Sebuah cetakan dibuat menyerupai wajah Kahler dan dilapisi dengan kandung kemih berisi udara. Udara cetakan itu dihilangkan untuk membuat kepala mengerut.  Cetakan itu dikendalikan hingga sepuluh orang. Special effects artist Chris Walas sculpted Lacey's melting face using different colored layers of gelatin placed over a carved, heat-resistant stone skull. Propane heaters were used to melt the gelatin and filmed using a slower-than-normal camera so the effect appears to take place rapidly when played at normal speed. Belloq's head mold contained a thin-plaster skull filled with blood bags and detritus. It was blown up using explosives, shotguns, and an air cannon. It took three attempts to get the desired effect. Belloq's death was considered so extreme the Motion Picture Association of America initially classified the film with an R rating restricting it to those over the age of 17 without an adult. Flames were superimposed over the scene to conceal the effect.

Kasdan membuat naskah montase terperinci selama transisi produksi film antarlokasi, tetapi Steven menghemat uang dengan menampilkan peta dan garis animasi yang bergerak antartujuan. Tengkorak dan jasad membusuk yang dibuat oleh kepala penata rias Tom Smith memenuhi katakombe Sumur Jiwa. To get the monkey to perform a Nazi salute, the trainer hit it on the head to make it touch the affected area. When this did not work, the filmmakers hung a grape over its head to encourage it to reach up; it took 50 takes to capture. A partially deaf rat was used for the scene of the ark humming in the hold of the Bantu Wind, giving it a unique and unnatural head movement.