THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES continues on DVD with Volume Two, THE WAR YEARS ($69.99), from Lucasfilm Ltd., CBS Home Ent. and Paramount Home Ent., as the teenaged hero heads into World War I. From the Battle of the Somme to the fringes of the African jungle and the heart of revolutionary Russia, the DVD collection explores history with hours of all-new documentary programming to complement creator George Lucas' Emmy-award winning series.
THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES: THE WAR YEARS is the second of three collections. The expansive nine-disc collection includes eight feature-length episodes, as well as a comprehensive assortment of exhaustively researched special features providing insights into the historical people and events that inspired the series.
"The series was a great way to spark interest in the events of the past, but I always felt that we had only scratched the surface of Young Indy's potential," said Lucas, creator of the series that that ran on network television from 1992 to 1994. "We had made the initial introduction to history, and I am thrilled that the DVD extras can provide the tools that allow audiences to dig even deeper."
The critically acclaimed combination of adventure, romance and history was shot in 35 countries and utilized some of the industry's most distinguished actors, directors and writers, earning 12 Emmy Awards and 27 nominations over the course of its run. In addition, THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES was the first TV series to use digital production, pioneering processes that would pave the way for Lucas' own STAR WARS prequels.
"I think fans are in for a treat with THE WAR YEARS, which contains some of my favorite episodes," said producer Rick McCallum. "We wanted audiences to understand all aspects of war, from the horror of the front lines to the contrasting philosophies of those on the outskirts and in the crossfire. World War I offered so many settings, and I think our brilliant cast and crew brought them all to life -- from the savagery of the Battle of the Somme to the heroism of the Australian Lighthorsemen to the 'reverence for life' that was born in Albert Schweitzer's Africa."
The feature-length episodes star Sean Patrick Flanery (BOONDOCK SAINTS, THE DEAD ZONE) as teenaged Indy. The cast of guest stars in THE WAR YEARS volume includes Friedrich von Thun, Anthony Daniels, Christopher Lee, Timothy Spall, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Daniel Craig.
The series also features the work of such directors as Bille August (LES MISERABLES), Mike Newell (HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE), David Hare (STRAPLESS), Terry Jones (MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL and THE LIFE OF BRIAN), Deepa Mehta (WATER), Joe Johnston (THE ROCKETEER, JURASSIC PARK III), Nicolas Roeg (THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH, DON'T LOOK NOW) and Michael Schultz (CAR WASH, TV's EVERWOOD). Writers include Rosemary Anne Sisson (UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS), Frank Darabont (THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION) and Jonathan Hensleigh (DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE).
Disc One:* THE TRENCHES OF HELL: As a young soldier in the Belgian Army, Indy learns first-hand the savagery of warfare while participating in the Battle of the Somme. Almost succumbing to despair, as his life becomes an endless round of artillery barrages, nerve gas attacks and decaying corpses, Indy fears that death will be his only way out. Then he is captured by the Germans and confined to a POW camp where he and fellow prisoner Charles de Gaulle hatch a daring scheme to win their freedom in true GREAT ESCAPE style.
* Companion Historical Documentaries:Siegfried Sassoon: A War Poet's JourneyRobert Graves and the White GoddessI Am France: The Myth of Charles de Gaulle The Somme: A Storm of Steel
Disc Two:* DEMONS OF DECEPTION: Indy addresses the moral ambiguities of leadership when confronted with win-at-any-cost military officials who have a callous disregard for the lives of the men they command. The gut-wrenching horror of trench warfare, vividly depicted in harrowing battles scenes, is contrasted when Indy goes on leave in Paris and engages in a torrid affair with infamous spy Mata Hari. She shows him that love, like war, can also be fraught with deception, disillusionment and heartbreak.
* Companion Historical Documentaries:Marshal Petain's Fall From GraceFlirting With Danger: The Fantasy of Mata HariInto the Furnace: The Battle of Verdun Reading the Enemy's Mind: Espionage in World War I
Disc Three:* PHANTOM TRAIN OF DOOM: Indy is ordered to locate and destroy a powerful German artillery gun that is mysteriously able to appear and disappear at will, leaving death and destruction in its wake. Assisting him is a colorful group of soldiers nicknamed "The Old and the Bold" because of their old age and reckless courage. Their mission takes them on a dangerous journey across the German-held veldt via wagon train and hot air balloon. Overcoming all manner of obstacles presented by the enemy, his own side and the harsh African terrain, Indy relentlessly follows the trail of the mega-gun right into the bowels of a secret mountain hideout where he plans an explosive end for the phantom train of doom.
* Companion Historical Documentaries:Chasing the Phantom: Paul von Lettow Vorbeck Dreaming of Africa: The Life of Frederick Selous At Home and Abroad: The Two Faces of Jan Smuts
Disc Four:* OGANGA, THE GIVER AND TAKER OF LIFE: On a vital military mission for the Allies, Indy comes across a disease-ravaged African village and is able to rescue one small child from certain death. The presence of the child endangers the mission, leaving Indy fighting his conscience, his sense of duty, his own men and the enemy as he battles his way across country. Depressed by the turmoil around him, Indy reaches his lowest point. Hope appears in the presence of Albert Schweitzer, a profoundly inspiring and committed doctor, philosopher and musician. Helping out at Schweitzer's jungle hospital, Indy finds his faith in humanity restored and his outlook on life forever changed.
* Companion Historical Documentaries:Albert Schweitzer: Reverence for Life Waging Peace: The Rise of Pacifism Congo: A Curse of Riches
Disc Five:* ATTACK OF THE HAWKMEN: Working with the French Secret Service, Indy joins the legendary Lafayette Escadrille flying unit and embarks on dangerous airborne reconnaissance missions behind enemy lines. A run-in with German Ace Manfred von Richthofen leads to a death-defying dogfight that leaves Indy grounded and hot-in-pursuit of German aircraft designer Anthony Fokker. Undercover in hostile enemy territory, Indy discovers that the Germans possess a remarkable secret weapon that could change the course of the war. He resolves to bring news of it back to the Allies...if he doesn't destroy it first.
* Companion Historical Documentaries:Blood Red: The Life and Death of Manfred von Richthofen Anthony Fokker: The Flying DutchmanFlying High for France: The Lafayette Escadrille War in the Third Dimension: Aerial Warfare in World War I
Disc Six:* ADVENTURES IN THE SECRET SERVICE: Indy finds that he must enlist the help of Habsburg royalty when he embarks on a dangerous diplomatic mission through enemy-held Europe into the palace of Emperor Karl of Austria. Endangering his life and the lives of his royal charges, Indy gambles all in a desperate attempt to bring the war more quickly to an end. Then, in chaos-ridden Russia, Indy finds his espionage work once again threatening lives when he infiltrates a group of young Bolsheviks and begins to sympathize with their plight. As the country lurches toward revolution, Indy finds himself torn between loyalty to his friends and his military duty.
* Companion Historical Documentaries:Karl: The Last Habsburg Emperor V.I. Lenin: History Will Not Forgive Us The Russian Revolution: All Power to the Soviets!
Disc Seven:* Espionage Escapades: Going undercover as a dancer for the Ballets Russes in Spain, Indy meets an old friend, the flamboyant Pablo Picasso. Plotting to discredit some German diplomats, Indy engages in a series of comic misadventures with a trio of bumbling spies before being shipped off to Prague on another mission. His assignment is simple: get a telephone installed in his apartment and wait for instructions. But he is thwarted at every turn by apathetic officials, mind-numbing rules and infinite paperwork. Only one man, Franz Kafka, offers him any assistance. This film is a farcical take on the stereotypically suave portrayal of espionage and also pokes fun at the narrow-minded evil of bureaucracy, which weaves its ineffectual web into an absurd straightjacket.
* Companion Historical Documentaries:Impresario: Sergei Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes Franz Kafka's Dark Truth Ballet: The Art of Dance
Disc Eight:* DAREDEVILS OF THE DESERTReceiving orders to assist the British in an attack on the ancient Middle Eastern desert town of Beersheba, Indy goes undercover with a beautiful lady spy. Relying on his wits and her tantalizing skills at belly dancing, the daring duo works desperately to defuse the explosives placed in the city's vital water wells by occupying Turks. The story culminates in a spectacular cavalry charge by the gallant soldiers of the Australian Lighthorsemen Regiment whose very survival hinges on the success of Indy's mission.
* Companion Historical Documentaries:Col. Lawrence's War: T.E. Lawrence and Arabia Lines in the Sand: The Middle East and the Great War
Disc Nine: (Interactive Disc) Special Features:* SPECIAL DELIVERY Interactive GameExtensive Interactive Timeline that details the history and locations of Indy's adventures and previews footage of the companion documentaries.* HISTORICAL LECTURE: WAR AND REVOLUTION examines the twin forces of violence that intertwined in the early 20th century to change the world.
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Lucasfilm Ltd. is one of the world's leading film and entertainment companies. Founded by George Lucas in 1971, it is a privately held, fully integrated entertainment company. In addition to its motion-picture and television production operations, the company's global activities include Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, serving the digital needs of the entertainment industry for visual-effects and audio post-production; LucasArts, a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software worldwide for video game console systems and PC; Lucasfilm Animation, founded in 2003 to create animated television productions; and Lucas Licensing, which manages the global merchandising activities for Lucasfilm's entertainment properties. Additionally, Lucas Online creates Internet-based content for Lucasfilm's entertainment properties and businesses.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
