The second DVD set of the series now arrives as The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones Vol. 2: The War Years. Some of the hour-long shows have been edited together to create 90 minute films. Some fans of the series will be disappointed that the scenes featuring George Hall as Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones, Jr. have been edited out of the set. Viewers don’t get the same title sequence that originally played before each episode. Instead, each “film” has a new title sequence that bills the joined episodes as a chapter that fits somewhere within the Harrison Ford vehicles. My sense is it was similar to what Lucas did with the renumbering of the Star Wars series. Although, not as dramatic, because The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones Vol. 2: The War Years was originally done on the small screen.
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones Vol. 2: The War Years finds Indiana Jones (Sean Patrick Flannery) in the Belgian army during World War I. This nine disc set spans the years 1914-1918 and is packed with extra features. Each disc contains documentaries and features designed to give the viewer information about the battle and the historical figures presented in that episode. The episodes are as follows:
Disc one is titled “The Trenches of Hell.” As a young, inexperienced soldier in the Belgian army, Indy experiences the bloody savagery of warfare as a participant in the Battle of the Somme. Distraught and depressed, he is exposed to endless gunfire barrages, bombings and nerve gas attacks. Surrounded by the dead bodies of his fellow soldiers, Indy becomes increasingly convinced that death is only a matter of time. Eventually, he is captured by the Germans and sent to a P.O.W. camp. While there, Indy meets prisoner Charles de Gaulle (future Prime Minister and President of France), who hatches a daring escape plan.
The special features on disc one include: “The Somme: A Storm of Steel,” “Siegfried Sassoon: A War Poets Journey,” “Robert Graves and the White Goddess” and “I Am France: The Myth of Charles De Gaulle.”
Disc two is titled “Demons of Deception.” Indy learns that not all military leaders have a conscience, even as thousands of men’s lives depend on their decisions. This episode continues to show the horror of war, while showing a more vulnerable side to our young hero. When Indy goes on a two week leave to Paris and has a heated affair with nefarious spy Mata Hari, she shows him that both love and war can be filled with lies, disillusionment and heartbreak. This episode begins to show that novice soldier, Indiana Jones is growing into manhood.
Special features include: “Into the Furnace: The Battle of Verdun,” “Marshal Petain’s Fall From Grace,” “Flirting With Danger: The Fantasy of Mata Hari” and “Reading the Enemy’s Mind: Espionage in World War I.”
Disc three is titled “Phantom Train of Doom.” Indy is assigned to find and destroy a powerful German artillery gun that is mysteriously able to appear and disappear at will, after destroying everything in its path with ease. Helping Indy is a lively group of soldiers nicknamed “The Old and the Bold” because of their old age and limitless courage.
Their mission takes them on a dangerous journey across the German-held territory via wagon train and hot air balloon. Overcoming various obstacles put forth by the Germans, his own soldiers and more, Indy follows the trail of the huge gun right into the side of a secret mountain hideout where he plans an explosive end for the deadly train.
Special features include: “Chasing the Phantom: Paul von Lettow Vorbeck,” “Dreaming of Africa: The Life of Frederick Selous” and “At Home and Abroad: The Two Faces of Jan Smuts.”
Disc four is titled “Oganga, the Giver and Taker of Life.” On a mission for the Allies, Indy and his comrades find a disease-ravaged African village and are able to rescue one small child from certain death; over the objections of the mission commander. The presence of the child endangers the lives of the men and their goals. Indy begins to question everything he believes in. He struggles with his sense of duty and the safety of his men as he continues to battle his way across Africa.
Indy finds solace in the presence of Dr.Albert Schweitzer, a dedicated doctor, philosopher and musician. Assisting at Schweitzer’s jungle hospital, Indy regains his faith in humanity and gains a new outlook on life.
Special features include: “Albert Schweitzer: Reverence for Life,” “Congo: A Curse of Riches,” and “Waging Peace: The Rise of Pacifism.”
Disc five is titled “Attack of the Hawkmen.” This episode finds Indy 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 dangerous secret weapon that could change the outcome of the war.
Special features include: “War in the Third Dimension: Aerial Warfare in World War I,” “Blood Red: The Life and Death of Manfred von Richthofen,” “Flying High for France: The Lafayette Escadrille,” and “Anthony Fokker: The Flying Dutchman.”
Disc six is titled “Adventures in the Secret Service.” With great reluctance, Indy must engage the help of two brothers of Habsburg royalty when he plunges into an dangerous diplomatic mission through enemy-held Europe into the palace of Emperor Karl of Austria. Endangering his life and the lives of the royal twosome, Indy risks all in a desperate attempt to bring the war to an abrupt end.
On the heels of his failed diplomatic mission, Indy is sent to a unstable Russia, bordering on the edge of political collapse. 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, he finds himself repeatedly torn between loyalty to his friends and his military obligations.
Special features include: “Karl: The Last Habsburg Emperor,” “The Russian Revolution: All Power to the Soviets!” and “V.I. Lenin: History Will Not Forgive Us.”
Disc seven is titled “Espionage Escapades.” Going undercover as a dancer for the Ballets Russes in Spain, Indy works with a trio of bumbling spies to discredit some German diplomats. Thankfully, he is quickly shipped off to Prague on another mission.
His assignment seems easy enough: get a telephone installed in his apartment and wait for instructions. But apathetic officials, mind-numbing rules and infinite paperwork thwart him at every turn. Only one man, Franz Kafka, offers him any assistance.
While this film tries to examine some of the more tedious parts of espionage work, this episode is easily the weakest of the The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones Vol. 2: The War Years set. While all of the other episodes contain sharp dialogue and wonderful action sequences, “Espionage Escapades” drags on in a lot of places and looks like something the Marx Brothers should have made.
Special features include: “Impresario: Sergei Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes,” “Ballet: The Art of Dance” and Franz Kafka’s Dark Truth.”
Disc eight is titled “Daredevils of the Desert.” Ordered to assist the British (via a suggestion from Lawrence of Arabia) in an attack on the ancient Middle Eastern desert town of Beersheba, Indy goes undercover with a beautiful female spy (Catherine Zeta Jones). Relying on his wits and her knowledge of the Middle East and mastery of belly dancing, the duo work desperately to disable the explosives placed in the city’s vital water wells by occupying Turks.
The story culminates in a spectacular cavalry charge by the soldiers of the Australian Lighthorsemen Regiment whose survival depends on the success of Indy’s mission.
Special features include: “Lines in the Sand: The Middle East and the Great War and “Col. Lawrence’s War: T.E. Lawrence and Arabia.”
Disc nine is an interactive disc that includes and interactive timeline (on DVD-ROM), the “Historical Lecture War and Revolution” by H.W. Brands (Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin), and the “Special Delivery” Interactive Game (DVD-ROM).
Though some fans will undoubtedly be unhappy with some of the edits George Lucas has made to the original series to create The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones Vol. 2: The War Years, this is ultimately a must-have set for any Indiana Jones fan. The plethora of special features on this set is amazing. Lucas deserves credit for using this set as history lesson by including several hours of relevant documentaries with the episodes.
