The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones was filmed on location all over the world. Locations included England, Russia, Spain, Czechoslovakia, Kenya, France, India, China, Austria, Egypt, the United States, Morocco, Ireland, Italy, Africa, Turkey, Greece and Thailand. The scenery alone makes the Young Indy series a worthwhile viewing experience for Indiana Jones fans.
While many argue that the second DVD release, The War Years is the series’ strongest, I found myself really enjoying the seven installments included on this final set. While this set does have less action then the first two, nonetheless, I found it interesting to see Indy take a step back from his adventures a little bit and interact with some of the greatest artists of the 20th century. In the first installment “Tales of Innocence,” Indy (Sean Patrick Flannery), is a nineteen year old spy on assignment in Italy. He finds himself competing with Ernest Hemingway for the affection of a beautiful Italian girl. After getting injured during his time in Italy, Indy is sent to Africa under the guise of being a French Intelligence agent.–Since young Indy has command of 28 languages, he can always morph into whatever persona the situation calls for.
The second installment “Masks of Evil,” is a rather strange one. The first half of the story starts out as a fairly typical adventure, with Indy posing as an intelligence agent. However, the second half, Indy comes in contact with Vlad the Impaler, aka Dracula. The whole thing is a bit odd, but I guess it fits in with Steven Spielberg’s taste for the slightly off beat and macabre that he has shown in previous films and his television anthology series, Amazing Stories.
“Treasure of the Peacock’s Eye” is the most traditional Indiana Jones adventure on this DVD set. Indy finds a map and goes off on an adventure in search of treasure. Indy also finds himself back in the company of his friend Remy (Ronny Coutteure) who reappears to help him find Alexander the Great’s diamond. This episode has the feel of the kind of story audiences saw in the first three Indiana Jones films and also marks the end of Indy’s time in war.
With the diamond adventure behind him, Indy heads to Paris and runs into T.E. Lawrence again. “Winds of Change” examines how the war has changed things in Europe. By this time, Indy has gotten a job as a translator in France. He finds himself in the midst of the Versailles talks. Anyone familiar with the Indiana Jones franchise won’t miss the foreshadowing of the Nazi uprising that plays such a significant role in Jones’ later life.
Harrison Ford makes a wonderful cameo in “Mystery of the Blues.” He introduces the flashback and closes the segment in the same fashion. In the episode, Indy meets up with more historical figures. This time it’s Al Capone and Elliot Ness. The story is pretty farfetched, but like most of the episodes in the Young Indiana Jones series, it’s still a heck of a lot of fun.
“Scandals of 1920” and “Hollywood Follies” find the usually adventurous Jones kicking back and relaxing a bit. In “Scandals” he works on Broadway with George Gershwin to produce a show, all while trying to romance some chorus girls on the side. “Hollywood Follies” finds Indy in Hollywood working in films. He gets the chance to rub shoulders with Irving Thalberg, Erich Von Stroheim and John Ford. As a film historian I found these episodes interesting, but admit they are a rather weak ending for a show that was centered on so much action and adventure.
While parts of The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, Volume Three – The Years of Change may not have been as strong as the two previously released sets, the third volume still has plenty to offer any Indiana Jones fan. Sean Patrick Flannery does a great job as the teenaged Henry “Indiana” Jones Jr. and makes one think of Harrison Ford in Some ways. Despite some of its slower storylines, The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, Volume Three – The Years of Change is a must have for any true Indy fan.
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, Volume Three – The Years of Change DVD set is presented in the program’s 1.33:1 original broadcast aspect ratio. The video quality is not what I would call fantastic but it is above average. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo.
As with all of The Young Indiana Jones DVD releases, this 10-disc set is packed with special features. Each segment is followed by a series of documentaries that provide historical perspective about the people, places and events portrayed in the discs segment. Below is a list of the special features, broken down by disc.
Disc One
“Unhealed Wounds; The Life of Ernest Hemingway” (34:56) is an overview of the life and career of the Nobel Prize-winning author.
“The French Foreign Legion: The World’s Most Legendary Fighting Force” (28:22) features a history of the infamous fighting troop organized in 1831 and continuing to this day.
“The Secret Life of Edith Wharton” (30:35) offers a look into the life and writing career of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist.
“Lowell Thomas: American Storyteller” (29:18) features the famous TV, radio, and movie commentator and his son talking about the man’s lengthy career in broadcasting.
Disc Two
“For the People, Despite the People: The Ataturk Revolution” (30:25) is a look at the “George Washington” of the modern Turkish revolution that led to today’s Turkish republic.
“The Greedy Heart of Halide Edib” (28:23) is a look at the woman who was the impetus of the women’s liberation movement in Turkey.
“The Ottoman Empire” (33:05) offers a historical overview of the 600 year rise and fall of one of the great empires of modern civilization.
“Dracula: Fact and Fiction” (24:53) is an overview of the real and fictional life of Count Dracula featuring clips from Nosferatu, Universal’s 1931 Dracula, and other subsequent stage and screen treatments of the infamous monster.
Disc Three
“Bronislaw Malinowski: God Professor” (29:34) offers a look look at the life of the famed anthropologist.
“Anthropology: Looking at the Human Condition” (23:49) is a look at the field of anthropology
“New Guinea: Paradise in Peril” (25:05) is a glimpse at140,000 years of one of the planet’s oldest civilizations concentrating on the modern exploitation of their abundant natural resources.
Disc Five
“Winds of Change” has six documentaries, so it gets a separate disc for the special features.
“The Best Intentions: The Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Versailles” (33:15)offers a look at the months of meetings and conferences which resulted in the drafting of the treaty to end World War I
“Woodrow Wilson: American Idealist” (28:41) A mini-biography of the 28th President.
“Gertrude Bell: Iraq’s Uncrowned Queen” (33:07)
“Ho Chi Minh: The Price of Freedom” (31:01) gives an examination of the life of the Vietnamese leader.
“Paul Robeson: Scandalize My Name” focuses on the renowned athlete, lawyer, actor and vocalist.
“Robert Goddard: Mr. Rocket Science” (31:34) is another fascinating mini-biography of the father of modern rocket science.
Disc Seven
Like “Winds of Change,” “Mystery of the Blues” gets its own disc for the special features.
“Jazz: Rhythms of Freedom” (31:55) takes a look at the birth of jazz in America and features current jazz artists El Z’abar and Billy Taylor among the talking heads.
“Al ‘Scarface’ Capone: The Original Gangster” (27:55) is a portrait of the legendary gangster’s six year criminal reign in Chicago.
“Prohibition: America on the Rocks” (32:45) discusses the passing of the 18th Amendment, a law which lasted 14 years.
“On the Trail of Eliot Ness” (29:21) recounts the quick rise and fall of one of America’s most well-known law enforcement officers.
“Louis Armstrong: Ambassador of Jazz” (31:55) provides a look at the great jazz performer.
“Ben Hecht: The Shakespeare of Hollywood” (31:15) offers some great information on the life and career of the multi-Oscar winning screenwriter.
“Hellfighters: Harlem’s Heroes of World War I” (29:15) offers a look at the distinguished African-American fighting regiment, the 369th.
Disc Eight
“Tin Pan Alley: Soundtrack of America”(31:15) recounts the story of the sheet music publishing houses that flourished for fifty years during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
“Wonderful Nonsense: The Algonquin Round Table” (26:00) provides insight into the formation and ten year reign of this legendary collection of literary wits including Alexander Woollcott, Dorothy Parker, and Robert Benchley.
“Broadway: America Center Stage” (29:58) Discusses the development of the Broadway theatre district
Disc Nine
“Erich von Stroheim: The Profligate Genius” (32:53) details the life and times of the infamous martinet director-actor.
“The Rise of the Moguls: The Men Who Built Hollywood” (25:40) is an excellent mini-history lesson on how the major studios in Hollywood came to be formed.
“Irving Thalberg: Hollywood’s Boy Wonder” (32:30) Spotlights the career of Hollywood’s boy genius, MGM’s production head who died tragically at age 37.
“The World of John Ford” (33:19) Spotlights the filmmaker.
Disc Ten
“New Gods for Old” (64:00) is a lecture by H.W. Brands which summarizes much of the historical information contained on the previous documentaries in this set.
Three DVD-ROM interactive activities complete the package.
