July 17, 2008

The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones Volume Two The War Years

The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones Volume Two The War Years

George Lucas' The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Volume Two, The War Years continues the extraordinary narrative, historical, and production achievements found in Volume One. As with the first series, each feature-length program (re-editing material from the original, one-hour broadcasts to smooth out the chronology of Jones' experiences as a child and young man) resembles a theatrical experience more than episodic television. Each drama is remarkably rich in layered detail, shedding light on major events, figures, and ideas from a pivotal era in world history. Where Volume One largely focused on the early childhood of Indiana Jones as he traveled the world in the company of his parents, meeting the likes of Picasso, Tolstoy, Freud, and T.E. Lawrence, Volume Two is exclusively concerned with Jones' experiences during World War I. This time, Jones (Sean Patrick Flanery, introduced in the final episodes of Volume One) is serving in the infantry of the Belgian army under an assumed name, eventually rising in rank from corporal to captain and becoming a spy after paying extensive, nightmarish dues on the war's front line in Europe. The series captures some of the horror of World War I's most infamous battles, directly inserting Jones into the thick of the action at Verdun, the Somme, the Middle East, and elsewhere. In time, Jones is repeatedly recruited to become a secret agent, going undercover in Austria to help forge a separate peace between the last Habsburg emperor and the allies, and playing a crucial part in the survival of British and Australian forces crossing a merciless desert. Along the way, Indy befriends Bolsheviks preparing for the Russian Revolution, has a romance with Mata Hari, attempts a prison break with Charles de Gaulle, and has a wonderful encounter with Albert Schweitzer. As with Volume One, this follow-up box set includes an astonishing number of excellent special features, primarily dynamic documentaries about many of the real-life people and incidents introduced in the stories. These extras provide much depth and analysis without being at all dry; a creative history teacher would do well to incorporate them (and, for that matter, the shows themselves) in a class about the 20th century. –Tom Keogh

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones the War Years
Excellent, it is on the history channel Feb 2008 early morning Saterdays and I saw my first few episodes. I am a WW2 buff anyways but it was darn good and I liked it, so I bought it right away. The set and location with costuming is excellent. I look forward to the 4th Indiana Jones movie set to be released this year as with the movies, it should be a staple part of your movie collection diet if you are a fan. I am going to wait for the price to drop on the third one released in April, but I got this one for around $42.00 and for 9 disks that is fine with me and fair enough, I don't feel I waisted the money. I love it.

4 Stars Young Indiana Jones
This dvd set was worth the money. It was filled with action, mystery, humor, and so much more. My favorite episode was when Young Indiana was trying to blow up the enemy's weapon which was carried on a train. Also to mention, Sean Flanery (Young Indiana Jones), is very handsome and indeed fits the character very well.

5 Stars History and Aventure Continued!
This collection of Young Indiana Jones movies is such a wonderful complement to the first series. History and historical characters are unveiled in exciting adventures. I recommend it for you and old alike!

5 Stars Excellent way for history to be presented.
The Young Indiana Jones series is an excellent way for old and young to veiw history. The format provides a way to study history without the boring aspects,of day date and place memorization, it provides a general overview of the period in an interesting and dramatic way that allows the viewer to imagine that they are there.

R Helms

5 Stars Lucas–You Did Good Boy!
There are only a few film makers who have the power and connections to put together a series of such high quality from casting to props–Lucas is one of them!

I strongly recommend anyone watching this series to watch the "specials" on each disc FIRST! Lucas did a great job of giving the viewer exceptional background on his story lines from actual history and then fictionalize that history into an enjoyable film.

Lucas–with the exception of only one film where he tried injecting comedy–has opened history on an almost forgotten war–WWI. I was fortunate to have had a Great Uncle serve in the Infantry during that war and saw firsthand how the terrible trauma of that war affected a human being. Uncle Tony according to my grandfather was a very happy-go-lucky–teenager loved by all the local girls BEFORE he went to France–he returned and become a recluse with REAL PTSD. (Not the modern "warfighter's" PTSD–caused by seeing one dead body lying on the side of the road.)

Lucas series–is well worth the purchase price, especially with the specials–buy it!