FROM CREATOR GEORGE LUCAS, THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES GOES BEHIND ENEMY LINES ON DVD DECEMBER 18, 2007
Young Indiana Jones: Volume 2
The War Years
Complementing The Young Hero's War-Time Journeys, Hours of Special Features Bring History to Life
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES continue on DVD December 18 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(R)-award winning series.
THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES: The War Years is the second of three collections and is released by Lucasfilm Ltd., CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment. 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 October release of The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: The Early Years DVD collection earned widespread acclaim among critics, including from the Los Angeles Times, which lauded the comprehensive extras created by the Lucasfilm documentary unit, headed by CBS News veteran David Schneider. By digging into the true stories behind the adventures, the documentaries "deepen the resonance and expand the dimensions of the show" (The Baltimore Sun) with insights from scholars, historians and luminaries from a wide range of disciplines. They include interviews with Gen. Colin Powell, Henry Kissinger, Gloria Steinem, Martin Scorsese, Barbara Boxer, James Earl Jones, Hal David and Deepak Chopra, along with some of the world's pre-eminent academics.
A critically acclaimed combination of adventure, romance and history, The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones was shot in 35 countries and utilized the talents 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 television 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 extraordinary 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.
Embraced by critics during its initial network run for its daring action, intelligent writing and high production values, the series was described as a "technical triumph" (Daily Variety) that "enlarges the tube with its wide screen vistas and galloping action" (The San Francisco Examiner). The Hollywood Reporter described the show as "the kind of action-adventure series that was made for families to watch together," while the Daily News asserted that "George Lucas may well have found the answer to educating our allegedly illiterate youth who have sacrificed reading for the boob tube."
The Young Indiana Jones films also feature the work of some of the industry's biggest names in directing and writing. Series directors include Bille August (Les Miserables), Mike Newell (Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire), David Hare (Strapless, screenplays for The Hours and Damage), 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).
THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES: The War Years arrives on DVD Dec.18. Volume Three is scheduled for release in Spring 2008. The complete three-volume collection will contain 22 feature-length movies and 94 documentaries, interactive games developed by River Deep, an interactive timeline produced by Terra Incognita Productions and an historical overview by noted author and University of Texas history professor H.W. Brands.
The second of three comprehensive collections, THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES: The War Years is a nine-disc set presented in full screen with Dolby Digital English Stereo and English subtitles. The DVD is Not Rated in the U.S. and rated PG in Canada.
The DVD disc breakdown is as follows:
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 Journey
- Robert Graves and the White Goddess
- I 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 Grace
- Flirting With Danger: The Fantasy of Mata Hari
- Into 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 Dutchman
- Flying 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 Desert
Receiving 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 Game
- Extensive 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.
The “Sopranos” series-set was on sale all day Monday, but the individual season-sets are still highly encheapened in these last few days before Christmas:
$25.99 Season 1
$25.99 Season 2
$25.99 Season 3
$42.99 Season 4
$42.99 Season 5
$42.99 Season 6 Part 1
$44.99 Season 6 Part 2
