1) A greying and bearded Harrison Ford cameos on “Mystery of The Blues” as the 1950 version of Indiana Jones. The episode even employs James Bond’s latest Felix Leiter, Jeffrey Wright, and the real John Williams “Raiders” score.
2) Dracula – in 1920 using the name General Torgo – and his army of undead turn up in “Masks of Evil,” which I think marks the only time Young Indy gets a taste of the supernatural goings-on that would follow him into big-screen adulthood.
Well, guess what? Both “Mystery of the Blues” and “Masks of Evil” are crashing bores.
The Ford segments are embarrassing, which could explain why the press release below makes no mention of the actor. I found the rest of “Mystery of the Blues,” packed silly with jazz numbers, dullsville, man.
It’s absurd how easily Indy’s crew manages to outwit Dracula, and one wonders how the bloodsucker managed to last four months against his countless enemies, let alone 400 years.
It bears noting that series writer Frank Darabont, who went on to mastermind such projects as “The Shawshank Redeption,” “The Green Mile” and “The Mist,” does not contribute to this third and final volume. Jule Selbo, who went to write “Models Inc.” and “Melrose Place,” contributed heavily to these final seven “movies.” So did Jonathan Hales, who would go on to co-write “Attack of the Clones.”
I remain vexed by how much more boring Indy is in his youth. The series is bathed in a sense that big-deal filmmaker Lucas looked upon that era of television with little more than condescension. I could see him stumbling across “Murder She Wrote” and “Knots Landing” and thinking, “How could I not make something better than this?” Unfortunately, he probably wasn’t stumbling across better shows like “Northern Exposure,” “Picket Fences” and “The Simpsons.” Fans moan about how the “Star Wars” prequels soured childhood memories, but I think an argument could be made that the TV version of Indiana Jones was an enterprise rather more injurious to its franchise. Let’s hope Lucas does a better job with his two fast-approaching “Star Wars” series.
As with volume one, I found the new companion documentaries far more involving than the old episodes. I learned from the Dracula doc – which features clips from everything from “Nosferatu” to “Sesame Street” and “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” – that Bram Stoker’s novel never had much of a cultural impact until Hollywood got its hands on it more than 30 years after publication.
A slight digression. Because “Young Indiana Jones” never got a proper third season, quite a few planned stories failed to find their way to celluloid. Have a look at the plotline for the abandoned episode set in 1920 Honduras, which would have introduced Indy to both a young Rene Belloq and the crystal skull Belloq steals.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CREATOR GEORGE LUCAS' CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED
THE ADVENTURES OF
YOUNG INDIANA JONES
COMES TO ITS THRILLING CONCLUSION ON DVD APRIL 29
More Than 30 Companion Documentaries Supplement Young Indy's Adventures With Insights Into The Facts Behind His Globetrotting Exploits
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. - Excitement and early 20th-century history combine in the action-packed final volume of creator George Lucas' Emmy® award-winning THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES, coming to DVD April 29.
In a compilation "like no other DVD collection ever released" (Dallas Morning News), THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES: The Years of Change, provides an engrossing look at history with one of the world's favorite action heroes as a guide - just in time to prepare fans for the May 22 release of the long-awaited Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Presented on 10 jam-packed discs, THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES: The Years of Change offers more than 25 hours of entertainment, including seven feature-length episodes and more than 30 entirely new documentaries exploring the people, places and events Indy encounters in his travels - from the creation of the Middle East to the Broadway boom, the birth of jazz and even the early days of Hollywood.
"This is a different side to Indiana Jones and shows the academic roots behind his affinity for adventure," said Lucas. "The hero we know as 'Indiana' is first and foremost Dr. Jones, a man whose love for history and thirst for knowledge started when he was young, proving that learning about the world can lead to incredible things."
In THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES: The Years of Change, Sean Patrick Flanery (Boondock Saints, "The Dead Zone") stars as Indy, alongside such acclaimed actors as Anne Heche ("Men In Trees"), Jane Krakowski ("30 Rock") and Jeffrey Wright (Casino Royale).
THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES: The Years Of Change is released by Lucasfilm Ltd., CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment. The 10-disc set features a comprehensive assortment of exhaustively researched special features that provide insights into world history.
The acclaimed documentaries were produced over a four-year period by former CBS News producer David Schneider. "It has been an honor to help realize George's vision for the Young Indy DVDs as an in-depth exploration of history with real-life facts that spark viewers' curiosity and inspire them to learn even more," Schneider said. "This set offers more of everything that Indiana Jones fans love: more action, more excitement and more historical information to truly bring the past to life."
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones DVD collections have received widespread praise from critics. "Vivid and imaginative" (Baltimore Sun) with "grand content" (Los Angeles Times), each of the three volumes features an unprecedented amount of special features that includes interviews with scholars, historians and luminaries from a wide range of disciplines.
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.
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 complete three-volume collection contains 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 third of three comprehensive collections, THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES: The Years Of Change is a 10-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:
Tales of Innocence
In Italy, Indy's espionage work takes him behind enemy lines where he embarks on an important propaganda assignment that he hopes will bring a swift end to the war. Along the way, he engages in a comic rivalry with Ernest Hemingway over the affections of a beautiful Italian girl. After being wounded in action, Indy is transferred to North Africa where he joins the French Foreign Legion. While trying to uncover the identity of a traitor in his own ranks, Indy battles hostile Berber tribesmen and engages in an innocent flirtation with author Edith Wharton.
Companion Historical Documentaries:
Unhealed Wounds: The Life of Ernest Hemingway
The French Foreign Legion: The World's Most Legendary Fighting Force
The Secret Life of Edith Wharton
Lowell Thomas: American Storyteller
Disc Two:
Masks of Evil
A top secret mission for French Intelligence brings Indy to Istanbul during the First World War. Exploring the city's dark and dangerous streets, he is thrust into a web of betrayal and murder when he discovers a vile plot to assassinate French espionage agents. Evil of a more enduring kind awaits him in Transylvania where he engages in mortal combat with bloodthirsty Vlad the Impaler and his horrific army of the living dead. With his very life at stake, Indy must garner all his strength and wits in order to defeat the fiend and save mankind.
Companion Historical Documentaries:
For the People, Despite the People: The Atatürk Revolution
The Greedy Heart of Halide Edib
The Ottoman Empire: A World of Difference
Dracula: Fact and Fiction
Disc Three:
Treasure of the Peacock's Eye
The war in Europe ends but a new adventure begins for Indy when a mysterious man's dying words - "The eye of the peacock!" - send him on a thrilling treasure hunt for one of Alexander the Great's most treasured possessions. Pursued by a dangerous one-eyed man, Indy follows the trail of the diamond from London to Alexandria to the South Seas where he has a run-in with a murderous band of Chinese pirates. The shipboard battle that ensues is a spectacular display of swords, guns and flying fists. Marooned by the pirates on a remote desert island, Indy is captured by savage headhunters, but before they can turn him into a shrunken head and cannibal stew, he is rescued by anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski and makes a life-altering decision.
Companion Historical Documentaries:
Bronislaw Malinowski: God Professor
Anthropology: Looking at the Human Condition
New Guinea: Paradise in Peril
Disc Four:
The Winds of Change
Working as a translator in Paris brings Indy in contact with T.E. Lawrence, Prince Faisal of Arabia and Ho Chi Minh. The brutality of realpolitik devastates the idealistic young Indy, and he returns home only to discover the ugly face of bigotry as encountered by his boyhood friend, Paul Robeson.
Disc Five:
Companion Historical Documentaries:
The Best Intentions: The Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Versailles
Woodrow Wilson: American Idealist
Gertrude Bell: Iraq's Uncrowned Queen
Ho Chi Minh: The Price of Freedom
Paul Robeson: Scandalize My Name
Robert Goddard: Mr. Rocket Science
Disc Six:
Mystery of the Blues
Going to college and working in a seedy speakeasy brings Indy into contact with jazz great Sidney Bechet, who teaches him how to play the blues. Unfortunately, he also crosses paths with up-and-coming thug Al Capone and it's only with the assistance of his dorm roommate, future Untouchable Eliot Ness, that Indy is able to solve a vicious murder and prevent himself from ending up in a pair of cement overshoes.
Disc Seven:
Companion Historical Documentaries:
Jazz: Rhythms of Freedom
Al "Scarface" Capone: The Original Gangster
Prohibition: America on the Rocks
On the Trail of Eliot Ness
Louis Armstrong: Ambassador of Jazz
Ben Hecht: The Shakespeare of Hollywood
Hellfighters: Harlem's Heroes of World War I
Disc Eight:
Scandal of 1920
In New York City, Indy covers a lot of ground as he stage-manages a Broadway musical, parties with 5th Avenue high society, reads poetry with Greenwich Village bohemians and trades barbs with the literary wits of the Algonquin Roundtable. Composer George Gershwin accompanies Indy in his adventures as he attempts to ensure that the show goes on despite temperamental stars, malfunctioning props and the fact that he's dating three very different women at the same time. The film includes wonderful production numbers and a marvelous musical score.
Companion Historical Documentaries:
Tin Pan Alley: Soundtrack of America
Wonderful Nonsense: The Algonquin Round Table
Broadway: America Center Stage
Disc Nine:
Hollywood Follies
While working for a Hollywood movie studio, Indy finds that he is no match for wily, megalomaniacal director Erich von Stroheim when the two lock horns over the ever-increasing budget of Stroheim's film Foolish Wives. Though battered by the film industry, Indy decides to give it one more chance and goes on a location shoot with legendary director John Ford. Ford and his cronies, including aging gunman Wyatt Earp, help him to see the magic of movies and moviemaking, and when an actor is accidentally killed, Indy pitches in to save the film.
Companion Historical Documentaries:
Erich von Stroheim: The Profligate Genius
The Rise of the Moguls: The Men Who Built Hollywood
Irving Thalberg: Hollywood's Boy Wonder
The World of John Ford
Disc Ten: (Interactive Disc)
Special Features:
Extensive Interactive Timeline that details the history and locations of Indy's adventures and previews footage of the companion documentaries.
Historical Lecture: New Gods for Old
"Hunting for Treasure" Interactive Game
If you don’t already own “Roswell,” let me just point out here that it remains one of my all-time favorite sci-fi series – sophisticated, sexy, moving and hilarious. Its showrunners were Jason Katims (“Friday Night Lights”) and Ron Moore (“Battlestar Galactica”), and its Katims-penned pilot is one of the finest pieces of televised entertainment I’ve ever come across. The series is also packed silly with gorgeous young actresses not named Heigl, including Shiri Appleby (“Charlie Wilson’s War”), Diane Farr (“Rescue Me”), Emilie DeRaven (“Lost”), Majandra Delfino (“Traffic”), Julie Benz (“Rambo”) and Gretchen Egolf (“Journeyman”). To say “Roswell” is 100 times better than “Grey’s Anatomy” is to damn it with very very very faint praise.
For those unfamiliar, the 1965-1968 Desilu/NBC series – like “The Man From UNCLE,” “The Avengers” and even “The Wild Wild West” – launched out the era’s James Bond-fueled spy craze. Robert Culp and Bill Cosby played Pentagon agents posing as a tennis bum and his trainer. This was the first of Cosby’s many series, and I think the only one not to have the word “Cosby” in the title. Culp wrote seven episodes over the series’ run (including the very first), and both Culp and Cosby were reportedly heavily involved in crafting their characters’ dialog over the series’ run.
All of these were selling at north of $100 once upon a time and I expect most, if not all, of these 28 season-sets will return to $62.99 in the near future.
, which hits DVD shelves today, for at least two reasons:
