Adventures of Young Indiana Jones 2 [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

One thing's for sure: this is a very different Young Indiana Jones than is found in the Volume 1 collection. Because the episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles we compiled into movies and then arranged chronologically, almost the entire volume 1 set followed the precocious child version of Indy. With volume 2, we're fully in the world of the teenage Indiana Jones - or, "Henri Defense," as he would claim to be in order to join the Belgian army. As with the early adventures, Indy encounters many famous historical figures, but there the similarities end. The focus is now much more on the horrors of war and Indy's growth from boy to man, through his varied experiences both in war and love.

The production value is first rate, the war sequences extremely well done and often brutal to watch. The battle sequences are as good or better than most modern war movies. Unlike the adventures of boy-Indy, these episodes are not meant for children of all ages. This is definitely PG-13 stuff, at least (in particularly, I'm thinking of a moment in which rats are seen crawling over dead soldiers on a Verdun battlefield - gruesome stuff. There are also some surprisingly explicit sex scenes thrown in). None of it goes over the top, but it's definitely a more intense viewing experience.

A personal favorite of mine is the second disc, "Demons of Deception." In the second half, written by Carrie Fischer, Indiana Jones is on leave in Paris, where he has a love affair with Mata Hari. An extremely well-done episode, all of Indy's best and worst traits are revealed, from his idealism and enthusiasm to his possessiveness and occasional hypocrisy.

Each disc has a number of bonus materials, short documentaries about the era and some of the historical figures featured in the episodes. They are for the most part very well done and are a nice addition to the collection.

The second in a three volume set of the Adventures of Young Indiana Jones has been released and Paramount is certainly wasting no time in getting these out in anticipation of the new Indiana Jones film. The second volume features 8 full length episodes over 9 discs, with the last disc being an interactive bonus disc. Once again the set is packed with historical documentaries, some two-dozen, that relate to the themes of the episodes.

Those who might be looking for an Indiana Jones lite may be surprised to know that there is little mention of archaeology or treasure hunting in these episodes. In fact, the set might me subtitled "The War Years" as these adventures are set against the backdrop of World War I. Each full length episode runs approximately 90 minutes. Some are two connected episodes from the TV show while others were shot as full length features. We follow Indy's exploits first as a corporal in the Belgian army and later as an agent for the French Secret Service.

The opening movie, "Trenches of Hell" deals with the horrors of war as Indy is on the front lines, joined by his friend Remy (Ronny Coutteure). His unit is assigned to take a chateau occupied by the Germans. While not gory, the battle scenes are quite intense. Soldiers are shot, blown up, gassed, and burned alive with flame throwers. These are massive and very well-framed scenes, especially for a TV show. Indy is eventually captured and sent to a prison that is supposed to be escape-proof. There he meets Charles De Gaulle, then a captain, and they plot their escape.

In "Demons of Deception" Indy is now a runner for the French army. Several top generals argue over an attack which will be a disaster if it goes on as planned. Later, Indy is on leave in Paris and has an affair with exotic dancer and suspected spy, Mata Hari.

One of the best features is "Phantom Train of Doom." Indy and Remy have been sent to Africa but get lost when they board the wrong train. They stumble upon an odd company of soldiers, all older men from different nations who have banded together under a British General. Indy is sort of shangheid into helping them locate a phantom train which the Germans are using to move a gigantic piece of artillery. He then helps them try to capture a genius Germany general who has evaded them for years.

Another terrific episode is "Attack of the Hawkman." Here Indy is assigned a reconnaissance position as an aerial photographer. His assignment is to last only two weeks but he's disheartened to learn that none of the previous photographers have lasted more than eight days before being killed. Indy will also encounter one of the most well-known figures of World War I, Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the infamous Red Baron.

In "Adventures in the Secret Service" Indy is escorting two brothers into Austria. Their sister is married to the Austrian Emperor and they want to negotiate peace terms to remove Germany's biggest ally. Getting in was the easy part, getting out of Austria to neutral Switzerland will be the hard part. Christopher Lee Guest stars.

George Lucas and the writers did a fantastic job in shaping young Indy into the man we know from the films, and they did so often subtly. For example, in "Phantom Train of Doom", one of the aged officers chastises Indy because young people always wants a plan and the officer explains he's "making it up as he goes along." This would become one of Harrison Ford's more famous lines from the film. And of course, this set goes a long way to developing Indy's hatred for Nazi's and what they stood for. While he may not be tomb-robbing, Young Indy is still at his two-fisted, adventurous best. Sean Patrick Flannery is really underrated for his performance as Young Indy.

One of the great benefits of these sets is the historical documentaries. While I'm a bit of a World War II buff, I learned more about World War I through the documentaries and episodes than I ever learned in school.

According to the 1999 VHS releases, George Lucas set out to create a series that would take a subject reviled by many a student and make it more accessible. The extras on the disc are to provide an accurate (as reasonably accurate as possible anyway) historical perspective of the fictional stories contained in the set. Many of the subjects to be covered in this release do not fall into the repertoire of so-called "common knowledge" but provide incredibly valuable lessons and information.

Lucas has set out to make these sets about the history instead of burying it with one or two 20-minute featurettes as many a modern film release would have done. For this, I think he should be applauded, not lambasted.