This 12(!)-disk set is out Oct. 23, and is available for
pre-order now from Amazon.
Details:
THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES Volume One is the first of three collections of the series and is released by Lucasfilm Ltd., CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment. The first 12-disc set includes seven feature-length episodes as well as 38 in-depth companion documentaries, an historical overview, an interactive game and an interactive timeline.
The 38 historical companion films are original works from the Lucasfilm documentary unit, headed by CBS News veteran David Schneider. The documentaries complement the episodes with insights from scholars, historians and luminaries from a wide range of disciplines, bringing remarkable and fresh insight into The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones. 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 nation’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 11 Emmy Awards and 26 nominations over the course of its production. 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.
“Young Indiana Jones was one of the most ambitious and complex projects that had ever been attempted for television, and the result was an amazing series that showed a completely different side to Indy,” said series producer Rick McCallum, who also produced the three Star Wars prequels and the Special Editions of the original Star Wars Trilogy. “Over the years, the fan support for Young Indiana Jones has swelled, and I’m asked about it everywhere I go. So, I’m really happy that people who grew up with it can at last have it for themselves, and that a new generation will be able to discover the brilliant acting, directing, writing and storytelling that has always been the hallmark of an extraordinary venture.”
The feature-length episodes star Sean Patrick Flanery (Boondock Saints, “The Dead Zone”) as teenaged Indy and Corey Carrier (Nixon) as 9-year-old Indy. The extraordinary cast of guest stars includes Christopher Lee, Vanessa Redgrave, Max von Sydow, Anne Heche, Lukas Haas, Elizabeth Hurley, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jeffrey Wright and Daniel Craig.
During its network-television run, critics described the series as intelligent, daring, well written, irreverent, and unprecedented in scope and production values. The Hollywood Reporter called the series “exciting, fun, adventurous, brilliantly made and with a story that’s simply charming.” Bill Moyers said, “These exciting tales are the way to a youngster’s imagination – and his grandfather’s, too. History’s never been told more vividly or more engagingly for the young and old alike. May Young Indy be my grandson’s companion far into the 21st Century.”
The Young Indiana Jones films also feature the work of some of the industry’s biggest names in directing and writing. 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), Nicholas 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 DVD disc breakdown is as follows:
Disc One:
-- My First Adventure
While on an archeological dig in Egypt's Valley of the Kings,
Indy uncovers an ancient mummy and fresh corpse. With the help
of T.E. Lawrence, the legendary Lawrence of Arabia, Indy solves
an intriguing murder mystery only to find himself thrust right
back into danger when he is kidnapped by slave-trading
brigands. Dragged on a terrifying journey across the burning
sands of North Africa to the slave markets of Marrakech, Indy
finds that he must rely on his courage and wits to survive the
brutal ordeal.
Companion Historical Documentaries:
-- Archaeology: Unearthing Our Past
-- Howard Carter and the Tomb of Tutankhamun
-- Colonel Lawrence's War: T.E. Lawrence and Arabia
-- From Slavery to Freedom
Disc Two:
-- Passion For Life
The beautiful Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya is the locale
as Indy goes on safari with former President Teddy Roosevelt.
When he becomes lost in the savage African bush, Indy finds
that he must fight for his life against all manner of exotic
and dangerous wildlife. Exotic wildlife of another kind await
him in Paris when he accompanies a young Norman Rockwell on a
rollicking tour through the bohemian world of Parisian fine
art. Wild parties, wilder women and artist temperament are on
full display as Pablo Picasso and Edgar Degas clash over their
contrasting styles of painting, while painting the town red at
a gaudy late-night soiree.
Disc Three (Passion For Life bonus disc):
Companion Historical Documentaries:
-- Theodore Roosevelt and The American Century
-- Ecology: Pulse of the Planet
-- American Dreams: Norman Rockwell and the Saturday Evening
Post
-- Art Rebellion: The Making of the Modern
-- Edgar Degas: Reluctant Rebel
-- Braque + Picasso: A Collaboration Cubed
Disc Four:
-- The Perils of Cupid
In beautiful Vienna, Indy falls for the lovely young daughter
of soon-to-be assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.
But the course of true love does not run smoothly and he must
seek advice from two of the founding fathers of psychology,
Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Romantic complications of another
kind turn up in Florence, Italy, when Indy and his mother meet
the great opera composer Giacomo Puccini. Dismayed to find his
lonely mother succumbing to the sensuous charms of the
charismatic Puccini, Indy frantically looks for a way to
reunite his parents and rekindle their love before it's too
late.
Disc Five (The Perils of Cupid bonus disc):
Companion Historical Documentaries:
-- Giacomo Puccini--Music of the Heart
-- It's Opera!
-- The Archduke's Last Journey--End of an Era
-- Powder Keg--Europe 1900 to 1914
-- Sigmund Freud--Exploring the Unconscious
-- Carl Jung and the Journey of Self Discovery
-- Psychology--Charting the Human Mind
Disc Six:
-- Travels with Father
A trip to Russia takes Indy from the opulent palaces of the
aristocracy to the fetid villages of the peasant class when he
runs away from home after an argument with his parents.
Joining up with novelist Leo Tolstoy, the two go on the road,
engaging in philosophical discussions and clashing with
colorful Gypsies and ferocious Cossacks. Realizing that
there's no place like home, Indy rejoins his mom and dad and
travels with his father to an isolated Greek monastery perched
high on the peak of a mountain. The arduous journey, including
a harrowing trip in a tiny cage up a thousand-foot
mountainside, brings father and son closer together.
Companion Historical Documentaries:
-- Seeking Truth--The Life of Leo Tolstoy
-- Unquiet Voices--Russian Writers and the State
-- Aristotle--Creating Foundations
-- Ancient Questions--Philosophy and Our Search for Meaning
Disc Seven:
-- Journey of Radiance
A jaunt through the mystical Far East takes Indy to the Holy
City of Benares where he befriends the lonely and isolated
young leader of the Theosophy movement, Jiddu Krishnamurti.
Surrounded by supplicants and hangers-on, Krishnamurti
struggles to have faith in himself and to fulfill the destiny
decreed for him by his worshippers. In the process he shows
Indy just how strong the power of faith can be. Indy's mother
also learns a lesson in faith and trust when she must rely on
some poor Chinese villagers and their traditional medical
techniques to save the life of her son who lies perilously
close to death with typhoid fever.
Companion Historical Documentaries:
-- Jiddu Krishnamurti--The Reluctant Messiah
-- Annie Besant--An Unlikely Rebel
-- Medicine in the Middle Kingdom
-- Eastern Spirituality--The Road to Enlightenment
Disc Eight:
-- Spring Break Adventure
Indy and his girlfriend Nancy Stratemeyer, whose father
created the Nancy Drew mystery series, visit the fascinating
laboratory of inventor Thomas Edison. The two must contend with
dangerous German spies as they struggle to keep Edison's top
secret new invention out of the hands of hostile enemy agents.
To keep him from getting into any more trouble, Indy is sent to
visit his Aunt in New Mexico. While there, he is kidnapped by
Pancho Villa and swept up into the Mexican Revolution. Chaotic,
free-wheeling border towns, a "Wild Bunch" style train robbery
and a colorful barroom encounter with a young George Patton
make for thrilling entertainment in this action-packed movie.
Disc Nine (Spring Break Adventure bonus disc):
Companion Historical Documentaries:
-- Thomas Alva Edison--Lighting up the World
-- Invention and Innovation--What's Behind a Good Idea?
-- The Mystery of Edward Stratemeyer
-- Wanted: Dead or Alive--Pancho Villa and the American
Invasion of Mexico
-- General John J. Pershing and his American Army
-- George S. Patton--American Achilles
Disc Ten:
-- Love's Sweet Song
Landing in Ireland right before the Easter Rebellion, Indy
mixes romance and revolutionary politics when he falls for a
beautiful young colleen whose brother is mixed up in the Irish
resistance movement. Across the waters in England he encounters
a similar problem when his love affair with a strong-willed
young woman is derailed by her fervent belief in the women's
suffrage movement and her need for independence. Violent street
brawls, a terrifying Zeppelin raid and a seriocomic dinner
party with Winston Churchill provide plenty of thrills in this
exciting, romantic adventure.
Disc Eleven (Love's Sweet Song bonus disc):
Companion Historical Documentaries:
-- Easter Rising--The Poets' Rebellion
-- The Passions of William Butler Yeats
-- Sean O'Casey vs. Ireland
-- Ireland--The Power of the Poets
-- Winston Churchill--The Lion's Roar
-- Demanding the Vote--The Pankhursts and British Suffrage
-- Fighting for the Vote--Women's Suffrage in America
Disc Twelve: (Interactive Disc)
Special Features:
-- "Revolution" Interactive Game, based on Spring Break
Adventure allows players to become Indy and make their
own decisions based on Indy's adventures. As well as
entertaining, this game has educational elements.
-- Extensive Interactive Timeline that details the history
and locations of Indy's adventures and previews footage
of the companion documentaries.
-- Historical Lecture: The Promise of Progress is an
exploration of the people and events of the Industrial
Revolution, spanning the late 19th century to the early
20th century.
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