The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Masks of Evil (1999) (V)

Directors:

Dick Maas
Mike Newell

Writers:

Rosemary Anne Sisson (writer) &
Jonathan Hensleigh (writer)

Release Date:

7 August 2000 (UK)

Genre:

Adventure | Horror

Plot:

Istanbul, September 1918. Posing as neutral Swedish journalist 'Nils Anderson', Indiana Jones is trying...

Plot Keywords:

Indiana Jones | Istanbul | Transylvania | Fedora | Dracula

Cast

Sean Patrick Flanery	...	Indiana Jones (also archive footage)
Katherine Butler	...	Molly (archive footage)
Keith Szarabajka	...	Colonel Waters (archive footage)
Peter Firth	...	Stefan (archive footage)
Bob Peck	...	General Targo (archive footage)
Ahmet Levendoglu	...	Mustafa Kemal (archive footage)
Philippe Smolikowski	...	Etienne (archive footage)
Huseyin Katircioclu	...	Nico (archive footage)
Boris Isarov	...	Vasily (archive footage)
Tristram Jellinek	...	Victor (archive footage)
Mehmet Birkiye	...	Sadallah (archive footage)
Nüvit Özdogru	...	Sultan (archive footage) (as Nuvit Ozdogru)
Emrah Kolukisa	...	Mahmoud (archive footage)
Ali Taygun	...	Enver Pasha (archive footage)
Zuhal Olcay	...	Halide Edib (archive footage)

Runtime:

Canada:95 min | UK:92 min (video)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian | Turkish | German | Icelandic

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Krizeneckeho namesti, Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

Amblin Television

Movie Connections:

Edited from "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Istanbul, September 1918 (#2.17)" (1993)

Good feature demonstrating the different strengths of the series

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This latest episode sees yet more spying adventures for Young Indiana Jones (Sean Patrick Flanery). It was actually to be the last feature-length episode set in the midst of World War One (the following two deal with the ending and aftermath), and in a way you can see this was the probably the right time to start winding up his wartime adventures.

There is a sense of repetition to the plot, as Indy ends up in yet another exotic location (in this case Istanbul), trying to lure someone else onto the Allies' side (Turkish General Mustafa Kemal), while dealing with a traitor. Oh, he falls in love as well, with predictably tragic consequences. It is still skilfully produced and acted, and I liked the tilted camera shots that give a suitably creepy and disorienting feel to the smoky, harshly-lit streets of the city.

The second segment sees Indy dispatched to Transylvania, where he must stop the crazed General Targo (a wonderfully hammy Bob Peck), a descendant of Vlad the Impaler who is raising an army of the dead. Indy vs. Dracula is a novel idea, and with it's tongue-in-cheek mixing of humour and all-out body horror, it's the closest the series has come to evoking the spirit of the movies. There is no sensuality in the depiction of Dracula but there is still plenty of classic Gothic imagery including red skies, walking corpses and a generous helping of blood.

Another good quality episode, with something in here for everyone who likes Indiana Jones.