Customer Reviews

Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, Chapter 16 - Tales of Innocence [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Though the series is plagued with misguided efforts to steer Indy into the company of historical greats, this time Lucasfilm keeps the improbabilities to a minimum. This pleasant surprise allows Indy some interesting character development. This is the only tape in which both hours are devoted to romantic plot lines.

Hour One has Indy scuffling with Ernest Hemingway over the affections of an Italian heiress. It's an unusually light-hearted turn for the series to take. The battle between Hemingway and Jones is a treat, and we're more than glad that the battlefield is Italian. Happily, too, Hemingway's appearance in the episode is plausible and welcome. Nothing very original happens in this oft-repeated tale of romantic rivalry, but it's cleverly done against gorgeous backdrops so we hardly mind the staleness of the plot. It's particularly satisfying to see Indy so romantically vulnerable, if only because he grows up to be more of a cynic in the theatrical films. The groundwork laid in this episode introduces us to the side of Harrison Ford's Indy that recklessly falls for the German archaeologist in THE LAST CRUSADE. Yet it also gives us a peek into why he might've had problems committing to Karen Allen's Marion Ravenwood character in RAIDERS.

Hour Two is one of my favorite hours because it combines an interesting mystery with Moroccan surroundings and the unrequited love of an older woman. The friendship with the very much older Edith Wharton is handled with great tact and affection. It is this relationship, more than any other in the YOUNG INDY series, which demonstrates Indy's true philosophical take on women. We see here that he is not a rogue capable of maliciously ruining Marion's life in RAIDERS-as Marion accuses-but that the end to Indy's longest-lasting relationship must have come for other, more noble reasons.

Also, there's a lot more to Hour Two than tentative romance. A mystery of interesting proportions is afoot, and Indy's tracking of it is a delight. It's a kind of Hercule Poirot or Sherlock Holmes mystery, with Indy doing some pretty impressive sleuthing.

All in all, then, "Tales of Innocence" is a highly recommendable member of the YOUNG INDY series, and should probably be one of the first three tapes newcomers watch.

The first half is a hoot the whole way through, it has to be the funniest Young Indy episode. The ending is great; I remember being surprised when I first watched it on TV, so I won't give it away. I'll just say Giulietta isn't as naive as she seemed.

To the second half. This one wasn't supposed to be amusing, but it was. First off I'll say that I did not like Edith Wharton, and from what I've read about her books, I wouldn't like them either. (Basically they're about people with repressed passions, who have affairs that ruin their lives...blah). Edith is obviously going through a midlife crises, and sees Indy as a potential boy toy to make her feel young again. Indy sees her as a mother figure, though a couple lines at the end try to convince us he wishes he were his father's age so he could have a romantic relationship with her. Frankly, it sounded more like he was just saying that to make her feel better.

There was some slight adventure going on in the second half, but it was just backdrop for the romantic tale. All in all, this one is great to watch if you want to laugh at the characters all the way through.

This has to be the best out of the titles released in the UK so far ('Phantom Train of Doom', 'Treasure of the Peacock's Eye', 'Daredevils of the Desert' and this itself). I know that may not be saying all that much, but this is truly a FANTASTIC chapter of Indiana Jones.

The love story in the first half is my favourite part of it. Very comic but also moving. It's also really great to see Pernilla August (Shmi Skywalker, Anakin's mother from 'Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace') in another good role - she's even playing a main character's mother again!

I love the arc of this video. Starting with a comic tale of a crush (and romantic competition with 'Ernie' Hemingway), continuing with a short, sexual fling, and ending with a adult, lovely, if doomed relationship with Edith Wharton.

Flanery does a wonderful job of letting us see Indy grow and mature thru these adventures.

The first part, telling the story of two guys rivaling for the same girl, is the funniest thing I have ever experienced. The second part, is a true-blue indy story, mystery, suspense and the greatest sword fight scene I have ever seen.

The Northern Italy half of this adventure is one of the more comic of the Young Indy episodes, involving Indy's competition with Ernest Hemingway over a girl. Jay Underwood does a great job as the young Hemingway. Part Two involves Indy's adventures in tracking down traitorous weapons suppliers in World War I Morocco, as well as some questionable flirtation with the much older Edith Wharton.

This is a brilliant comic episode with Hemmingway offering Jones advice on winning his true love away from another lover. The twist, the two discover, is the Hemingway IS the other man! This adventure leads up into and is a great double feature with the Attenborough film entitled IN LOVE AND WAR. Though the two complement each other, I actually tend to prefer Jay Underwood as Hemingway in "Young Indy" to Chris O'Donnell in "Love and War". Underwood returns in the epic Young Indy "MYSTERY OF THE BLUES" which details his friendship in other aspects.

If you are someone knowledgeable in literature, you will appreciate the literary references, but you will also understand why the "Young Indiana Jones" adventures were never a ratings hit. Bluntly stated, it was too cerebral for the mass audience. In the first section of this adventure, Indie is on the front between Italy and Austria in the First World War and he meets a young Ernest Hemingway. They both attempt to woo an Italian girl with flowers and other massive gifts. The more experienced Indie tells Hemingway about his travel experiences and they reference topics that appear in Hemingway's works. Yet only a small percentage of the viewers could understand and appreciate the references.
Indie and Hemingway are both wounded in the same air attack and are in adjacent beds in the military hospital. They agree to never again pursue the same woman and Indie is given orders for a new mission in North Africa. This ends the first part of what is an episode with two distinct sub-episodes.
In the second part, Indie is attached to the French Foreign Legion in Morocco and he is given the assignment of trying to determine who is passing weapons and ammunition to the rebellious Berber tribes. As part of his cover, he accompanies author Edith Wharton in a journey across the desert where he also meets a young Lowell Thomas. This is another case where the majority of the audience would not know who either one of these people are.
Indie and Edith develop a deep affection for each other and it is the young Indie that breaks off the budding romance. She is much older than he is and despite his attempts to woo the Italian girl, Indie is devoted to fighting the war. The romantic action in the first part is largely silly, although Indie has a love affair with a nurse in the hospital where he recuperated. That changes in the second half and the episode would have been better had the relationship between Indie and Edith Wharton been more fully developed. That could have been easily done, less time could have been spent in the climactic fight scene, which went on far too long.
In terms of action, this is not one of the better Young Indiana Jones episodes; a lot of the fighting is somewhat absurd. The romance starts out much too childish and when it is time to be serious, there is not enough of it.

The first part of this film was simply an episode of the original TV series, but it is quite funny. The scene wherein Indy and a young Ernest Hemingway duel for the affections of a lovely Italian maid by simultaneously playing musical instruments with great gusto is hillarious. I agree with another reviewer that Jay Underwood is a pleasing Hemingway, but maybe less realistic than O'Donnell's haughty and more cynical Ernest. As for "the best swordfight ever", the viewer from USA should check out such dueling classics as Scaramouche (with Stewart Granger and Mel Ferrar) and the more recent Rob Roy (with Liam Neeson and Tim Roth) for truly first-class swordplay. If you like the Young Indy series, though, see Attack of the Hawkmen, the best of the bunch.