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

User Rating:

5.6/10   

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, Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

Amblin Television

Movie Connections:

Edited from "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Transylvania, January 1918 (#2.22)" (1993)

Half good, half bad

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The first half of this episode is a really challenging one, quite one of the best in the series. We find Indy as a mature master-spy in Istambul, masquerading himself as a Swedish journalist, in charge with the mission to find a way to give general Mustafa Kemal(Attaturk) a list of separate peace proposals from the French government. The drama comes when a new girl intervenes in the scene and Indy is forced to lie her about his true identity, and use her to get to Mustafa Kemal, even if he loves her very much and gives her a marriage proposal. The things are getting worse as time goes by because a double agent comes in the scene, and the end of the adventure is truly heart breaking. But the atmosphere, the colorful oriental scenes and the adventure are breath-taking.

The second part is a real mess. Indy goes to Transylvania to track some "romanian" general Targo(what an unusual Romanian name :p, rather Hungarian, actually) who thinks himself(or in the vision of George Lucas actually is) as "prince" Vlad Tepes(Vlad the Impalor) or a relative of him or something. First of all, Romania was a part of the Entante in WWI(not how it appears in the movie, as an ally for the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany). It is, I think, Lucas' deep desire to take part in a Dracula movie.:))))), but unfortunately for him he never got the chance. Historicaly speaking, the whole thing is a big bloody failure. Vlad was not a prince, but a king("voievod" or "domnitor") and was not the ruler of Transylvania, but of the Vallachian territory(which is a very big difference, but this bloody Stoker :)). Second of all, the two Romanians (Nicholas and Maria) are not Romanians by name and by clothes(rather Hungarians). And Transylvania(which is a native Romanian territory) at that time was still a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and after the war was incorporated in Romania. Transylvania at that time was(and still is) one of the most civilized of the Romanian provinces, but in the film appears like a wasteland. (again that bloody Stoker and bloody Copolla). And all that mambo-jumbo action crap with blood baths, flying pieces of a lightning, living dead and vampires is simply "to hot" for any taste. In my opinion, the worst in the series.

So I give five stars for the first half and just a star for the second one(and I'm to kind, I know that :))