Another worthy chapter of the Young Indiana Jones Adventures, with Sean Patrick Flanery as Indiana Jones. In a prior chapter we see he joined the Belgian army because he did not have to prove he was an adult (he was only 17). As this chapter begins we see Indy and his friend Remy are two of the survivors of a fierce battle, one that resulted in all the officers being killed, and young Corporal Indy was the high ranking officer. They are placed with the French army.Much of this 90-minute movie involves hand-to-hand combat in WW1 battles in France. We always know Indy will get out OK, because of the later Indiana Jones movies with Harrison Ford, but he gets into a number of tight situations, and gets captured by the Germans at least on two different occasions.In one of those he meets up with French prisoner Charles De Gaulle, in his 20s, and they help each other escape by removing bodies from two pine caskets and getting carried out. In fact Charles De Gaulle, future President of France (1959 - 1969), did fight in WW1 and was captured, but tried unsuccessfully, five time, to escape. Good, interesting chapter with appropriately high production values.

As true to war a TV series could be until Band of Brothers and The Pacific. A terrific film which is in my opinion is much scarier than Saving Private Ryan but less bloody. The whole film is intense and is as good as any war movie could be, the only difference with this one is that Indiana Jones is in it. It's very brutal for what could be a PG-13 rated (if the MPAA rated TV shows) and 12-rated film. It seems like that if you want a good war movie, get George Lucas and Steven Spielburg on the job. I could class this as a child-friendly war movie because it was no f-words and no guts hanging out of people's stomachs.8 out of 10

"The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones" continue as Indy (Sean Patrick Flannery) experiences first-hand the horrors of trench combat at the Battle of the Somme. He survives death by bullets, gas and flamethrowers before eventually being captured. He is eventually sent to an inescapable prison camp - the Deutchdenstadt, where he makes a getaway with help of a young Charles de Gaulle...Whilst not as graphic as the Steven Spielberg picture "Saving Private Ryan" (which this story, although set in World War I, takes some inspiration), war is not shown in a glorious light but rather a tragic and horrifying one. Sean Patrick Flannery does a good job of portraying Indy's desperation and bewilderment.The POW section nods to "The Great Escape" as Indy gets away from not one but TWO prison camps. Look out for a young James Nesbit as a Russina prisoner Indy meets in Deutchdenstadt.Brilliant episode and the accompanying documentaries are top-notch too.

This video version of the episodes "The Somme-September 1916" and "Germany-September 1916" from the series THE YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES was long overdue for release. Having found myself lucky to have copies of the originals on video and being a student of World War One warfare and tactics, I found this story to be first-rate in showing the true feeling and horrors of fighting in the trenches during the Great War. Having Indiana Jones in the episodes is only a sub-plot - the true story showing exactly what happened in the trenches to great and horrific detail. Three particular points - a man chokes to death during a gas attack, the jumping "charging" of the trenches as they lose and gain ground, and the Germans advancing through the gas with flamethrowers - parallels scenes from such great World War One films as THE BLUE MAX or ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT for realism.I recommend this video to everyone who I know is studying World War One history, be it as a passing hobby, reenacting, or on the college level. It deserves to be in your library.