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Long Way Round: Series
Goldhil Entertainment // Unrated // December 13, 2005
List Price: $29.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
A fascinating and very entertaining documentary series, "Long Way Round" follows around actors Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor as they ride motorcycles through Europe, Russia and then go through Alaska before finally ending up in New York and reuniting with their families before ending up in NYC. This isn't a vacation - the two go through some very rough terrain and dangerous areas, with one cameraman filming them and each with their own camera. A small support crew follows a ways behind, but essentially, the two long-time friends are on their own as they encounter a number of different cultures as they travel through places like Mongolia. Overall, the two end up traveling more than 20,000 miles.
The series opens with the two trying to go through a long preparation process, which includes visiting with representatives from the countries that they're planning to visit and trying to get sponsorship. There are times when it doesn't seem like it's going to come together, but the day eventually arrives when they find themselves riding off towards the unknown.
The two do get injured, including a scary accident in Canada that McGregor luckily walks away from with no injuries. The two also ride through some very primitive and desolate areas, where the dirt roadways are incredibly difficult to even ride through for any length of time. The motorcycles break down, sometimes in the middle of nowhere, and there's a moment or two when the two ponder whether or not they should give up.
The two eat when they can and take shelter where they can, and it's nice to see strangers from various countries who are willing to help in whatever way they can. The two also stop at a UNICEF camp to visit the children of Chernobyl. Late in the journey, McGregor and Boorman also end up stopping at the offices of Orange County Choppers, which is the focus of the "American Chopper" TV series. It's also nice to see a great example of friendship, as well; McGregor and Boorman are clearly best of friends and look out for each other along the course of the journey.
The last moments are definitely emotional, as the two ride into New York City and celebrate having made it through all of the ups and downs of an absolutely amazing journey.
This set provides the basic 7 episodes that aired. However, available in Region 2 is an expanded set that provides 10 episodes. Given how long it's taken for the set to arrive in the US after being released in the UK, it's disappointing that the 10-episode edition wasn't the first one available here. While hopefully it'll show up in the future, given how long the series took to arrive on DVD here in the first place, I'm guessing it'll be a fairly sizable wait.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Long Way Round" is presented by Goldhil in approximately 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen. Filmed with fairly low-budget digital cameras in rarely optimal conditions, the picture quality looks quite good, considering. Sharpness and detail mostly remain fine, although there are some moments that appear slightly blurry or hazy.
Aside from the varying level of definition, the picture quality didn't suffer from too many other concerns. Some minor shimmering does occur at times, but it's hardly noticable. Colors generally appeared natural and accurate, with no real issues.
SOUND: The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is, like the image quality, perfectly adequate, considering the filming conditions. Dialogue is sometimes a bit overwhelmed by the various sounds of whereever the two are, but it's never really difficult to hear what either of the two are saying.
EXTRAS: Deleted clips ("The Preparation", "The First Five Days", "I Just Can't Do It", "Glacier Plane Ride" and "Wrong Way Round"), a post-trip interview, photo gallery and UNICEF information.
Final Thoughts: "Long Way Round" is a highly entertaining 20,000 mile journey between two friends. The series takes a very matter-of-fact look at the ups and downs of the trip, letting the events that take place create the drama and humor of the show. The DVD offers good audio/video quality and a few nice extras. Recommended, and makes a good gift for travel experts on your list (pretty reasonable as well, as some online retailers are charging $14 for the 2-DVD set.) Some may want to wait for the eventual 10-episode release, but judging by how long it took this release to arrive in the US, it may be a long wait.
A fascinating and very entertaining documentary series, "Long Way Round" follows around actors Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor as they ride motorcycles through Europe, Russia and then go through Alaska before finally ending up in New York and reuniting with their families before ending up in NYC. This isn't a vacation - the two go through some very rough terrain and dangerous areas, with one cameraman filming them and each with their own camera. A small support crew follows a ways behind, but essentially, the two long-time friends are on their own as they encounter a number of different cultures as they travel through places like Mongolia. Overall, the two end up traveling more than 20,000 miles.
The series opens with the two trying to go through a long preparation process, which includes visiting with representatives from the countries that they're planning to visit and trying to get sponsorship. There are times when it doesn't seem like it's going to come together, but the day eventually arrives when they find themselves riding off towards the unknown.
The two do get injured, including a scary accident in Canada that McGregor luckily walks away from with no injuries. The two also ride through some very primitive and desolate areas, where the dirt roadways are incredibly difficult to even ride through for any length of time. The motorcycles break down, sometimes in the middle of nowhere, and there's a moment or two when the two ponder whether or not they should give up.
The two eat when they can and take shelter where they can, and it's nice to see strangers from various countries who are willing to help in whatever way they can. The two also stop at a UNICEF camp to visit the children of Chernobyl. Late in the journey, McGregor and Boorman also end up stopping at the offices of Orange County Choppers, which is the focus of the "American Chopper" TV series. It's also nice to see a great example of friendship, as well; McGregor and Boorman are clearly best of friends and look out for each other along the course of the journey.
The last moments are definitely emotional, as the two ride into New York City and celebrate having made it through all of the ups and downs of an absolutely amazing journey.
This set provides the basic 7 episodes that aired. However, available in Region 2 is an expanded set that provides 10 episodes. Given how long it's taken for the set to arrive in the US after being released in the UK, it's disappointing that the 10-episode edition wasn't the first one available here. While hopefully it'll show up in the future, given how long the series took to arrive on DVD here in the first place, I'm guessing it'll be a fairly sizable wait.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Long Way Round" is presented by Goldhil in approximately 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen. Filmed with fairly low-budget digital cameras in rarely optimal conditions, the picture quality looks quite good, considering. Sharpness and detail mostly remain fine, although there are some moments that appear slightly blurry or hazy.
Aside from the varying level of definition, the picture quality didn't suffer from too many other concerns. Some minor shimmering does occur at times, but it's hardly noticable. Colors generally appeared natural and accurate, with no real issues.
SOUND: The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is, like the image quality, perfectly adequate, considering the filming conditions. Dialogue is sometimes a bit overwhelmed by the various sounds of whereever the two are, but it's never really difficult to hear what either of the two are saying.
EXTRAS: Deleted clips ("The Preparation", "The First Five Days", "I Just Can't Do It", "Glacier Plane Ride" and "Wrong Way Round"), a post-trip interview, photo gallery and UNICEF information.
Final Thoughts: "Long Way Round" is a highly entertaining 20,000 mile journey between two friends. The series takes a very matter-of-fact look at the ups and downs of the trip, letting the events that take place create the drama and humor of the show. The DVD offers good audio/video quality and a few nice extras. Recommended, and makes a good gift for travel experts on your list (pretty reasonable as well, as some online retailers are charging $14 for the 2-DVD set.) Some may want to wait for the eventual 10-episode release, but judging by how long it took this release to arrive in the US, it may be a long wait.
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