Customer Reviews

Long Way Round

5 star:		(159)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I love this show and highly recommend it to pretty much everyone who has the travelling bug. I would have given it 5 stars based on the merits of the show alone...EXCEPT saying that this is "uncut" is misleading. In fact, the DVD producers will be "double-dipping" later in 2006.

It is important to note that they released a longer special edition of this show on DVD in the UK last week. So now there are actually 10 extended episodes of this show that are available as a three disc set everywhere else in the world except North America at this point in time.

The region one disc being released in North America in December 2005 only has 7 episodes (on two discs). They are planning to release this 10 episode version later in 2006.

If this doesn't faze you, and you need to get this NOW then I still think you'll enjoy the heck out of the 7 episode version.

However, if you can hold out for the 10 episode version (or buy the PAL version from Amazon UK), then I'd strongly advise you to do that instead.

Consider this fair warning!

You can get the long version, 10 episodes, NTSC format, from amazon canada... there is the link:

http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000CFWFYW/qid%3D1142320673/sr%3D8-1/ref%3Dsr%5F8%5Fxs%5Fap%5Fi1%5Fxgl/702-5209400-3214459

I don't understand why it's not available in the US...

I got tired of waiting for the long version so I went searching. Here's what I found out.. You can order the 10 episode 3-disk DVD from Amazon Canada. Your dollar is worth more and that compensates for the shipping. The original 7 episodes are enhanced with additional footage as well so it's like being on the wonderful journey with Ewan and Charlie for the first time. Enjoy.

Visit amazon.ca. Canada's zone 1 NTSC version is the extended 10-episode on 3-dvds. Don't have to buy the UK's PAL version.

I saw one episode of this on Bravo and was hooked. However, since they didn't sell it here in the US and my lousy cable system doesn't offer Bravo, I just bought the PAL version in early 2005 - and it was worth every penny. Of course, not everyone has a PAL DVD player and TV, so that option isn't for everyone, unless you can handle watching it on your computer. (The PAL version unlike this NTSC one is region-free.)

Regardless, I brought it home, and watched one episode with my wife - not being too sure if she'd like it or not. Suffice it to say, we were up until 3am watching both DVD's. I have since lent the discs to three other friends who all had the same "problem". It's hard to stop watching until they get to NYC (sorry for the spoiler, but they do actually make it through alive. :) )

It was merely the closest thing to a "perfect" reality TV show I've ever watched. Highly recommended.

As a novice motorcycle rider married to a life-long one, I know many of the ups and downs of travelling by motorcycle. This video shows it all - the joys, the trials, and let-downs. There are places where Ewan states his misgivings about situations they get into that echo my own when I've been in situations where I felt my skills weren't adequate. They both summarize it well at the end of the day when the challenges have been met and they are off the bikes until tomorrow. I doubt if many folks will travel like these two did, but this video serves to inspire people who wish to take a journey of a lifetime on a motorcycle.

Cool video. I never would have gone that far on a motorcycle!

We bought this series thinking it was extended episodes. I hsd just seen the series on Current and they showed 10 episodes. I notice the series we ordered had only 7 and that the last episode was editted down. I'm not sure if the other ones were shortened too since I've seen the last episode the most. So be aware of this when you order the series. You want the other one which has the 10 full episodes.

Ewan and Charlie are my heros. Watched it when it aired on Bravo. Absolutely loved it. Missed a couple episodes. Considered buying the UK version, but elected to wait. Finally got the US copy. FINALLY got to see the segments I missed. I still love the movie myself, but unfortunately can't really watch it with my kids because of the slightly-more-than-occasional use of the F-word. The naked butts are tolerable, but the F-word screws it up for family viewing. Wish I could have bought a censored version. Never really thought much of it when I saw it on TV. I'm still giving it 5-Stars because it still a great story and video. Just not for kids.

Many people dream of round-the-world trips but few are ever able to take them. Be it time or financial constraints, the barriers are often broad and appear unwieldy. So many times we have to experience the rest of the world vicariously via magazine articles or, in this case, a documentary.

LONG WAY ROUND was the brainchild of actor Ewan McGregor (STAR WARS) and his longtime buddy Charley Boorman (ON EDGE), two men with a passion for motorcycling. One day they decide to give this round-the-world idea some wings by mapping out a course across the globe ...but instead of traveling by plane or rail, they decide to do it using two BMW motorbikes.

Preparation for the trip starts months in advance as transportation is arranged, passports collected, boarder crossing ensured, and training of the two riders takes place (CPR, first aid, exercising, motorcycle training, Russian language classes, etc.)

The trip begins in London, England and ends 115 days later in New York. The trip starts out well enough, with adequately paved roads and quaint villages. But the further east McGregor and Boorman travel, the less biker-friendly the way becomes. Smooth asphalt quickly gives way to pitted asphalt, then divot-riddled asphalt, then into dirt roads. Once into Mongolia, anything resembling a sustainable thoroughfare becomes completely blurred by bogs, riverbeds and stretches of absolute nothingness.

Difficulty of traveling aside, the two bikers meet some of the most incredible people. Ewan McGregor being Ewan McGregor, he is initially seen as a hero, a movie-star bringing notice to these otherwise unnoteworthy locales. Police escorts pop-up out of nowhere and guide Ewan and Charley into small townships where parties await them in their honor. But, again, the further east our two journeymen head, the less this happens. In and out of Mongolia, they soon head up into Siberia where they encounter The Road of Bones, a stretch of road built by slave labor during Stalin's tyranny (many a dead slaves body rests somewhere beneath this road ...or so it is said). No one knows who Ewan McGregor is here.

Pushing themselves to the limit, the two slush through wetlands, river crossings and some of the worst roadways in the world. Even a support crew that follows them has great difficulties, one time crashing their vehicle and nearly killing some of the passengers.

Arriving 115 days later in New York, many viewers will breath a sigh of relief for Charley and Ewan. The intensity of the trip is well-spent on the audience, helping the viewer feel the pressure and difficulties of the route. But it also helps us see that what is often said to be impossible is, in fact, possible if you apply yourself hard enough. That and the exposure to the myriad of other cultures makes this documentary a strong film.

This is the two-CD, 7-episode version.

The UK version is PAL-encoded with no region restrictions. PAL means it probably won't play in your normal DVD player.

There is an option if you want NTSC encoding and Region 1: buy it from canada. Amazon's .ca store has the 10-episode version, and the price is very reasonable (though about double this, once you pay for shipping).