The Ciao! Gremlins are really going to town, aren't they? My thanks to the member who wished me luc...
The Ciao! Gremlins are really going to town, aren't they? My thanks to the member who wished me luck with the Toblerone competition - just a shame I haven't entered...you've gotta laugh, eh? :op
Member since:07.01.2006
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'The Long Way Round' is essentially a travelling diary of the adventures of best friends Ewan McGregor (Star Wars, Trainspotting) and Charley Boorman (On Edge, The Bunker) as they travel from London to New York via Europe, Russia, Mongolia and other countries with nothing but themselves, their motorbikes and their camera man Claudio, (plus a small support crew following behind, but rarely interfering with their journey). They get themselves in some very peculiar situations, have a few near-death experiences, they laugh and they fall off their bikes on many, many occasions.
I never actually saw this show on television, but when I was visiting my sister I watched their copy of the DVD and was completely taken by the show, (so much so I ordered my own copy the moment I got home). The friendship between Ewan and Charley is obvious for all to see and the shows themselves are both entertaining and, in places, touching. They decided to work with Unicef and throughout their travels they go to various Unicef hostels around the globe to see the work Unicef do, meet the children and try and help out anyway they can. I think the significant thing about the show is, certainly for me, it raised my awareness of Unicef's work - I hadn't realised how far reaching and worldwide their efforts went before I watched 'The Long Way Round'. I found certain aspect of their meetings
with the children both saddening (because of the loss some children have gone through) but also moving and inspirational as, despite everything, the children still have smiles on their face. I thought Charley and Ewan's reactions to these moments are insightful into their own characters.
I think the reason the series works so well is that both Charley and Ewan are very down to Earth people. I wasn't really sure whether Ewan would be a bit like the typical Hollywood star, refusing to do certain things or complaining about the discomforts of the trip, but he is a genuinely unegotistical person. A particular scene that sticks in my mind in when Ewan, Charley and Claudio have to stay somewhere with only two beds. You see Claudio in a double bed, Charley with the single, whilst Ewan takes a mattress on the floor. Moments like this made me have more respect for Ewan in particular, but Charley also came across and a well-balanced individual with his feet firmly on the ground.
There's far too many moments to go into in this review, but memorable scenes for me include their visit to The Church Of Bones, them eating with someone who appears to be a mafia boss, who comes downstairs holding a guitar in one had and a AK-47 in the other and, as already mentioned, the children they meet with Unicef.
I think the other reason the show works so well is the interesting and varied people that they meet along the way. From (suspected) mafia bosses to Mongolian farmers or war-orphaned children. A lot of people don't even know who they are, yet still want to help them and show them hospitality. The kindness of strangers is a real big theme throughout the show, (though it wasn't planned that way) and that too is inspirational in today's world of "terror" and mistrust of others.
Be warned that both Ewan and Charley swear through the shows. I wouldn't call it excessive swearing, but parents may want to screen the show first before allowing their children to watch.
Also, bikes are obviously quite an important aspect of the series, but it's not vital for you to be a "petrol-head" in order to enjoy watching. Bike enthusiast will enjoy the talks about bikes, non-enthusiast shouldn't be too put off as the rest of the show is much more and the countries, the people and the adventure itself.
The other thing I enjoyed about the show is that I found it quite inspirational. I've always wanted to travel and 'The Long Way Round' really had set that thought firmly in my mind.
This is the 'Special Edition' of the DVD, which has all ten episodes as well as additional unseen footage, interviews with Ewan and Charley and with the series' creators. Each episode is about forty-five minutes long, which is just about right I think. Any shorter and the shows probably would have suffered from edited, any longer and the viewers might get a little bored of particular episodes.
The DVD is split across three discs, with discs one and two containing four episodes each, whilst the third has the remaining two episodes and the extra material. It doesn't come with a booklet, but it really isn't necessary for once - the DVD itself contains enough to keep you amused. It would have been nice to have had a Chapter List of which countries appear in each episode as if you want to view a particular episode again you will have to search through the discs, or memorise the particular episode number. A slight oversight and mild annoyance, but not really a reason to not by the DVD.
My only other criticism is that, when playing all the episodes consecutively, because the shows were aired a week apart they have the 'Previous On...' sections at the beginning. This can be slightly annoying when watching the shows back to back, but it's not really a major problem and is to be expected in all honesty.
I think if you can pick this up for about £15 (give or take a couple of quid) you wouldn't be disappointed. The show is superb and the additional interviews make it excellent value for money in my opinion.
I would thoroughly recommend everyone to add this to their collection and would be genuinely surprised if you didn't have some amount of enjoyment from the show.
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Long Way Roundis a documentary detailing the 20,000-mile motorcycle trip Ewan McGregor ... more
took around the world with best friend Charley Boorman over 115 days. Their trip took them from London through locales such as Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia, and Can...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Long Way Roundis a documentary detailing the 20,000-mile motorcycle trip Ewan McGregor ... more
took around the world with best friend Charley Boorman over 115 days. Their trip took them from London through locales such as Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia, and Can...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
This is the special extended edition DVD release of Long Way Round. This 3 disc set ... more
compiles all 10 of the extended series episodes and contains a number of never before seen extras. One of the successes of 2004 Long Way Round tells the story of E...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
2 men, 4 wheels and 20,000 miles. Long Way Round is truly the adventure of a lifetime.This ... more
is the special edition DVD of the Long Way Round story. Bonded by a unique friendship and love of motorbikes, Long Way Round documents the adventures of Ewan McG...
Advantages: exciting, you can really get into the adventure Disadvantages: It made me regret not travelling, everytime I watch it I want to explore the world.
Advantages: exciting, you can really get into the adventure Disadvantages: It made me regret not travelling, everytime I watch it I want to explore the world.
![Ewan McGregor And Charley Boorman - Long Way Round [Special Edition] [DVD] [2004]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/79482507.jpg "Ewan McGregor And Charley Boorman - Long Way Round [Special Edition] [DVD] [2004]")
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![Long Way Round - Complete TV Series [Special Edition]-DVD](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/100409086.jpg)
