Ewan McGregor And Charley Boorman - Long Way Round (Director's Cut) (Special Edition) > Reviews > Charley and Ewans first adventure.

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding

Advantages:	More detailed than the TV series
Disadvantages:	Not everyones taste

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This is the DVD of the first trip that Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman made together on motorbikes.
The DVD i am reviewing is the 2 disc set which contains both unseen and extended footage.
The trip took a long time to play and ultimately was a journey from London to New York via Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia, USA and Canada.
The DVD covers the entire television series.

The way the two discs are split is disc one conatins episodes 1, 2 and 3 with the extra features. The second disc has the remaining episodes on , namely 4, 5, 6 and 7. The total running time is about 6 hours so ideally you wont want to watch them in one sitting.
The extras are the unseen material, the photo gallery and the exclusive post trip interview.

The DVD's start with the planning stage where they have to trial possible motobikes that may be suitabel for a trip like this, they settle on either a KTM or BMW. Those that have watched the series will know that the final choice was the BMW GS motorcycle.

The training period that is shown in the film shows them having a difference of opinion over which bike to go for but i think they made the correct choice in the end. The bikes are very heavy loaded up for a trip like this but they have a support crewwith them in trucks and off roaders. Without this team behind them the filming wouldnt have been so good. But they also had cameras with them on the bikes so you get to se on bike footage. This all adds to the enjoyment of the film.

The soundtrack to the film adds very well to the overall atmosphere with the likes of Radiohead, Coldplay, Blur and Stereophonics providing the music. The Stereophonics provide the title track.
The music is available as an album to accompany the series and there is also a book too.
I recommend getting the book too as it covers the trip in more detail and gives a better insight to the whole thing. Being in Dolby Digital greatly enhances the viewing.

The packaging for the DVD on the inside contains the route with date, milaeage, location etc. which is informative and very useful. You can also check out the website for the series on www.longwayround.com.

I purchased the film for £9.56 but it is probably available for less now so shop around.
I thoroughly recommend this DVD especially to those who also ride bikes or are thinking of a similar trip.