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| Long Way Round the DVD | | Date Created: Dec 28, 2005, 09:48 PM |
 Kind of like the old Monty Python's Flying Circus days, over here in the US we got the book eventually. Apparently there was a British TV release and a DVD that collected the TV episodes. Finally we got the DVD release which apparently isn't all the episodes. It's long enough though -- covers two DVD discs and well over three hours.
I read the book this summer and reviewed it here.
Reasons to read the book/watch the DVD:
You're into motorcycles.
You're into actors Ewan McGregor and/or Charley Boorman (his father is John Boorman)
3 1/2 month trips around the world interest you
Writing about or filming such a trip would interest you
You can't really believe they did it and want to see for yourself
Reasons to skip the book and/or DVD:
You're not excited by any of the above and have better things to do.
Personally, it was the interest in motorcycles (I have one similar to the ones they rode around the world) and the "I can't believe they did it" thing. I guess I could have settled for the book but it was also fascinating to see what they described in the book. It's not exactly like seeing the movie made from a novel. It's more like reading a nonfiction account and then seeing the PBS documentary. Of course the documentary DVD wasn't exactly a Ken Burns masterpiece.
There's only so many ways to film a ride on a motorcycle, even a very long one with a lot of exotic country and many near-disastrous occurrences. The DVD is necessarily choppy and has multiple breaks because of the TV production. The self-filmed diary camera stuff wasn't too exciting unless you're into a close-up of of Ewan's forehead insect bite and the mosquito bites on his bum. They blurred out the naughty bits but left in the ef'in language.
The DVD did flesh out the part of the trip from Alaska to NYC which the book glossed over. I'm not sure how it could have been done better but it seems choppy, cinema verite amateurish, long, and ultimately something a lot of people wouldn't be interested in. So go back to the list of reasons to read the book or see the DVD. You've been warned. I enjoyed it though.
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