Product Description

Ewan McGregor, Charley Boorman

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4337 in DVD
• Brand: DVD Boxsets
• Released on: 2004-12-06
• Rating: Exempt
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Box set, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .23 pounds
• Running time: 315 minutes

Synopsis
Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman begin a twenty thousand mile trip by motorcycle around the world, travelling through Europe, Mongolia and Canada. Seven one hour episodes.

From the Studio
Long Way Round documents the adventures of film stars Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting, Moulin Rouge, Star Wars) and Charley Boorman on their 20,000 mile motor bike trip around the world. Departing from London on 14th April 2004 the pair travelled through Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia, Alaska, Canada arriving in the USA just over 3 months later. Along the way the intrepid pair encountered Kalashnikov-toting gangsters and extreme cuisine, survived numerous motorised scrapes often whilst traversing non existent roads days from the nearest hospital and found themselves alarmingly close to a hungry grizzly bear. They arrived at their final destination, New York, on 29th July and this DVD release with companion soundtrack tells the story from the eyes of the two film stars.

Customer Reviews

These guys have guts!
I have been lent this DVD by a friend of mine and both myself and my wife were hooked to the point that I'm buying my own copy so we can watch it over and over again.

It's impossible not to get emotionally attached to the guys as they undertake their journey battling against incredible odds. If it was a live documentary you would genuinely fear that the next episode may report the sad loss of one or both of their lives. The terrain and scenery of some of the locations is simply stunning but the dangers are all too evident and always in the back of your mind. What they achieved is an incredible feat for anybody but for two 'normal' bikers it is unbelievable and as a biker myself I can only feel an even deeper appreciation for the sheer difficulties they sometimes faced. They also meet some incredible (and incredibly kind) people along the way and as Ewen says 'it's a small planet....they are people just like us'.

The series contains quite a bit of swearing and some of the footage is very raw but this only serves to remind you that what you're seeing is what they experienced 'there and then'. During their time in Mongolia you can see it etched on their faces that the whole thing is even harder than they could ever have expected. They (and Claudio the bike riding cameraman) really were exposed to whatever may have come their way.

Funny, moving, inspiring and breathtaking in equal measures - everybody should watch this series documenting an incredible journey. Right, now where's the keys to the bike!

get the special edition instead
I bought this and it is good but since then they have brought out an extended edition. I have now seen both and the special edition is better giving you more of an appreciation what they went through. In the original they seemed to get fed up by the time they reached Canada/USA and there was hardly any detail but they have corrected this in the new version.

7 hours? Not long enough!
Although I am a biker and would probably have this in my collection regardless,I can guarantee that virtually anyone will be totally engrossed in this adventure from the word go.Ewan and Charlies' sheer charisma and enthusiasm is both infectious and inspirational.They both totally betray their film star status by showing a very human vulnerability to the amazing situations the trip presents them with - and what a trip! Some hardened travellers may say that the support-crew aspect lessened the danger element, or gave them a get-out-of-jail-free card. Not so...in fact the back-up crew themselves got in to some serious trouble too, and it's all compelling to watch.Awesome landscapes, filmed beautifully and revealing a real insight into parts of the world you've barely heard of.The extras on the DVD are also quality viewing.
The only thing to ever have kept myself and my wife out of the pub for a whole week ! Buy with confidence - superb.