Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3307 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-06-07
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 560 minutes

DVD Description
From Michael Palin and the team that brought you Around the World in 80 Days and Pole to Pole comes the most ambitious journey every undertaken for a television series - 50,000 miles of adventure and humour-packed incident which attempts a complete circle around the world's largest ocean. Michael sets off from Diomede, in the Bering Strait, and hopes to return there one year later via Russia, Japan, Korea, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Borneo, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand and the whole length of the Americas. But right from the start things don't go to plan…

Special Features

• Total Running Time: 560 minutes approx.

Synopsis
Travel 50,000 miles around the Pacific Rim with Michael Palin. His entertaining wit and incredible capacity to experience the unknown, guides you FULL CIRCLE around the globe along the Pacific rim from Alaska, through Russia, Japan, China, Vietnam, Australia, South America and Mexico. But these things never quite go according to plan....
He negotiates the icy waters of the Bering Strait, visits Eskimos, and drums with the famed Kodo Drummers on their remote island of Sado. He braves the wrath of communist officials in China and Vietnam, first sleeping in Mao's bed, then setting up a game of cricket in Hanoi. He continues his journey around the Pacific Rim by island-hopping in the South Pacific in a Filipino ferry and dropping in on the "Desperate and Dateless" charity ball Down Under. Crossing the International Date Line, our interpid adventurer travels up the length of South America, from Cape Horn to Santiago and beyond. He encounters isolated Indian tribes and a masked wrestler from Mexico City named "Super Barrio" on his last dash to Alaska to complete the circuit of his travels.

Customer Reviews

Michael Palin's longest journey
This trip is just so long and unusual that you can't help being intrigued and fascinated by it all. Ten months and 50,000 miles traveling through 18 countries all the way around the Pacific Ocean!

What makes Michael Palin's trips so special is the enthusiasm, wit and charm he brings to the endeavor. Plus the ability of the crew to find extremely interesting people for Michael to talk to and very interesting activities for him to sample. And the whole thing is beautifully photographed, making you want to visit the various places yourself.

Among some of the most interesting points on the trip are a wedding ceremony in South Korea, the Russian Gulag in Siberia, the CaoDai religion in Vietnam, Philippine women learning how to be foreign workers, lassoing camels in Australia, a French shaman in the Amazon valley, narcotics problems in Bogotá, and illegal immigrants from Mexico to the USA.

My only criticism is that the west coast of the USA and Canada got glossed over. I'm guessing that Michael Palin, after nine months of traveling, just wanted to get home.

The DVD version of this TV program consists of three discs. These discs contain the ten 45-minute episodes (7 1/2 hours) plus some extra material:

- a very interesting interview with Michael Palin (28 minutes)
- some scenes that didn't make it into the TV program (almost 50 minutes)
- a funny meeting with Eric Idle, with lots of inside jokes for Monty Python fans (8 minutes)

Even without the extra material I'd give these DVDs a "highly recommended" rating. The extra material, especially the interview with Michael Palin, makes it even more wonderful.

Note that there is also a beautiful and well-written book available that covers this trip - also highly recommended.

Rennie Petersen

...Not a distant Second, but a Second nevertheless
I love Michael Palin and all his work - but while all his work is a must have for me, only for rating purpose, The Full Circle comes at a second place to Around the World and Pole to Pole. Oh I just loved it...the songs in Russia, the morning jog in Japan, the train journey in Vietnam - but I had a feeling that this series had two halves - one where Palin was journeying in Asia - and the rest of it. Till the time he gets to the end in Philippines, the journey had a smooth and wonderful pace about it. After that it is a bit hurried - a bit like a wonderful dish asked to be eaten in a hurry. He slows down a bit in Chile - but overall momentum is a bit fast and unrelenting.

But...other than actually taking this trip, this series provides the best joy you can get for a twenty quid.

A voyeuristic adventure from the comfort of your armchair
Michael Palin embarks on a truly epic journey around the Pacific rim. His travels begin in Canada and end, a year later, back where he began. Inbetween he takes you through such places as China, Vietnam, Australia, South and North America to name but a few. His gentle approach and off the cuff humour make this compulsive viewing and you feel as if you're with him every step of the way.