Full Circle (with Michael Palin) (1997)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Main Menu Audio Interviews-Cast-Michael Palin Deleted Scenes
Rating
Year Of Production	1997
Running Time	489:24 (Case: 487)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Multi Disc Set (3)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Roger Mills
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Michael Palin
Case	?
RPI	$39.95	Music	None Given

    Michael Palin, a founding member of the Monty Python comedy group, has now made 6 of these travel based documentary series for the BBC. All of them have been well worth watching and most of them have been exceptional television. This one is not one of the best but is still well worth watching. It is his natural gift for comedy which has really lifted these series above the ordinary and his uncanny ability to get along with the various people he meets. This one was actually the third series made in 1997, however, it has only just been released on DVD in Region 4. The other 5 are:

• Around The World In 80 Days (1989) - An attempt to recreate the famous novel and movie in reality.
• Pole to Pole (1992) - A trip from the North Pole to the South Pole by the shortest practicable route.
• Hemingway Adventure (1999) - Following in the footsteps of the famous author on his travels. Probably the weakest of all the series. Palin has actually written a novel based around Hemingway called Hemingway's Chair, which is well worth reading. Not yet available on DVD in Region 4.
• Sahara (2002) - A Trip across and around the most famous desert in the world.
• Himalaya (2004) - A Trip around and up into the Himalayan mountains.

    Full Circle travels with Michael as he makes his way around a full circle of the Pacific rim, visiting most countries with Pacific coastlines. He starts his journey on a group of remote islands called the Diomedes, which are between Russia and Alaska and actually span the date line. He then heads southwest through Russia, Asia and on to Australasia. He returns via South and North America. The entire trip took 245 days.

    The show includes ten episodes of approximately 50 minutes each spread over three DVDs. The case incorrectly indicates which episode is on which disc. The actual configuration is that episodes 1-4 are on Disc 1, episodes 5-8 on Disc 2 and the last two on Disc 3.The episodes are:

1. From Diomede Island to Alaska then across to Kamchatka peninsula which is one of the scenic highlights of this series. From there to Vladivostok.
2. This episode focuses on his time in Japan including visiting the Kodo Drummers, and Korea including the border area with North Korea. This episode seemed much more touristy than other series. Not so much adventure, more just travelling.
3. This is one of the best episodes which focuses on China and includes Qingtao, Shanghai, travelling up the Yangtze and then on into Vietnam.
4. Hanoi, Da Nang, Hue, the Mekong Delta, Saigon and then on to the Philippines including Manila, Zamboanga and faith healers.
5. By Ship to Borneo and then on into Malaysia, visiting native villages inland and then to Indonesia where he travels the length of Java and runs into some trouble.
6. There is a bit of a gap (explained in the interview contained in the extras) as this episode starts in Darwin and then on to Katherine, Alice Springs, Adelaide, Sydney and then on to New Zealand.
7. The next episode picks up in South America at Cape Horn and then as he travels up the coast of Chile, visits some islands off the coast and on into the Atacama Desert and by a very interesting train to Bolivia.
8. Now he visits Lake Titicaca and then into Peru, visiting Cuzco and Machu Pichu and then into the jungle for a multi-day canoe journey. This is an excellent part of the journey with more adventure and interesting locations.
9. Journeys on into the Amazon Basin, and then grabs a plane and boat into Columbia before arriving in Bogota and taking a first hand look at the drug issues. Another very good episode.
10. The last episode starts in Mexico City, looks at the Mexico/US border from both sides and then visits LA and San Francisco before heading into Canada and hitting a final disappointment.

    This is quite a wonderful journey but unlike some of the other series Palin has made, this one has large sections which feel more touristy than adventurous. There are some excellent sections, especially South America and China, however some of the other sections just feel a little too much like an episode of Getaway. I also got the feeling that Michael did not enjoy making this series as much as some of the others. Despite these criticisms, I still found this series enjoyable and it is worth owning for fans of these travel series.

Video

    The video quality is good.

    The feature is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio non 16x9 enhanced which I would guess is the original aspect ratio.

    The picture was quite clear and sharp throughout. There was no evidence of low level noise. The shadow detail was decent but you can't expect too much considering the nature of the footage. There was light grain in most scenes although in some scenes it became heavier.

    The colour was quite good but I did notice some minor cross colourisation.

    Artefacts were generally unobtrusive although I did notice some very occasional aliasing on car grilles and the like, some edge enhancement and a little mild macro-blocking especially in darker scenes.

    There are subtitles in English for the hearing impaired. They were clear and easy to read but summarised from the spoken word.

    The layer changes must be between episodes as I did not notice them.
    

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is good.

    This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack encoded at 192 Kb/s.

    Dialogue was clear and easy to understand and there was no problem with audio sync. Considering the dialogue driven nature of a documentary this is the most critical audio ingredient.

    The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    The extras are on the last disc.

Menu

    The menus were simple including stills and the ability to select individual episodes and subtitles.

Interview with Michael Palin (28:13)

    Recorded recently this interview is quite interesting as he explains the issues which resulted in the gap mentioned above and also discusses his views on languages, food, faith healers, and rich vs poor. He also tells some interesting anecdotes. Quite worthwhile. 16x9 enhanced.

Deleted Scenes / Outtakes (58:41)

    Almost an hour of extra scenes are included with newly recorded narration by Palin. There is a lot to wade through and they cover most of the countries visited. You will see abandoned trains in Alaska, more of Michael Palin's 50+ year old body than you need, some dumb jokes, Python references, Michael judging a beauty competition and an interview with Eric Idle which was shot in LA on his way through. Although this might sound interesting, it was not cut from the main show for being outrageously funny. Eric seems very jaded and disinterested. Not bad but nothing essential either.

    This set has been released in both Region 2 and Region 4 in exactly the same format. It does not seem to be available in Region 1.

    The video quality is good.

    The audio quality is good.

    The set includes two worthwhile extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall