Long Way Round-Complete TV Series: Special Edition (2004)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Menu Animation & Audio Featurette-Trip Preparation (6:49) Featurette-The First Five Days (17:49) Featurette-"I Just Can't Do It!" (2:43) Featurette-Glacier Plane Ride (4:08) Featurette-Wrong Way Round! (6:02) Interviews-Cast-(5:03) Interviews-Crew-Thoughts After The Trip (8:25) Featurette-The Dusty Road & Charley's Puncture (2:10) Featurette-Claudio's Story (4:44) Featurette-Jimmy's Story (1:31) Featurette-Ewan talks about The Stereophonics (1:06) Featurette-UNICEF Information (0:30) Gallery-Photo-(25 Stills)
Rating
Year Of Production	2004
Running Time	554:13 (Case: 600)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Multi Disc Set (3)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Russ Malkin David Alexanian
Studio Distributor	Virgin Records EMI Music	Starring	Ewan McGregor Charley Boorman Russ Malkin David Alexanian Claudio von Planta
Case	Amaray Variant
RPI	?	Music	Kelly Jones Stephen Loveday Darren Loveday

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (256Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Long Way Round is a fantastic travelogue adventure series for television, charting the preparation, challenges and distance involved in mounting an enormous motorcycle trek from London to New York via Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia, Canada and the U.S.A.

    In April of 2004, actor-mates Ewan McGregor (Big Fish, Star Wars Episodes I-III) and Charley Boorman (Serpent's Kiss) climbed aboard a pair of BMW motorcycles in London for a trek that would take them over three months. The ten episodes of the series show in detail the intense preparation that was involved for the trip, the fun the guys share together, the generous, sometimes odd characters they meet along the way, and the hardships they endure as a result of the unforgiving environment and terrain. Both the scenery and photography is stunning, but the series is as much about the friendship shared by these two mates as the journey itself.

    One of the pre-requisites of the trip was to have some kind of charity involvement, and that came in the form of UNICEF. The pair make a number of stops along the way to visit UNICEF centers, highlighting the plight of many unfortunate children and the good work carried out by their volunteers. The importance of donations is mentioned, but not drummed into the viewer distastefully. The pair appear genuinely moved by their experiences in these cases and it certainly adds to the enjoyment of the series considerably.

    My original intention was to compile a detailed episode-by-episode summary of the journey, but I now feel that would betray anyone who is yet to view the series; there are just too many potentials for spoilers. I'll just recommend that you make an effort to see this entertaining, enlightening, addictive series for yourself.

    Charley and Ewan have reunited for another new series this year (2008), titled Long Way Down. This series sees the two gents travel from Scotland to the bottom of South Africa, and promises to be equally enticing viewing. Charley also filmed a diversion of sorts in 2006 about his experiences in the Dakar rally, which is also excellent.

    The Long Way Round Special Edition package contains three dual-layered discs, with the first eight episodes spread across discs one and two, and the final two episodes bundled together with the extras on disc three. My only criticism of this set is the repetition of the opening and closing credits after every episode, and also the same intro montage each time explaining the trip and the cameras. Thankfully, the Long Way Down package does not suffer from these issues.

Video

    This video transfer is consistent with a standard definition television broadcast and is presented in 1.78:1 complete with 16x9 enhancement.

    An assortment of cameras were used to capture the trip, from your stock standard HD cameras to miniature helmet-cams which were worn by Ewan and Charley. The helmet cameras appear slightly grainy next to the other footage, but they do add a valuable first-hand view of the trip, particularly during phases where there was no cameraman present.

    The bulk of the footage is sharp and clear, as you would expect from such a recent production. Colours are fantastic and some of the scenery is absolutely spectacular, leaping off the screen.

    I didn't note any MPEG compression issues at all. Obviously there are no film artefacts to be concerned about.

    There are no subtitle streams provided.

    All three discs in this set are dual-layered.I didn't notice any interruptions resembling a layer break, so I presume the transitions are between episodes.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    There's only one soundtrack; the original 2-channel English encoded at 256Kb/s. The dialogue quality varies due to issues such as microphone placement, but I never had any major problems understanding what was being said. I often found that the muffled helmet microphones were the worst culprits for distortion and noise in the dialogue, but these occurrences were few. Audio sync appears to be spot on.

    There's obviously no surround or subwoofer activity. Pro Logic II processing didn't yield any particularly exciting results.

    Some incidental music has been added for dramatic effect and it is barely noticeable, but effective. The show's theme is a little on the dreary side, but suits the sentiment of the series well.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

    All of the extras are contained on disc three, along with the final two episodes of the series.

Menus

Gallery-Photos

    A selection of 25 photos covering a cross section of the trip.

Featurette- The Preparation (6:49)

    Many of these serve as scene extensions with some familiar material, but they are certainly worth a look. This is a much longer look at the trip preparations, their gear and Ewan and Charley larking about in the office.

Featurette- The First Five Days (17:49)

    This piece covers a number of diversions the pair made during the first few days that weren't included in the final cut of the show.

Featurette- "I Just Can't Do It." (2:43)

    A sad moment, as an exhausted Ewan discusses the Road of Bones and tries in vain to commit some time to his diary camera, while Charley pitches his tent.

Featurette- Glacier Plane Ride (4:08)

    A slightly longer cut of Ewan & Charley's flight over the glacier, as seen in the show.

Featurette- Wrong Way Round! (6:04)

    A reel of amusing moments from the trip, some old and some new.

Interview- Ewan & Charley (5:04)

    The two mates discuss their intentions regarding the series, their friendship and how it has affected them personally. Unlike the rest of the content, this piece is presented in 1.33:1 full frame.

Interviews-Crew- Thoughts After The Trip (8:25)

    Producers Russ and David reflect on the series and the conditions they endured. Cameraman Claudio speaks about his relationship working and traveling alongside Charley & Ewan on the trip.

Featurette- Ewan & Charley Talk About The Dusty Road and Charley's Puncture (2:33)

    The title says it all; this was a rare confrontation between Ewan and Claudio.

Featurette- Claudio's Story(4:45)

    A look at Claudio's mishap and the events that led to him resting for a week in Mongolia.

Featurette- Jimmy's Story(2:00)

    Jimmy recounts a drunken, vodka-fuelled evening which saw him having to use a camera the next day, while terribly hung over.

Featurette- Ewan Talks About The Stereophonics' Title Track 'Long Way Round' (1:07)

    Charley and Ewan praise the series' theme song and explain a little about how it was written.

Featurette- UNICEF Information (0:30)

    A short piece on the good work done by the organisation and their reliance on donations.

    The transfer is great.

    The extras are substantial.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall