Charley Boorman-Race to Dakar (2006)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Menu Animation & Audio Featurette-Building The Bike (5:59) Featurette-Crash Reel (2:32) Outtakes-(2:15) Featurette-The Epic Montage (3:08) Interviews-Cast-Charley Boorman (18:25) Gallery-(26 photos) Biographies-Crew-Support Team (5 pages)
Rating
Year Of Production	2006
Running Time	355:07 (Case: 354)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Russ Malkin
Studio Distributor	EMI Music	Starring	Charley Boorman Russ Malkin Claudio von Planta
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Dual
RPI	?	Music	Stephen Loveday Darren Loveday Andy Gott

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	German	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    It began as a simple chance remark made by Charley Boorman; "Ever since I was a kid, I've always wanted to do the Dakar Rally" that became a promise immortalised in print without his knowledge inside the cover of the Long Way Round hardcover book. Charley's publicist had interpreted this nugget of information to be his next project, so those words were transcribed as "...Charley will be racing in the Dakar next year...". His response was one of dread; "...oh s***, I have to do it now...". And there began Boorman's Dakar experience.

    With a reaction like that, you'd be forgiven for thinking Boorman was a motorcycling novice, but nothing could be further from the truth. In 2004, Charley Boorman and his mate Ewan McGregor rode their motorbikes from London to New York, through Eastern Europe, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and the USSR. The grueling trip took the pair across incredible terrain and was documented in the book and television series Long Way Round. Many of the skills and experiences learned in the first trip are applied to the Dakar Rally, but they quickly find out that in this unforgiving terrain there are some things you just can't plan for. It's little wonder Ewan declined to participate.

    The Dakar Rally of 2006 took a route from Lisbon, Portugal through Morocco and the Sahara Desert to Senegal on the West Coast of Africa. Only a fraction of competitors ever complete the rally, with most dropping out due to exhaustion, injury or mechanical failure. The team Charley assembled included Producer Russ Malkin and the cameramen from the Long Way Round series. He also hired some more experienced riders to join him in Simon Pavey and Matt Hall. Simon is an Aussie ex-pat living in the UK, an off-road specialist with five Dakar Rallies under his belt- three of them completed. A pair of experienced mechanics round out the support team, who travel in a large vehicle full of spares and supplies. Will it all be enough to see Charley over the finish line?

    This excellent series covers the race from the inside, including all of the dramas involved in the preparation, training, setbacks, injuries, visas, personal clashes and red tape one could imagine. The first half has a great focus on the race itself and the arduous course, while the second pays a little more attention to the support team and their many dramas. Many of the other Dakar riders and participants are interviewed and share their experiences, which adds to the depth of the coverage a lot.

    The Race To Dakar package consists of two dual-layered DVD discs, with the first four episodes spread across disc one, and the final three episodes bundled together with the extras on disc two. The intro music and titles, recaps and credits are included at the beginning and end of each episode, which can become very repetitive when viewing the episodes one after the other.

Video

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

    A large portion of the series has been captured on digital HD equipment, and this footage is stunning. Small, lower quality cameras have been placed on the riders' helmets so as to capture an assortment of angles. Standard definition mini-DV cameras have also been allocated to team members as personal diaries. These smaller cameras can be quite grainy at times and on a large screen the difference in sharpness from one shot to the next is very noticeable. Given the nature of the documentary and the technological limitations of canvassing such a large area, these formats all come together well.

    Colours are generally true; rich and lifelike. The lower quality cameras struggle in the glare of the desert, creating bright flaring at times, or an intense sepia effect.

    MPEG compression issues vary in severity, from mild grain to fully-blown blocking. The combination of low-resolution cameras (atop the riders' helmets) and heavy dust on location proves very troublesome for the video encode on this DVD. Obviously there are no film artefacts to be concerned about.

    An optional German subtitle stream is included, but no English I'm afraid.Some burned-in English subtitles appear when dialogue is difficult to hear, or when French is spoken.

    Both 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

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Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
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Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The series' original English stereo soundtrack is included. Like the video, the audio is perfectly acceptable for a documentary and is subject to the situations and terrain the crew find themselves in.

    The English dialogue is always audible. Whenever the spoken word is obscured by noise such as wind, passing cars and the like, burned-in English subtitles kick in to assist the viewer. Audio sync seems fine.

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

    Some incidental music has been added for dramatic effect, and it seems to do the job. The show's theme by Jim Penfold is lively and rocky and suits the overall feel of the series.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

    Disc two contains a great selection of extras to compliment the series. Aspect ratios vary, but all are available with stereo audio and optional German subtitles where necessary. These are all 16x9 enhanced unless stated otherwise.

Menu

Featurette- Building The Bike (5:59)

    The team visits the Touratech headquarters in Germany, where the bike modifications are made and fitted. This is a very interesting look at the extensive modifications that are required for participation in the rally. Credits for all of the extras (directors, musicians, etc.) are shown at the conclusion of this featurette.

Featurette- Crash Reel (2:32)

    A short montage of the gory bits of the rally. Some of these clips look very vintage and could be from previous years. Presented in 1.33:1 full frame.

Featurette- The Epic Montage (3:08)

    This is a great compilation of scenery, wildlife and many magic bike shots, mostly using the helicopter cam.

Outtakes (2:15)

    An amusing range of small outtakes, some of which were clearly not meant to be captured on camera.

Gallery-Photo

    Twenty-five photos, taken while on the trip. Many feature their beloved BMW X5 support vehicle.

Interview- Charley Boorman (18:25)

    Charley reflects on the Dakar Rally experience, his feelings at the time and shares some amusing anecdotes. There's also some useful info here about the day-to-day structure of the race itself, as well as advice for those who intend to do the rally themselves.

Biographies- The Support Team

    Brief single-page biographies for five of the team members (the producer, cameramen and mechanics).

    This DVD transfer is on a par with the show's SD digital broadcast.

    The extras are worthwhile.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall