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| Michael Palin's New Europe : Complete BBC Series | 
 enlarge | Artist: Michael Palin
Studio: 2 Entertain Video
Category: DVD
List Price: £24.99
Buy New: £10.98
You Save: £14.01 (56%)
New (30) from £9.45
Avg. Customer Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 1838
Format: Pal
Rating: Exempt
Running Time: 450 minutes
Number Of Items: 3
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 1
EAN: 5014503225629
ASIN: B000VA3J4S
Release Date: October 22, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 SADLY NOT ONE OF PALIN'S INSPIRING TRAVEL DOCUMENTARIES... November 29, 2007
25 out of 29 found this review helpful
Having been greatly entertained and inspired by Palin's previous travel documentaries, I eagerly awaited his latest European adventure... yet what a disappointment.
For once Palin fails to capture the magic of the countries he visits, no fascinating cultural insights, no interesting characters along the way... just a collage of unrepresentative, uninteresting, uninspiring content.
Perhaps the comparatively familiar culture and customs of Europe could never inspire as much as those experienced on one of Palin's more remote and exotic journeys?
...certainly Palin's latest series failed to inspire.
Sadly, even the pleasurable thought of meeting Michael at a local book signing couldn't lure me along to purchase this documentary.
 Another gem! November 19, 2007
5 out of 21 found this review helpful
I really don't understand why the spate of Palin bashing all of a sudden, this series is excellent. The book got 5 stars and I think the TV series deserves the same. It was a joy to watch and having been round much of Eastern Europe it was interesting to see what he thought of some of the places I'd visited. What an inspiration!
The only bad thing was that he missed out Belarus but with so many countries it was always going to be difficult to cover any of them in great detail, but what this series does beautifully is highlight how over only short distances we can span such cultural differences through countries struggle for independence and escape from empires. I thought he covered many of the important historical points too.
Its amazing to think that the snow-covered forms of Capadoccia are on our continental doorstep! Breathtaking. OK so the route was haphazard but how else would he do it? Its not like Pole to Pole granted, but this way you get to see each place when they are at their best or when there is an unusual festival taking place...
On the minus, I must admit the opening credits are a little annoying to begin with... :-)
And this DVD has the Palin trademark humour all over. A must-have for all Palin fans. An insightful, entertaining, glossy and colourful guide for all travel fans.
Unfortunately - I have to agree... November 18, 2007
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
...with previous reviews. I am a huge fan of M.P. past documentaries, but this one is, well, poor. For instance, Michael jumps from season to season. In the beginning he's in Split (summer) or Medjugorje (which is btw spelled Medjugorye) and after, for me, too long Sarajevo sequence (because we all know what happened there, but that also happened in Vukovar in Croatia and not a word about that) he is all of the sudden in Belgrade in winter. And then again it is a summer in Dubrovnik or Bulgaria...Some states were mentioned practicaly in a few sentences (Macedonia - very harsh transition to Bulgaria interesting sequence), but some states take almost half of episode!
Oh, the themes...well, mostly trivial! Come on, Michael! You are in Czech republic and you talk with a Czech female singer group which sings African style!!!! Is that interesting??? Is it native Czech tradition??? NO! You are in my Croatia and you talk with some freak in Hvar island (who is fascinated with marshal Tito - a "great hedonist" - the man who slaughtered half of Croatia, only if you said "I am Croat"!!! - not to mention other "hedonist" thingies he did!!!) instead with local fisherman or old folks who could tell you some very very interesting things about Hvar's history and legends.
One of the very few interesting sequenes, where you get the "smell" of previous M.P. films, is the one in Turkey or Ukraine, but that almost about it!
Oh, and I have to mention that meaningless conversation in "Deleted scenes" where he is talking with two grils who make chocolate in Latvia. A big question mark!!!
Michael, if you getting too lazy for the real things, please stop, before you give your past work a bad name!
I gave this film 3 stars only because great photography and a few good sequences.
HIS WORST SERIES BY A MILE - TOTALLY MISSED THE PLOT November 12, 2007
16 out of 19 found this review helpful
Oh, Michael why did you get this so wrong? What was supposed to be a journey to see our new european neighbours and culture, this was a very poor series where he often ignored the obvious things like - how people and society has changed some interesting developments in the countries. Oh no! he decides to drives tanks, interview eccentrics and takes a leech treatment!
My Latvian wife was disgusted that he missed the culture changes,political tensions, the ethnic nationality mix etc but chose to feature the Latvian tradition of flower hats!
Terrible series - avoid!
So very, very, very dull. Time to give Palin his bus pass. October 29, 2007
6 out of 21 found this review helpful
What is the point of this series? Palin stopped being funny years ago, then turned explorer. Now he thinks he is some kind of social commentator on the "new Europe". What makes him think that I or anyone else is remotely interested in his rambling in this third rate travelogue. I just can't see the point. There is just no point of reference in this series. The BBC thinks all it has to do is stick Palin on a plane and pack him off to mumbo jumbo land and we will all be enthralled. Well we are not. Far better was the recent Gavin Stamp's Orient Express on channel Five. Stamp, apart from being 50 times more interesting and funny than Palin is an expert on architectual history. He was able to reveal the change in the new Europe seen through waht it has built and how the peoplle live in it. Perhaps if Mr Stamp had once sung a song about Spam more people would have watched his deserving series. Time for Palin to accept the gold edged buss pass. Perhaps his next series could be for Saga TV - Michael Palin's Northern Line - couldn't be any duller that his last effort.
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