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| Russia - A Journey With Jonathan Dimbleby : Complete BBC Series | 
 enlarge | Artist: Jonathan Dimbleby
Studio: 2 Entertain Video
Category: DVD
List Price: £24.99
Buy New: £16.98
You Save: £8.01 (32%)
New (12) from £15.15
Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 3840
Format: Pal
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Exempt
Number Of Items: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5051561026867
ASIN: B0015MTC2E
Release Date: June 16, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk
A major BBC documentary, Russia sees Jonathan Dimbleby attempt to put across the largest nation on Earth over the course of a 10,000 mile journey. The end result fills up five 60 minute episodes, each of which you'll find in this DVD set. And on the whole, it's a very strong release. Billed as the first television look of its type at the nation, Dimbleby takes us via road, rail and foot as he undertakes his adventure, and his look at Russia certainly tucks away many of the stereotypes you may be used to seeing. At its best, Russia is a fascinating, brilliant piece of documentary television, genuinely unearthing new and interesting things, as well as a plethora of individual stories. Dimbleby is perhaps not the most obvious host, sometimes putting a little bit too much of himself into the mix rather than focusing on the nation he's there to show us, but on the whole he does a commendable job. Yet inevitably, it's the nation of Russia itself that's the main attraction here. And while you can't help but feel that this documentary only scratches the surface of the nation, it's still a welcome and thorough introduction to a once-mysterious country. More like this please, BBC. --Jon Foster
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Thoroughly enjoyable September 15, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
For those of us who won't be able to go to all the places that Jonathan Dimbleby (JD) travels in the vast Russian country, this series provides some very interesting insights, facts, views of landscapes, people, cities and the enormous range of cultures and lifestyles and much more. I really enjoyed this and will look forward to watching it again and again. JD has a real grasp of people and humanity and communicates with people in such apparent ease that you wish you were travelling with him on this epic journey and to get to see all the places. Also there is a lot of honesty in the way the program is presented and it is far from a glossy travel documentary - it does give the impression that what you see is exactly what you get.
 Enjoyable but Superficial July 7, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
I must say that although I enjoyed this DVD set, I was ultimately dissapointed. It is much too short to give more than a brief glimpse of life in such a huge and varied country.
That aspect of Russia does come across. It is MASSIVE. However the structure, basically a meandering "journey" turns what could have been a highly informative and important series into little more than a travelogue. It ends up as a sort of Michael Palin Does Russia, endless shots of views from train windows and meetings with "ordinary Russians" with stilted conversations through interpreters.
I think this was a missed opportunity for us to learn a great deal more about one of the most important countries in the world and one which is going through monumental changes.
Another thing that was done really poorly was getting across the geography and history of Russia. I think a little time at the beginning to set the stage as it were would have put a lot of what followed in context.
I don't think this is a watch again DVD and I would recommend renting rather than buying as it is only about 4.5 hrs long in total.
Ignore the poor reviews! July 3, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Ignore the poor reviews! Jon Foster's review for Amazon is spot on.To say that JD needs a psychiatrist is very childish.
 poor ambition June 18, 2008
1 out of 22 found this review helpful
I am really in a big dilemma - should I bye the dvd, or not? The same question applies to the book - a real brick with an enormously high price. But lets talk about the movie first. After seeing some episodes on the bbc, I became quite curious, thought the real way to see Russia is not via a film. Go there, live there, meet people there, watch Russian films, read Russian books, music, etc. Although I am not a Russian, I speak Russian language and I spent quite a lot of time in USSR in the 80s. I now miss Russia and that is why I do my best to learn everything about this great country on the news, TV, films, etc. I think Jonathan's "Russia" had the ambition to intrigue the public. It did it to certain extent. Well it was all, I am afraid .
boring June 17, 2008
13 out of 36 found this review helpful
Dimbleby shows nothing but himself. Most of the time he explains his feelings. God, this man needs a psychiatrist!
This is not a documentary but rather a story of Jonathan Dimbleby himself with Russia as a background (any country could be there, I would prefer China).
One more note - present day Volga tatars have nothing to do with mongols or tatars from Mongolia. Volga tatars are descends from bulgars, the people of mixed origin of finno-ugrs and turkic populations. Well, this is just an illustration of the deep knowledge of Mr. Dimbleby about Russia :)
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