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| Long Way Down: Complete BBC Series | 
 enlarge | Directors: David Alexanian, Russ Malkin
Actors: Ewan Mcgregor, Charley Boorman
Studio: EMI Records (UK)
Category: DVD
List Price: £19.99
Buy Used: £10.10
You Save: £9.89 (49%)
New (23) from £10.20
Avg. Customer Rating:  68 reviews
Sales Rank: 540
Format: Colour, Digital Sound, Dolby, Pal, Subtitled
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Exempt
Running Time: 340 minutes
Number Of Items: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.6
EAN: 5099950128198
ASIN: B000UX5GFQ
Release Date: December 3, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Watched only once - exciting stuff!!
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| Customer Reviews: Read 63 more reviews...
 Brilliant follow up to LWR May 9, 2008
Having watched both the DVDs they are very good. I was in Cape Town not long after they had been and gone so can say the scenery was stunning and sunshine was great. A lot of preparation for the trip which is a lot of hard work and getting visas is a nightmare. They have guts to go and do something like that which other people only complain and do not actually do anything. If I had the money and time then I would have liked to do something like LWR as the wilderness in Mongolia was fantastic. Not many places let in the world where you can go and be at one with nature.
Get over it and stop complaining !!! March 28, 2008
While it's true that LWD is not as special or adventurous as LWR, it's still a good ride and unique in its own right. Yes, the trip/editing seems too rushed; yes, Mr. and Mrs. McGregor should've done a bike trip on their own time; and yes, the support crew plays a more substantial role this time, which ultimately decreases the sense of isolation and true camaraderie felt by our two noble voyagers. Nevertheless, LWD is still fun and in the same spirit as the original. LWR can never be replicated - it's just too unique. LWD is simply different, so please get over it and stop complaining !!! Would you wish it had never been made?
The only complaint I will voice, which is mostly about the marketing aspect, is this: Despite the fact that the trip was rushed, the editing could've compensated for this a little were the series stretched out over at least 8 or 10 episodes. The producers probably felt they had a shoe-in DVD product to cash in on, and they were right. Just about everybody who bought LWR bought, or will buy, LWD. So in all likelihood, the producers believed they could repeat their marketing scheme from LWR by releasing an OAV version of the series, followed by an "extended" edition, forcing fans to double-dip to get the whole experience. This practice sucks but it is not for me to judge the gods or laws of the market. However, it's bittersweet when greedy marketeers mess up, and in the case of LWD I think they have, ensuring that we all lose out in the end; because due to overwhelmingly negative reviews of LWD by angry fans of LWR, should an extended edition of LWD be made, I don't think fans will buy it.
Mind you, they haven't released an R1 or R0 NTSC version yet, so maybe they'll corner the market that way. Anyway, I'd re-buy an extended edition at a reasonable price because I love the series and would rather have it than not have it. I don't want to reward greedy blundering, but having what I want on my DVD shelf is all that really matters to me.
 Disappointing. March 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
There is little I can say that hasn't been said already. Firstly they should have allocated much more time for the trip and secondly Mrs McGregor should have stayed at home. People are right in saying that Charley seemed very put out by the idea and the atmospehere and the camaraderie of Long Way Round was missing.The editing was poor as well. Why do we need an hour contain prep (little different to LWR) but then have several African countries squeezed into another? The constant whingeing irritated me as well, particularly in the first half of the trip. A lot is just glossed over.
The only reason that I am giving this 2 stars is that Charley had to put up with a lot and is always enertaining (the best film from this team in my opinion is Race to Dakar without Ewan). He is sometimes volatile and sometimes opens his mouth before he engages his brain but comes over as a really likable guy. Ewan McGregor comes over as spoilt and indulged in this and does not come over as well as in LWR. Also Charley seems to be up for anything when Ewan seems to bottle out. I suppose it is the insurance policy.
Almost.... but not quite! March 19, 2008
I would like to have rated this dvd 5 out of 5 as I did for the other excellent dvd's in the series namely Long way Round and Race to Dakar but this particular dvd falls just short of a maximun score. Don't get me wrong because this dvd is still great entertainment and I watch it along with the other 2 titles every 2 to 4 weeks or so as they beat the pants off most of the other trash we viewers are subjected to nowadays. The main gripe with this series is that we (the viewers) are soon very aware that all is not well in the Long Way down camp, with the main problem being the pace of the trip. Both Ewan and Charley have their moan about this (Ewan is concerned that he is'nt staying anywhere long enough to appreciate the whole african experience-not necessarily ancient monuments etc- whilst Charley does'nt like to keep arriving late at the nightly rest points. These frustrations between the two come to what we the viewers must assume (as we don't actually see the bursting point) to one almighty argument and outburst of feelings. This seems to have done the trick but there is another main problem that crops up, which is the fact that both the guys are clearly BIG family men and miss their other half and kids greatly. This is only natural of course but speaking as a producer myself I would have built into the budget a contigency whereby Ewan and charley meet up with their wives and kids at a suitable point half way through the trip and then again at the end destination. I feel this would have kept up the morale of the guys and given them a nice halfway mini goal to aim for. This scenario would only apply if Ewans' wife Eve had'nt joined to trip during part of the journey. With just a little more thought (and I don't want to take anything away from producer Russ Malkin here who, without doubt, is one of the best producers in the business), this could have been averted especially as I for one don't like to see Ewan and Charley having major fall outs as they clearly have a fanatastic bond and sense of camaraderie which helps to make all their shows so enjoyable and long may it last. Just keep the shows coming guys and thanks for everything so far.
Not as good as the original but entertaining. March 8, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I think LWD has suffered just because Long Way Round was so good - also bearing in mind that a lot of people have the 3 disc special edition of LWR which is considerably better in terms of getting into the journey and not being rushed than the 2 disc version, which suffered from some of the same faults that plague the newer series. A journey through Africa needs more time spent on it, not less, than a journey through Europe (we saw more of some of the (relatively familiar) Western European countries in LWR than we see of some of the African countries in LWD - why???!) with so many countries and different cultures covered, 6 episodes simply isn't enough.
However - it IS very enjoyable, and undeserving of some of the criticism leveled at it.
Some of the visits to villages and to UNICEF projects are moving and enlightening. They encounter some incredible wildlife (their meeting with the gorillas is well worthy of note) and some wonderful people, and McGregor and Boorman are both interesting and engaging "tour guides".
My only real beef with the series is that it is simply too short. They did have to do some rushing due to some bad estimates with timing, but it is a shame that the editing team seem to have gone out of their way to rush even more. Possibly 6 episodes was simply not enough to do justice to the trip, and certainly the contrast between the 2 and 3 disc versions of Long Way Round would support that view. There is a little too much concentration on "dramas" and problems to the detriment of footage of the journey itself - presumably the producers felt the need to make sure it was dramatic enough or something?? (Obviously riding through Africa is not considered gripping enough for us plebs *sigh*) Sadly, they over egg the pudding and the result is unbalanced.
One can only hope a Special Edition of LWD will eventually appear, as with some extra footage, more cohesiveness and more depth, it could rival LWR for interest and entertainment.
I do agree that it is a shame that Claudio was not featured more, when the support team got so much camera time. Much of the criticism of "too many fixers, too much support team" is bull in terms of the people they had helping them, which was largely the same as on LWR (they had fixers in Russia and in several other Eastern European countries, and the support team largely consists of the same people!) - let's face it, at one point they had an armed guard that was provided for them by the local government, this is not a part of the world you want to go wandering round with hundreds of pounds worth of equipment without people helping to show you the ropes. The problem is that we saw far too much of them, instead of providing a bit of contrast to Ewan and Charley, they sometimes took over the story entirely.
Contrary to some comments, though, I think Charley came out of the series very well, I got quite annoyed with Ewan on his behalf several times, and anyone who grew to like the man on LWR and RtD will find even more reasons to think he's a thoroughly decent bloke.
Not perfect, and doesn't live up to its predecessor, but worth a watch for all that. If you expect it to live up to LWR you'll be likely disappointed, but come to it with an open mind and, despite the faults, there's plenty here to enjoy.
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