In the Summer of 2004, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman set out from London, England on a round-the-world bike trek. They would spend the next three months traveling through a variety of places, eventually covering 19,000 miles on their way to New York in the United States. The journey was transformed into a documentary that originally aired in late 2004 in the United Kingdom. It was then re-released as an extended special edition on DVD with additional extras and unseen footage.
Long Way Round Special Edition DVD
The Long Way Round special edition DVD includes three discs. The first two include episodes one through eight of the series with the final disk holding episodes nine, ten and all of the extras. Each episode is around an hour in length, making for a total running time of ten hours.
The list of extras is expansive and includes:
- Photo Gallery.
- Trip Preparation.
- The First Five Days.
- "I Just Can't Do It."
- Glacier Plane Ride.
- Wrong Way Round!
- Interviews.
- Thought after the trip.
- Thoughts about the "dusty road."
- Claudio's (cameraman) story.
- Jimmy's (cameraman) story.
- Thoughts on the title track.
- Information about UNICEF.
Although many of these items have a great appeal for fans of the show, perhaps the biggest appeal of this special edition of Long Way Round are the extended episodes, which were re-edited with additional filmed material.
Long Way Round Extended Episodes
Many of the greatest parts of the show were already included in the original episodes. However, there are a number of very interesting additions to the documentary series. The first episode of the show was dedicated to the preparation of the trip, but in the extended version there are two whole episodes explaining how much preparation really went into Long Way Round.
A most memorable moment in these episodes that was edited out of the original is when Ewan and Charley are going through first aid training and role-playing a real-life emergency. The stars manage to remain comitted to the seriousness of what they are doing, while still providing entertainment for those watching.
Another portion of the show that was largely edited was Ewan and Charley's time in Europe. Again, there is an extra episode dedicated to their experiences travelling through Europe. It proves to be quite intriguing, watching the actors travel through countries in which they are actually quite well known.
Spirit of Adventure in Long Way Round
Many fans around the world would have been incredibly pleased to see the release of an extended version. Although the original series did a great job of covering the adventure, the extended episodes simply add more substance to what has already been seen. It's great to really understand the true preparation for the trip as well as being able to see some of the less exciting portions of the trip, which are all part of what occured.
This dvd set is a must have for any travel documentary, motorbike or Ewan McGregor fan!
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