"Long Way Round" (2004) TV mini-series

Creators:

David Alexanian
Charley Boorman
Russ Malkin

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

28 October 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Adventure

Tagline:

2 men, 2 bikes, 20,000 miles...

Plot:

This documentary series follows actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman on a motorcycle trip around the world...

Plot Keywords:

New York | Motorcycle | Mongolia | Journey | Travel

Cast

Ewan McGregor	...	Himself (7 episodes, 2004)
Charley Boorman	...	Himself (7 episodes, 2004)
David Alexanian	...	Himself (7 episodes, 2004)
Russ Malkin	...	Himself (7 episodes, 2004)
James Simak	...	Himself (7 episodes, 2004)
Claudio von Planta	...	Himself (3 episodes, 2004)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:PG | Australia:M (some episodes)

Filming Locations:

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Company:

Elixir Films

Trivia:

In 1997, prior to making this series, actor Ewan McGregor was in an episode of the American TV series "ER" which was similarly titled: "ER: The Long Way Around (#3.15)" (1997).

Quotes:

Ewan McGregor: But It's beautiful here, far Eastern Russia is just gorgeous. There were places today that looked very like Scotland, remind me of Scotland. And I've been struck by how much the world looks like Scotland, and it ust adds to my theory, you know, that we, we made the rest of, the rest of the world in Scotland. We made it all, you know, we made it all in the image of our homeland.

Movie Connections:

References Moulin Rouge! (2001)

An excellent adventure

This is a show about two guys fulfilling a long held dream of adventure. During a four month journey they travel on their motorbikes from London to New York the long way round through Western Europe, little visited parts of Eastern Europe (including Kasakhstan, Mongolia and Siberia), Alaska and Canada. We see the preparation and the actual journey.

I can't stand reality shows, don't care about actors private lives, don't like motorcycles and only bought the DVD because my husband had seen some bits on TV and nagged me into it. I also didn't want to shell out for the DVD as I was very sceptical that we'd want to see this more than once.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. We ended up watching it in one go until 2am on a workday. Definitely want to watch it again. What a thrill ride.

I enjoyed the show because it engaged me as a viewer on many different levels: it was fun to watch two guys (three including the cameraman) having an excellent adventure. Interesting to see countries and cultures we know very little about (Kasakhstan, where the hell is that?). Touching and humbling to see the Unicef work they visited on the way.

There are funny bits and really scary bits, amazing and interesting people they meet on the way, moments of hardship and friendship, individual endurance and teamwork.

Travelling is a state of mind as much as being in different locations and we get treated to all the highs and lows you can expect on such a difficult journey. Ewan and Charlie are very honest and open about their feelings and thoughts. The show is as much about what they are experiencing as people as about the actual journey itself.

Ewan McGregor is of course a natural showman, I was quite amused to watch his transformation from bespectacled actor to somewhat scary easy rider. This was a nice visual reminder of the influence a long journey has on you as a person.

I found the show inspiring. Ultimately it reminds us that we are all just people, regardless of our race, location or occupation.

The boring bits: The camera-work is good to excellent (I would have liked to see and know more about the cameraman, after all he was part of the team). The soundtrack is good. Solid production values. A few nice extras on the DVD. In short, you get value for money.