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Charley Boorman: Race To Dakar
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5 new or used available from $20.00
Average customer review:
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #20452 in DVD
- Released on: 2006-11-07
- Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
- Formats: Import, NTSC
- Original language: English
- Running time: 170 minutes
Customer Reviews
Not bad, but not for your kids
I got this for Christmas and was quite excited. I've watched LONG WAY'ROUND several times and was excited to see essentially the same crew tackle the world's most notorious endurance race. I was not let down.
If you saw LWR, the formula is similar, starting with planning, prep, bike prep and all the joys that go along with it. My heart goes out to Charley with the weight issue. I suffer from the same thing: spend all day working out and still carry a gut. Anyways, without giving away all the fun parts, it's exciting with some humor.
Race footage is good, not great. I feel some great items are only glanced at, while some not so exciting bits are extended too much.
The real issue is the language. The "f-bomb" is dropped so much it becomes a bit uncomfortable (and I routinely ride with ex-1%ers). I can only imagine the broadcast version of this was edited to death in areas.
In all, I do recommend RACE to DAKAR, but not for anyone under 18 years of age.
Not Long Way 'Round, yet Awesome
After having seen both Long Way Round and Long Way Down, I was a little concerned that this would be another rushed trip that could have been a little better. It is not. Dakar is a great film about the race. It's not just poorly planned travel, but an exciting look at a big race the US doesn't see much of.
Long Way Around part II, but with higher stakes
If you saw Long Way Around (LWA), you could consider Race to Dakar (RTD) to simply be Part II. (Long Way Down being Part III). If you didn't see LWA, you should read those reviews to familiarize yourself, since RTD constantly references it.
The mostly-same crew is back, with some differences. Ewan is not riding this time, but he shows up anyway about a hundred times. Russ is the coolly efficient manager and producer, and still a bit of a wanker. He doesn't like people disagreeing with him. Claudio is the cameraman again, though he's totally backgrounded this time. Other people fade in an out, including other riders and the support team.
RTD follows a three-man team of motorcycle riders on the Dakar Rally (better known as the Paris-Dakar Rally, though it doesn't start in Paris anymore). While it's another motorcycle trip like LRW, the two are not so easily compared. The big difference is that on LWR, you knew they were going to make it, even if they had to cheat a bit by riding trains or getting carried on trucks. But RTD has rules. You can't break down and spend a few days fixing your bike, or take a rest day. One good breakdown or spill, and you're out. More than half the riders who start the race don't complete it, and so the question in RTD becomes whether our heroes can make it or not. The drama level is much higher, because we know the odds are against them.
I had the series a bit spoiled for me by knowing in advance whether Charlie would make it, but it didn't ruin things; the series is still well worth watching even if you know the ending.
Charlie is not only the star of the series, but one of the surprising bright spots. In LRW, he was a bit hard to watch, and didn't benefit from the comparison of being paired with Ewan McGregor. Alone, he shines much more. He seems to have gained some maturity along with his new haircut. As for the other two riders, Simon is a bit of an enigma and not a terribly interesting person, seemingly having only one emotion, and Matt is all but invisible much of the time, only becoming poignant while having quite the adventure after getting stuck in the sand.
RTD is much grittier than LWA, as befits such a rally. You get a sense of the dangers and the vulnerability that change or a small lack of logistics can bring. One well-known rider died after a crash, as did two children, spectators who just happened to be too close to the road. Four-letter word echo constantly. As with LRA, Charlie is fairly naive about what he's gotten himself into, but when he and the other riders complain about the horrid conditions of the race, you believe them. One rider looks right at the camera and says "I'll tell you what--I won't be doing this again." For our sake, I'm glad they did it once.
