Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1565 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-12-13
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 400 minutes

Amazon.com
Forget Breaking Bonaduce or The Surreal Life. Ewan McGregor has made a celebrity reality series that's entertaining without having to be called a guilty pleasure. Long Way Round is a documentary detailing the 20,000-mile motorcycle trip he took around the world with best friend Charley Boorman over 115 days.

Listen to our interview with Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman.

Their trip took them from London through locales such as Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia, and Canada, to name a few, before ending in New York. Armed with a cameraman, McGregor and Boorman encounter separation anxiety from their families; a shifty stranger (later revealed to be Mafia) who leads them through winding dark corridors to a posh hotel room; delays at international borders; hosts who offer them Fear Factor-level animal parts for dinner; injuries, equipment breakdowns, and more.

The pair also film their own video diaries, in which they voice concerns and frustrations. The result is an emotional, rich breadth of experiences, from the hardship of logistical setbacks paired with the joy of visiting the children of Chernobyl and encountering hospitable locals who insist on escorting them wherever they go. McGregor and Boorman also make witty emcees, cheerfully upbeat even when they wonder aloud if one of their gun-happy hosts is a psycho murderer. The seven-episode series, originally aired on Bravo, concludes with their emotional ride into the Big Apple and some surprises for the pair courtesy of the show's producers.

The two-disc DVD includes some can't miss deleted scenes, including McGregor's story about being confused for Jude Law, and a clip of McGregor attempting Jedi mind tricks on commuters who keep stopping in the road to peer at his broken-down bike ("These aren't the bikes you're looking for."). Long Way Round may have been an arduous once-in-a-lifetime experience, but you can't help but hope McGregor and Boorman suit up for another road trip someday. -- Ellen A. Kim.

Customer Reviews

Wonderful epic adventure
I watched this documentary three times in two weeks. I totally enjoyed all of the participants in this journey. Found the photography wonderful, as well as the video diaries. It was astounding that these motorcycles were able to withstand such conditions and continue to function. I think I'll trot on down to my BMW dealer and see what that's all about. Makes me wish I was 20 years younger; sounds like a trip right up my alley!

A great show
Even if you're not into motorcycles, Long Way Round is an entertaining journey that proves that the Law of Hospitality is truly universal across all cultures.

It grew on me
A friend who had recently returned from a cross-country (USA) bike trip loaned me this. Knowing I enjoy bikes (riding for over 40 years), he thought I might like it.

About 20 minutes into it, I was ready to quit. The two main characters (Ewan and Charlie) struck me as goofie, inexperienced, self-indulgent "movie types". All the silliness was almost more than I could take.

On top of that, I was amused (and disappointed) to learn of the extent of their travelling support -- they were basically accompanied by an entire crew, including a doctor, in several 4WD vehicles. Adventure, I wondered? Yeah, right.

But I stayed with it, almost forcing myself because my friend was so enthusiastic about the film. And after a while, I began to warm up to it.

Ewan and Charlie are no patsies. Although they had a full support team, they mostly rode alone (with cameraman Claudio -- an immensely likeable guy -- on a separate bike), with the support vehicles and team well behind them. Watch these guys repeatedly dig their bikes out of mud and muck in the middle of literally nowhere...watch them sleep in rough and unknown conditions night after night...go with them into strange and a bit frightening situations over and over...see the repeated breakdowns, broken bikes (including frames), accidents, injuries...and see the overall good spirits they maintained through it...well, I think you have to respect them for it all.

It would obviously not have been possible to film this journey without a crew. Probably it would not be possible to even do it without some support, at least not in four months. So we would not have the benefit of "going with them" any other way. For myself, I very much enjoyed the footage of Mongolia and other obscure parts of the former Soviet Union. Amazing images that tell so much, I think particularly to those of us with some knowledge of the history of the region (my undergrad degree was in Eastern European history).

I think the most telling thing for me was that by the time it was over, not only did I respect these guys, I actually liked them. :) I didn't at the beginning. But their goofy attitudes, juvenile jokes and silly behavior finally got me laughing with them. I decided they'd be fun to hang out with. Or ride with.

Favorite moment: When the wives and kids join them just outside NY is definitely the most touching moment (I think they must have moved the camera away to protect Charlie, the big lug, from footage of himself crying :) ). But I really appreciated the footage of children in Russia and Mongolia, and I enjoyed the visit to Orange County Choppers, and the guys escorting Charlie and Ewan into NYC. The whole film was very enjoyable, overall.

I held back on giving it five stars really for one reason: I would love to show this movie to my children (6 and 4), but the fowl language makes it impossible. Maybe to some it's part of the "charm" and "real life" aspect of the film, but I can't get beyond the fact that I find it offensive when people use the "f word" about every 30 seconds. Other than that, it's an enjoyable film and I will probably watch it again.