Search - Charley Boorman: Race To Dakar on DVD

Not bad, but not for your kids

Samuel J. Williams | Georgia | 12/28/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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 as Good as Long Way Round But

Glenn Martin | ACT Australia | 01/23/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Still a good series none the less. This time the series features only Charlie Boorman, although Ewan McGregor does make a couple of cameo appearances.

The Pairs to Dakar is one of the toughest if not the toughest race in the world. What the competitors go through is just incredible and it is no wonder the race has had quite a few fatalities over the years, including one during the filming of this series.

As with the Long Way Round the first couple of episodes are concerned with race prep and trying to get Charlie race fit. Enter Australian Simon Pavy (sp?), race competitor extraordinaire. He takes Charlie under his wing and gives him some gruelling workouts trying to get him ready. Unfortunately both desire and luck are not on Charlie's side with him pulling out of some three hour enduro races (that weren't a patch on ONE day of the Paris to Dakar) or being injured on the second day of dune training. Not only that but the support vehicle is having it's own share of problems and with 24 hours before leaving it's still not finished!

Still Charlie amazes us all when he gets to the real thing and puts in some monumental gruelling efforts. The same can't be said for the support vehicle which is plagued by electrical and mechanical problems. At least Russ Malkin didn't roll it this time... Injuries abound and the bikes are put down countless times. That's of course when they're not buried to their axels in the soft sand of the dunes being threatened with getting run over by the car/truck competitors that seem to have little regard for the motorcyclists.

All and all a very enjoyable series and while it didn't seem to have the depth that the Long Way Round did, I still enjoyed it immensely and would recommend it to anyone who got a kick out of Long Way Round."

Great DVD

Brian J. Yost | Michigan | 12/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Okay I first heard of the Dakar rally long ago, but didn't really get into it until the last two years. Now I am a huge fan of this race, great winter viewing. I am also a huge fan of "Long Way Round", with Charly Boorman, and Ewan McGregor. When I first heard that this DVD was available I couldn't believe it. It is a great DVD and movie. Charly is a little whiny, but he is not a racer and did one of the hardest races in the world. Kudos to Charley.

The only problem that I have with the whole deal is that the DVD that I got was PAL, not NTSC. WHen I bought my copy in Dec 2006, it still listed the region code as unknown, now it says NTSC. I have my doubts about that. It is just now being played on TV here, and has been out for awhile in Europe, so be careful with what you are getting, or you may be watching it on the computer as I did. When I contacted [...] about it they sent some weird reply that did not even address the issue that I had written about. I would buy from them again, but I would make sure about what I was buying before I got it.

Enjoy the movie it is well worth the money. Especially if you are a LWR fan."

Not Long Way 'Round, yet Awesome

C. Roeder | Denver, CO USA | 07/16/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."