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Long Way Down

2007

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1

EP1 Gentlemen, Start Your Engines Oct 28, 2007

After finding a suitable base Ewan and Charley spend several months in London prior to departure, planning a route. Eve, Ewan's wife, decides she would like to join part of the trip. Ewan is over the moon but Charley's not so sure as she's never ridden a bike before. Meanwhile, as part of their training, the team attends a hostile environment course where they are faced with the kind of difficulties and dangers they may encounter in Africa. Two months before departure, Ewan has an accident and breaks his leg jeopardizing the future of the trip. As the departure date looms worryingly the team still doesn't have their visas for Libya. Six have been promised, but for David and Jimmy, the two Americans on the crew, it's not looking promising. The team take their vehicles and make their way up to John O'Groats at the most Northerly point of Scotland to start this epic adventure and what will be a journey of a lifetime.
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EP2 John O'Groats, Scotland to Siena, Italy Nov 04, 2007

After a miserable ride to London, Ewan and Charley push on to France. Despite arduous weather conditions, they must stay on a strict time course.
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EP3 Rome, Italy to Tobruk, Libya Nov 11, 2007

Leaving the romantic city of Rome they head down the Amalfi Coast as they make their way to the edge of Italy, ready to catch the ferry over to Sicily. After a days rest and new tires on the bikes they are ready to hit the new terrain. The team embarks on the ferry as they leave Europe behind and sail over to Tunisia. Whilst on board tension and voices rise as there are concerns over the safety of Charley's wheelies. With a long boat ride still ahead there is an atmosphere amongst the team.
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EP4 Tobruk, Libya to Khartoum, Sudan Nov 18, 2007

In Libya, the boys visit Tobruk War Cemetery; Ewan is touched by the amount of people buried there from all over the world. It is an emotional day for the boys as they realize how much they miss their families back home. Arriving safely in Egypt the team are reunited again when David and Jimmy meet them at the border. Riding through Egypt there is still doubt as to whether they will make it to Aswan in time for the ferry. They are starting to feel the strain of the long days on the bikes, if they don't make it in time they will have to wait for a week before they can continue with the trip. This will delay them hugely and put pressure on their relationships. Ewan and Charley visit the pyramids in Cairo and are extremely lucky to have a private guided tour.
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EP5 Khartoum, Sudan to Shashemene, Ethiopia Nov 25, 2007

Passing by Khartoum, the boys have been riding for a while and see the aftermath of a car crash and pull over to the roadside. One of the drivers explains he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed his truck into another vehicle. Police arrive and are more interested in the bikes than the accident scene. The head of police takes a fancy to Ewan's bike and decides to take it for a test ride much to Ewan's horror.
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EP6 Shashemene, Ethiopia to Laisamis, Kenya Dec 02, 2007

Now over the border, and in Kenya, the team find themselves stuck in bandit country when Claudio's shock absorber goes yet again. They set up camp for the night - aware of the dangers that surround them. With stomachs rumbling and the thought of eating another packet dinner frightening, the team makes a unanimous decision to sacrifice a goat for their supper. Ewan and Charley visit Turbi Primary School that was subject to a horrific massacre in 2005.
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8.3| 0h30m| en
Synopsis

Three years after Long Way Round, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman set off on a 15,000-mile journey from the northernmost tip of Scotland to the southernmost tip of South Africa, mixing their love of motorcycles with the lure of far-flung roads.

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Also starring David Alexanian

Long Way Up
Long Way Up

Reviews

Harockerce What a beautiful movie!
Tetrady not as good as all the hype
Glimmerubro It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.
SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction
The_Real_Review Ewan McGregor is likely the reason people initially watch this and then gets on your nerves quick. He ruins the trip by inviting his wife (grow some balls), is "surprised" the roads in Africa are garbage (are you serious?) and fawns over people living in primitive conditions (No Ewan, living in the stone age is not "romantic").I am just surprised at the poor preparation for the trip considering they did this before. 1. Ewan still cannot ride a bike without falling off. (At least Charlie's skills have improved)2. Their riding gear was not water proof. (Yet advertise on their website it was the same company that Che Guavara used?)3. They use BMW bikes again for their supposed "reliability" yet last time had the frames break on multiple bikes, multiple time and now have the shocks fail on multiples bikes. Top that off with a worthless kickstand "safety" switch preventing Ewan's bike from starting. Anything worthless like this that can break on an adventure trek should be removed from the bike before you leave. (or make the cover protecting the switch out something like say... titanium?)Long Way Round was much more interesting, especially in Russia. Africa does not look interesting let alone exciting to visit. The only thing I was surprised about was how good the roads were in Tunisia. Ironically just like LWR the only time they got threatened was in Arab countries. (Ewan seems oblivious to this fact)They needed to focus more time on the gear and bike preparation and give Claudio more camera time. Claudio, Charlie and the crew are much more interesting than whining Ewan. Fast forward past the UNICEF parts... boring
Jackson Booth-Millard I saw Long Way Round on DVD, and when I heard about this follow-up documentary series I was very excited to watch and be engaged with it. The programme documents the 15,000-mile (24,000 km) journey of actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman as they ride their BMW motorcycles from Scotland to Cape Town, South Africa, travelling southwards through the UK and Africa. With the support of their crew in four-by-fours, director/producers David Alexanian and Russ Malkin, and cameramen James Simak and Claudio Von Planta, the boys travelled through the UK, Italy, Egyprt, Libya, Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopa, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, ending in South Africa. Through the six part series you saw their struggles, success and exploration of each place they were in, for them, it was not just an experience travelling the world and riding bikes, it was for their families. I will admit it was not as gripping as Long Way Round, but this series had plenty of highlights, e.g. the animals, a President of one of the countries, and all the sights. Very good!
royzkeano Watched the whole of LWD on Love film after catching most of it on the TV. I was just left mildly interested, but ultimately uninspired. I still can't quite put my finger on it, other than say to LWD just didn't deliver.The reasons for this I feel are 1. Six episodes, as opposed to 10 on the extended LWR DVD. So felt rushed, someone said they went though three countries in one hr on one of the episodes? The guy's said they didn't want to be away from their family's for an extended period of time- no problem with this but the schedule compromised the quality of the show. A lot of moaning in particular.2. Support crew were a main character as much as Charley & Ewan- this of course completely understandable in Africa where they were often in unstable territory, so need to stick together, but from an exploration/enjoyment point of view made it a less appealing show.3. Ewan's wife, Eve, being a part of the trip- just didn't understand why they allowed a rider with virtually no experience to ride in a really tough environment- also no explanation of when she passed her bike test, we see her doing her CBT & then nothing? It was quite clear that Charley was not in favour, although he cover this well, so as not to upset Ewan. I think most of the crew, other than David Alexanian were think the same thing.4. Lack of detail- LWR seemed to cover a lot more & seemed more "from scratch" whereas LWD was more corparate & rushed. I don't think the audience cared so much for the characters & where didn't seem t be in so many compromising situations.I watched Race-to-Dakar as well. Also read the book, and found that more interesting, though not enough to buy it.LWD did have some good points in it though. Seeing the ferry from Italy to Tunisia, as described in Ted Simon's Juniper's travels was great; seeing how different counties dealt with not having medical care- as we know it; the great work that Unicef do & the history of the conflict that went on- & is still going on in Darfur.Love watching these guys & hope they take more care with Long Way Up!
Zhivko Yakimov I suppose I am slightly disappointed with this effort, though I guess anyone will admit that after "Long Way Round", it would take something really extraordinary to beat the feeling you got from it. I mean, "Long Way Round" is simply such an exceptional work that anything else will seem a little bit ... average in comparison. Thus, I don't want to write off "Long Way Down" right away, because it is also a great series, and certainly worth watching. However, it isn't as pure and adventurous as "Long Way Round".The first part of the trip really seemed rushed, which took away from the series. I believe someone mentioned (probably Charley) that Ewan's film engagements made the window so tight, so I guess they didn't have a choice, if they wanted to do the same team, with both Charley and Ewan. I know this doesn't sound as a good excuse, but I guess everyone has to accept that Ewan McGregor is a big star and doesn't have as much free time as he would like to (certainly not the three months and more they had in "Long Way Round"). Nevertheless, I also wish it didn't have to be like this, because it made many people miserable, Charley and Ewan included, and it showed on camera.The second part was really the most up to the feel of "Long Way Round", they took more time to simply enjoy the countries they passed through and talk to people, the same they did during the previous trip. Besides, it was the part of Africa that is less modernised (in what we in Europe or North America see as modern society), and somehow more enjoyable. Altogether, this is my favourite part of the series (that is, episodes 3 and 4, I guess).As far as Ewan's wife is concerned, I don't think anyone, myself included, has the right to question the decisions they made. Since everyone on the team was OK with Eve being there for part of the trip, though people were apparently having doubts, but mostly for security reasons, then it's not our business to argue about it. I agree that maybe Eve's presence made it look like more like a family holiday, but hey, if someone so much wants to see the real thing, no one really stops him of taking a buddy and making the trip himself. There were a few people taking the same route, but up, so I guess it's not impossible.Anyways, it was a good one, but it has the misfortune of being "Long Way Round"'s sequel. I think if it were the other way round, "Long Way Down" would get much better reception. I do agree that the fewer number of episodes also plays a part in that "not quite there" feel, so I'm looking forward to an extended DVD version, because I'm sure they have plenty of material taken during that trip.And, of course, I'm looking to the next instalment, rumoured to be "Long Way Down Under", and I wish all the best to Ewan and Charley in doing it.