Michael Palin - New Europe
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DVD details
Actor: Michael PalinBrand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); Polish (Subtitled); Russian (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Unknown
Running Time: 413 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-03-11
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Worldwide
Product features:
- Michael Palin?s latest voyage of discovery sees him venture into territory once forbidden ? the new Europe previously shrouded behind the Iron Curtain. Now that the Iron Curtain has lifted and the Cold War is over, Michael can enjoy a new freedom to roam unhindered across an unexplored swathe of his own continent. From Estonia in the north to Turkey in the south, where Europe reaches out to Asia a
DVD Reviews of Michael Palin - New Europe
DVD Review: No Adventure for Old Man
Summary: 3 Stars
After having seen Around the World in 80 Days, The Himalayas, Sahara, I was really looking forward to another exciting adventure with Mr. Palin. The nations covered in this series are in the forefront of international news hence, such coverage were, indeed, timely. Who could have imagined countries such as Croatia, Slovakia, Latvia would emerge from the rubble of the Great East Shake up in the late 80s early 90's which continued into the present with the eventual break-up of Yugoslavia. This moved further with Kosovo finally achieving independence in early 2008.
Mr. Palin tried his best to be in top form clowning here and there, joining artists and theatre groups sometimes doing impromptu roles but one obviously sees that age has caught with him. His efforts to make some scenes funny can be ridiculous at times (A very good example would be that laughing group in East Berlin. There you see him laughing but quite bored and looking at his watch - that should have been edited). THe quest for youth or more accurately health promotion is covered extensively specially those scenes taken in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Latvia or was it Estonia(?).
In previous series, you saw him running around town and that looks fine but this time, you see a haggard-looking host with the usual unappetizing bland Britishness from dressing to even hosting.
Since much of this new Europe thing is about the political change going on in the continent, the concentration should have been on that arena. However, there were great moments in the program specially as he asked his guests about their perception of their country, where it is going - form those articulately worded opinions of those 2 Serbian ladies to the philosophically absurd views of a Romanian train passenger.
The deleted scene of a once popular Macedonian singer basically defines a sectoral view of the break-up of Tito's empire and it came out strongly. You can basically feel the passion and longing of the singer and her "Don't Cry" says it all. Its deletion is worth explaining. Actually, a number of those deleted scenes has greater relevance on the balkanization process which has reemerged and has continued to plague the region just recently. Mr. Palin would have concentrated along this line - more of a serious documentary rather than a travelogue primarily because the concept of a new Europe is more of an economic and a political reality rather than being caught up as tourist trap. Besides, one can not forever clown his way; even Chaplin has to take serious roles when he reached a certain age. Europe is a serious idea, very much Teutonic in character and not a glossy American attraction.
The Romanian journey is one of the highlights of this series - it was an eye-opener for travel hungry eyes longing to see the Old Europe (I mean the Europe of yore) still visible in this part of the world. Snippets of Transdniestra, Western Ukraine and even Kaliningrad were unexpected but worth including simply for their being part of the continent as well as the delicacy of savoring something from the Unknown.
I was just a little shock to have Turkey included and with the implied assertion of even neighboring countries like Syria, Iraq, Iran being gobbled up by this peninsula of Asia (which actually is). Let's wait for the Old Europe to decide on that whether this time the Ottoman descendant will finally realize its dream of conquering the continent. The Cappadocian episode taken in its winter dressing is just a marvelous sight!
Description of Michael Palin - New Europe
Michael Palin?s latest voyage of discovery sees him venture into territory once forbidden ? the new Europe previously shrouded behind the Iron Curtain. Now that the Iron Curtain has lifted and the Cold War is over, Michael can enjoy a new freedom to roam unhindered across an unexplored swathe of his own continent. From Estonia in the north to Turkey in the south, where Europe reaches out to Asia across the Bosphorus, Michael?s journey takes him through twenty countries. Some Central European, some Eastern European, some straddling continents and all utterly compelling.DVD Features:
Deleted Scenes
Interviews
With so much media and popular attention focused on the nations and cultures of Western Europe, it's easy to forget that much of Europe is relatively new to the western world: new to democracy, new nations with new governments, finding ways to create their new cultures and a sense of national identity in the aftermath of post-Soviet life. World traveler Michael Palin, having ventured all over the world, smartly chooses Eastern Europe as the destination for this BBC special, to see, now that the iron curtain has been pulled aside, what life there is really like. Like his previous adventures, such as Pole to Pole and Around the Rim, Palin's endless fascination and infectious sense of curiosity in the places he visits and people he meets, is what really makes the show tick. Whether he's exploring the remarkable Turkish community of Göreme, where rocks have been carved to form homes, or boating down a river in Romania to visit the ancestral home of Vlad the Impaler (the home of Bram Stoker's Count Dracula), Palin finds a way to keep the discoveries coming. Traveling through 20 countries as diverse as Turkey and Russia can be taxing, even on a well-traveled celebrity, but with his natural-born wit he keeps the program light enough to be entertaining (a few laughs help to leaven the sometimes dreary reality of certain locales), and succeeds in shining a new light into parts of the world long obscured by a shroud of darkness. --Daniel Vancini
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