Hot on the heels of
his adventures in the Sahara, Michael Palin takes on the abode of
snow and begins a 2000-mile journey across this mighty and
majestic region of Asia. Encountering extremes of wealth and
poverty, altitude and freezing cold, he once again brings his
unique wit, charm and wisdom to each of 6 episodes. Along the way
he encounters, among many others, the Dalai Lama, the Bhutanese
Royal Family and the once feared head hunting tribe of the Konyak.
While on his travels he passes through Afghanistan, across India
to the feared Death Zone near the base of Mount Everest and then
onto the Bhutanese capital before arriving in the Bay of Bengal.
CRITIQUE
In this documentary
series, a great travelogue that is very informative and visually
refreshing, Michael Palin is very enthusiastic and charming as he
travels across Asia, meeting different kinds of people who
sometimes show him around and translate conversations, and
visiting many places (very few known cities, mostly small
provinces and some villages) that everyday people (like myself)
probably have never heard of or seen pictures of. Palin holds a
genuine interest for every place he visits and person he meets. He
interviews people asking good questions that try to convey to the
viewer what living is like in some of the provinces, what some of
the cultural customs are, etc.
Michael Palin:
Himalaya is a fantastic series because it is informative and
visually stunning. The beautiful vistas of and around Asia look
extraordinary in the widescreen presentation on the DVD, but
really everything looks great. Watching Palin travel 2000 miles
across Asia offers a lot of great footage of places and people
you'd probably never see anywhere else. Palin also narrates the
series, which adds greatly to the awesome visuals. Another
important element of this series is the pacing (which is just
right, except a few scenes dragged on a bit), the directing of
Roger Mills and co-director John-Paul Davidson, and the
cinematography. Himalaya is presented on DVD in a 3-disc
set featuring all six hour-long programs:
Disc 1: North
by Northwest / A Passage to India
Disc 2:
Annapurna to Everest / The Roof of the World
Disc 3:
Leaping Tiger Naked Nagas / Bhutan to the Bay of Bengal
THE VIDEO
BBC presents
Himalaya in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Great quality, the
video is sharp and the colors bounce right off the screen. No
subtitles are featured.
THE AUDIO
BBC presents
Himalaya in English Dolby Digital Stereo. Dialogue sounds
clear most of the time. Palin's interviews are presented with very
good quality. A few distortions pop up in some scenes but they
don't really matter. Pretty good audio quality overall.
THE EXTRAS
The
exclusive pre-trip interview with Michael Palin runs 10 minutes
in length and the post-trip interview lasts a good 30 minutes.
There's some good stuff in here.
With
each of the six programs also comes additional footage that
consists of mostly new scenes and some extended bits (for example,
there is a longer interview with the Dalai Lama). The total time for
the additional footage is about two hours.
FINAL THOUGHT
Michael Palin:
Himalaya comes highly recommended. If you like travelogues and
are interested in seeing parts of the world not broadcast on
normal TV, then this DVD is right for you.
