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Russia - A Journey With Jonathan Dimbleby : Complete BBC Series | 
 enlarge | Artist: Jonathan Dimbleby
Studio: 2 Entertain Video
Category: DVD
List Price: £24.99
Buy New: £16.98
You Save: £8.01 (32%)
New (4) from £16.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 582
Format: Pal
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Exempt
Number Of Items: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5051561026867
ASIN: B0015MTC2E
Release Date: June 16, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk
A major BBC documentary, Russia sees Jonathan Dimbleby attempt to put across the largest nation on Earth over the course of a 10,000 mile journey. The end result fills up five 60 minute episodes, each of which you'll find in this DVD set. And on the whole, it's a very strong release. Billed as the first television look of its type at the nation, Dimbleby takes us via road, rail and foot as he undertakes his adventure, and his look at Russia certainly tucks away many of the stereotypes you may be used to seeing. At its best, Russia is a fascinating, brilliant piece of documentary television, genuinely unearthing new and interesting things, as well as a plethora of individual stories. Dimbleby is perhaps not the most obvious host, sometimes putting a little bit too much of himself into the mix rather than focusing on the nation he's there to show us, but on the whole he does a commendable job. Yet inevitably, it's the nation of Russia itself that's the main attraction here. And while you can't help but feel that this documentary only scratches the surface of the nation, it's still a welcome and thorough introduction to a once-mysterious country. More like this please, BBC. --Jon Foster
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| Customer Reviews:
 Ignore the poor reviews! July 3, 2008
Ignore the poor reviews! Jon Foster's review for Amazon is spot on.To say that JD needs a psychiatrist is very childish.
 poor ambition June 18, 2008
1 out of 7 found this review helpful
I am really in a big dilemma - should I bye the dvd, or not? The same question applies to the book - a real brick with an enormously high price. But lets talk about the movie first. After seeing some episodes on the bbc, I became quite curious, thought the real way to see Russia is not via a film. Go there, live there, meet people there, watch Russian films, read Russian books, music, etc. Although I am not a Russian, I speak Russian language and I spent quite a lot of time in USSR in the 80s. I now miss Russia and that is why I do my best to learn everything about this great country on the news, TV, films, etc. I think Jonathan's "Russia" had the ambition to intrigue the public. It did it to certain extent. Well it was all, I am afraid .
boring June 17, 2008
9 out of 17 found this review helpful
Dimbleby shows nothing but himself. Most of the time he explains his feelings. God, this man needs a psychiatrist!
This is not a documentary but rather a story of Jonathan Dimbleby himself with Russia as a background (any country could be there, I would prefer China).
One more note - present day Volga tatars have nothing to do with mongols or tatars from Mongolia. Volga tatars are descends from bulgars, the people of mixed origin of finno-ugrs and turkic populations. Well, this is just an illustration of the deep knowledge of Mr. Dimbleby about Russia :)
Jonathan D. dvd RUSSIA June 12, 2008
10 out of 14 found this review helpful
I think it is a very good attempt to show Russia to the West. Attempt - because you can never show it all as it is. Russia is and will remain a mystery. I am Russian and I have seen a lot of it and still there is something new and new and new and wonderful there. Of course there are drawbacks in that film and leaving aside poor translation - those are mainly those political views that John keeps pushing. That "democracy" fairytale of nowadays he seems to be believing in. Do it in the west first - before you can sell it to others! Put your own house in order! And leave Russia alone for at least a few years without attacks from outside world. And show Russia from different points of view. JD is not the only right way of seeing things and he DID NOT show a lot of Russia`s life and people. Even if all he did was a usual propaganda - still - through it - you can see and feel Russia! JD could not help to love it himself! Mother Russia is Mother Russia - WATCH it and see for yourself!God bless you.
 A good idea June 9, 2008
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
I was really looking forward to this series by Jonathon Dimbleby. On the whole it is quite good with lots of views of a place few of us know much about. I do believe though that there should have been more research prior to the filming as often I found some of it bland and quite uninteresting. An example was the last episode where a Chinese migrant worker was asked 'why do you come here to work?' It was so obvious he doesn't work in Russia for the weather. Then there was the old gent with the Gold mine who was doing very well thankyou, Jonathon though,was trying to draw out from him a political view which he really didn't have as he is just a business man with no particular interest in politics, I found that rather silly. Too much focus on peoples political opinions and perhaps not enough insights into how people live there on a daily basis. Nevertheless it was a good idea to make this programme and I hope that it encourages further travelogues perhaps probing deeper into this massive country.
I have recently been reading Ryziard Kapuchinskis 'Imperium' a book crammed full of really fascinating stories and anecdotes about the former USSR. Jonathon and his team would have done better by reading a copy of this fantastic book by a great writer.
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