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Michael Palin's New Europe : Complete BBC Series [DVD]
 
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Michael Palin's New Europe : Complete BBC Series [DVD]

DVD ~ Michael Palin
3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
RRP: Ł24.99
Price: Ł8.48 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

Michael Palin's New Europe : Complete BBC Series [DVD] + Full Circle With Michael Palin [DVD] [1997] + Around The World In 80 Days [DVD] [2002]
Total RRP: Ł64.97
Price For All Three: Ł23.42

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Michael Palin's New Europe : Complete BBC Series [DVD]
79% buy the item featured on this page:
Michael Palin's New Europe : Complete BBC Series [DVD] 3.2 out of 5 stars (24)
Ł8.48
Full Circle With Michael Palin [DVD] [1997]
7% buy
Full Circle With Michael Palin [DVD] [1997] 4.4 out of 5 stars (16)
Ł7.47
Around The World In 80 Days [DVD] [2002]
5% buy
Around The World In 80 Days [DVD] [2002] 4.5 out of 5 stars (24)
Ł7.47
Pole To Pole With Michael Palin [DVD] [1992]
5% buy
Pole To Pole With Michael Palin [DVD] [1992] 5.0 out of 5 stars (20)
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Product details

  • Format: PAL
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 3
  • Classification: Exempt
  • Studio: 2 Entertain Video
  • DVD Release Date: 22 Oct 2007
  • Run Time: 450 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000VA3J4S
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 9,193 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    Popular in this category:

    #36 in  DVD > Documentary > Travel

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Reviews

DVD Description

Michael Palin undertakes a new journey through Eastern Europe in this fascinating BBC series, breathing in its rich history, filming its exquisite sights and talking to its diverse peoples.

Until the early 1990s, when the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, traveling behind the iron curtain was never easy and now Palin fills what has been a void in his own experience and that of very many of his own generation.

As in all his series, Palin's New Europe takes the form of a journey through countries which have rich and complex cultures. Few have survived intact, as the ebb and flow of warring armies has continually changed the map of Europe.

Starting in the mountains of Slovenia he travels down through Croatia and the former Yugoslavia to Albania before turning northwards to embrace Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, The Ukraine, The Czech Republic, Slovakia, the former East Germany, Poland, the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad (as Konigsberg originally home to the Teutonic Knights), Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, opening up a new and undiscovered world to millions of viewers.

Synopsis

Intrepid television explorer Michael Palin takes us on a fascinating journey behind the former Iron Curtain. Palin embarks upon a trip that starts in the mountains of Slovenia and takes through Croatia, Albania, The Ukraine, former East Germany and Latvia, showcasing an undiscovered part of our continent that's as beautiful as it is mysterious.

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Customer Reviews

24 Reviews
5 star:
 (7)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (6)
1 star:
 (4)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.2 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars The reason why this is not his best, 17 Jun 2008
By D. Fidock "krisfidock" (England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
The reason we liked Plain's travels in the other series was that we enjoyed watching the journey and people he met along the way. In this series the journey is ignored and the chance to see places we may never get the chance to see forgotten and we are left with interviews with people we are not particulary interested in, in foreign capitals. Quite dull.
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32 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Palin past his sell-by date. One for fans, only, 27 Oct 2007
By Hooligween "Rowena the Red" (Kernow, Great Britain) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   
Previous great adventures by Michael Palin have been interesting because of the insights we've gained into the places and people. But in New Europe the show seems to be mostly about Michael Palin himself, and what he thinks of everything, and precious little about the countries he visits.

Just when you get to something interesting -- like, for example, the woman in a thoroughly modern clinic who was treating patients with leeches in all seriousness -- the programme dissolves into nudge-nudge humour. There's no proper translator so we don't know what the nurse (doctor?) was using the leeches for. Instead it's a good excuse for Palin to wiggle his eyebrows and make some jokes.
Similarly, when something interesting hoves into view -- a fascinating historical ship on which Palin stays for a night -- you don't get to hear its full story. Or even very much about it. This is really frustrating.

In the final epsiode, Slovakia was dismissed with a short segment about rural folks slaughtering a pig and making sausages. Then the Czech Republic was represented by Palin going to another health spa, meeting the current Miss World, and bathing in mud baths and being given a hot-stone massage. You can see this at your local spa; there must have been something more revealing to film in Czech, surely?
To be fair, that light-hearted segment was balanced with a more in-depth and serious review of the Stasi and their activities in East Germany. But this was a small proportion of the programme; if only all of it had been so relevant and interesting. And if only it had focussed on the people and places, and not Palin's reactions to them...

At the end of each programme it feels as if you've been sent a scrawled postcard from lots of locations. You've seen some pretty pictures and been told that the traveller met Bert, Bill and Benny, but you have not learned a great deal about the people, places or their culture.

I suspect that people who have loved Palin's earlier travels will still enjoy this. But if you want to learn more about the ex-Soviet bloc nations then you'll have to wait for a more considered and in-depth series to come along.
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33 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars SADLY NOT ONE OF PALIN'S INSPIRING TRAVEL DOCUMENTARIES..., 29 Nov 2007
By A. MOUATT "student" (Cambridge, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Having been greatly entertained and inspired by Palin's previous travel documentaries, I eagerly awaited his latest European adventure... yet what a disappointment.

For once Palin fails to capture the magic of the countries he visits, no fascinating cultural insights, no interesting characters along the way... just a collage of unrepresentative, uninteresting, uninspiring content.

Perhaps the comparatively familiar culture and customs of Europe could never inspire as much as those experienced on one of Palin's more remote and exotic journeys?

...certainly Palin's latest series failed to inspire.

Sadly, even the pleasurable thought of meeting Michael at a local book signing couldn't lure me along to purchase this documentary.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes! this is great
This is a marvelous DVD. We enjoyed every minute, and we got lots of insights into most of the countries he visits. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Hedgie

2.0 out of 5 stars Boring!
Sadly, this series falls far short of the standard he has set himself. We actually found it pretty boring to watch, and it took us ages to get through it as it felt like an effort... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr. A. Duncan

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Excellent Palin Show
Another great addition to the Michael Palin travel shows over the last twenty years or so. Always very entertaining and of course great to see so many of the different cultures... Read more
Published 4 months ago by R. King

5.0 out of 5 stars new europe
Bought as a gift, the person recieved it on time and thought it was brilliant.
Published 4 months ago by niknak

5.0 out of 5 stars Palin's Adventures in Eastern Europe
I think that this is an excellent DVD. It follows Michael on his travels around Eastern Europe and is hugely enjoyable, if you are a Palin fan! Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. Matthew W. Hiles

1.0 out of 5 stars ?
Dont know what this was supposed to be, if Palin had an idea or was just filming whatever he found, if he had a clue about those countries he was trying to 'document'. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mr. Peter Hudec

4.0 out of 5 stars THIS IS BRILLIANT
Everyone seems to have missed the point in reviewing this programme!
It is not meant as an advert to make you want to travel to certain countries. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Mr. A. Thompson

1.0 out of 5 stars Milyen lószar..........
I have lived in Hungary now for 16 years and worked in all of the countries that Michael Palin visited. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Disappointed

4.0 out of 5 stars Tom D
This series is better than good until something better comes along and that is a compliment. Of course there are pluses and minuses. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Tom Dragicevic

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Palin; Except episode 5
I'm a long-time fan of Michael Palin and personally believe that Pole to Pole is his finest work. Michael's latest series, New Europe, is an entertaining and informative journey... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Christian M. Harris

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