Blu-ray REVIEW: Billy Connolly – Journey to the Edge of the World (2009 Blu-ray)

BILLY CONNOLLY_0002BILLY CONNOLLY – Journey to the Edge of the World – A voyage through Canada’s Northwest Passage (2009 ITV Blu-ray)

I’ve always found Billy Connolly to have an incredibly warm sense of humour, and that is on full display in this wonderful TV series. Because of recent decreases in Arctic sea ice, the Northwest Passage is now clear for several weeks during the summer. One can now travel along the northern coast of Canada, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Connolly begins his journey in Halifax and travels north, and west. Along the way he sees sights that many of us will never have the chance to experience. It is all captured here on Blu-ray, in gorgeous 1080p. Towering icebergs are crisp blue and as detailed as you can imagine.

The isolation of these places is quite breathtaking. The real selling feature of this series is the hi-def glory of Earth’s nature in full 1080p. If you’ve ever romanticized about cold seas, towering icebergs, or glaciers without another human being in sight, then this disc will put you right there. It’s just awesome to behold. However there is a dark undertone here, as global warming is always just beneath the surface of the beauty. (For example, hearing the ice cracking with sounds like cannons.) By the time Billy finishes his journey in Vancouver, powerful images will be etched into your mind. This is not a disc to watch just once.

One of the charms of this series is that Billy genuinely seems to love people. Whether it’s the humble Newfoundland fisherman, or the smiling faces of Inuit throat singers, Billy loves them all. Billy has no problem getting wet, or trying dishes that are foreign to his palette. He’ll treat you to some folk music along the way, his banjo never far from his side. It is a joy to watch this film and learn about parts of my geography and culture that many of us are ignorant. A lot of activity is crammed into each episode, meaning you’ll likely take it off the shelf for another spin periodically, whenever you get romantic for the snow and ice of the north.  With summer here, why not?

5/5 stars

38 comments

    1. You imply that I’d loan it to you! (haha) You’d have to ensure me of your ability to take care of a blu-ray, unlike everybody else I seem to loan stuff to! I remember in highschool loaning a guy my Van Halen I tape. He had it for a month and then when he returned it he LOST THE FUCKING COVER!

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      1. My dear, I have over 500 DVDs in my collection. I don’t kid glove them, but I DO expect those I lend my stuff out to to return my dvds in the same condition I lend them. Same with books. If I wrecked something that wasn’t mine, I’d pay for a new one. I am hard-wired for responsibility and accountability. Ask anyone – I am rule-bound like that.
        Once we lent out a complete collection to my hub’s friend. He returned our collection with a big effing scratch on the disc and the cover looked like it fell in the toilet. “Here ya go, he said.” WTF, dude? What if that was your Mom’s dvd? And no recompense for ruining my property. You can tell a lot about a person…

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        2. :D
          I know you take care of your stuff. My DVD collection is hidden away in cabinets kept dark and dust free. I am a klutz, but I somehow hold it together with my collections lol.
          The hubs lent out his complete Godfather collection to a friend of his that was a total dolt. The guy never returned it. I was pi$$ed – that was my xmas gift to the hubs! How can people be so careless? So, I am also protective.

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        3. Shoot. I gave away my Godfather collection last year. It showed up on Amazon on blu-ray so ridiculously cheap that I couldn’t resist the upgrade. I mean, it’s the Godfather! Sure it’s on TV all the time, but…BLU RAY!!!!

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        5. I bought the Alien blu-ray set when that happened. There are some things I don’t mind upgrading. Even if this is the third Alien set I’ve bought.

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        7. I skipped VHS bought I bought a 4-pack DVD set, and then the 9 disc Alien Quadrilogy. Now I have the blu ray set, plus Prometheus and the Predator films. What I don’t have anymore are the AVP films because even I couldn’t justify keeping them anymore.

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        10. Yeah, the way I look at it, you treat my Simpsons DVD like shit, you are directly disrespecting me. That is all. Accidents happen – absolutely. If that’s what happened, then, you pay for a new one; that’s human decency.

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  2. I saw this! Our library has a copy. It’s beautiful and I fully recommend it to everyone too. I spent the whole time wishing I was with him. I like snow and ice. A trip like that would have been AWESOME!

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      2. I get all my movies from the library. Why pay for them? Besides, most things I only watch once and this way THEY can store them.

        Of course, I still have a metric shit-ton of DVDs here (probably not 500 like you), but there’s mostly music and samurai discs. Love me some kung fu action!

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        1. I have access to a handful of community libraries with several branches where I live. I used to frequent the system more when I was studying to become a Library Technician, but that’s been put on the back-burner working full-time. I have utilized interlibrary loan system quite a bit, though. But, yes, when you are trying to save money, the library is an excellent source for everything.
          And the music!! I have gotten many a CD from the library!

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      1. I’m not a snow bunny – not at all. But, that is a journey of a lifetime. I hope to make it to the Yukon one day. I have a friend living there. The pics she posts…out of this world. I’d pull out the johns and parka to see that live!

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        2. You’re the only other person I know who’s seen it!
          Bill Nighy (Underworld, Hitchhiker’s Guide) is fabulous in it too as the lead singer Ray- doing the Freddie Mercury pose with the mike stand and shoving it into the lighting in a huge shower of sparks ROFL :D

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        3. Dude, I love Bill Nighy and I LOVE Still Crazy. I tried to get Aaron into that movie too via some songs but I don’t think he was too into it.

          Ray…what a tragic character! But I really enjoyed the story of Brian too, the recluse, and I was glad to see that at the end of the movie, they were playing were both Brian and the young kid that replaced him. If I was a fan of Strange Fruit that’s how I would want to see them!

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        4. Yeah, that’s an awesome scene, really well done.
          I also identified so much with Jimmy Nails as the bassist-turned-roofer LES, same thing happened to me. Stephen Rea too, treasuring that Jimi Hendryx tooth!!

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        5. He had that one great tune in the movie too…The Fire Still Burns I think? And then the whole back story about that song, and the conflict between he and Ray…

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        6. Yeah, I can so understand his attitude, writing an awesome song, wanting to sing it yourself, but can’t, and eventually seeing someone you don’t respect (Ray)singing it and mangling it.. It’s like giving a child up for adoption. Cool scene when they find him singing it to himself, trying so hard one more time to get it right

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        9. Yessir, thanks to Aaron for pointing it out. It even qualified for the free shipping deal over $30 or whatever it is.

          Anyway now that I will finally have it, you will eventually see a review!

          There’s also a story about how I saw the movie the first time. I’ll have to tell that one day.

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