La maratona Barkley: La gara che divora la sua prole

I enjoyed this documentary, which follows the 2012 race of Barkley Marathon, one of the toughest and wildest ultramarathons.

This movie reminded me of "Safety to Nome" about Iditarod Trail, another tough ultra marathon occurring in Alaska, in that the participants' persistence and strength were equally impressive. But this one took a lighter and less tense stance, featuring each key attendee's journey in a less dramatic (more abstract?) way, blended well with the narrative by the organizer. It was much easier to follow it, rather than keeping my palm sweated all throughout.

Nevertheless, it was not boring at all! The last few minutes were indeed full of a good drama and a small suspense.

I recommend it!

I've heard of The Barkley Marathons before, but this doc really nails it. Low-fi homespun logistics tying together possibly the nuttiest and toughest course on the planet. Invite only and limited to 40 entrants per year, to tackle a 130(ish) mile course, across mind bogglingly hard terrain that you have to navigate yourself, with map/compass, no GPS. 5 laps, in daylight and at night, going opposite directions on each loop. Most people don't complete 1 Lap, never mind all 5. Completely solo, no help, no markers, no water stations, intentionally fluid organisation, even no set start time... but you only have 60 hours to complete it. With no markers and no GPS, can't you cheat? No, there are books at various points in the woods and you have to find them all, tear out the page that matches your race number (that changes each loop) and get a full set. It is awe inspiring. It is heart breaking and it makes for gripping viewing. Not a chance in hell I'd try it myself though.

The Barkley Marathons is about a race based on a prison escape that only ten people have finished in the last twenty-five years. This is a documentary where the mere concept of it excites you and believe me, it delivers. It's crazy how something as weird and obscure as this has been going on for so long and people just began to hear about it. It has some nice looking shots which some documentaries don't have at all. It's informational and entertaining at the same time which is a plus. My only flaw with it was how hard it was to remember who was who while watching. With fifty different racers it's hard to keep track and I feel like a better job could've been done.

8/10 -- Great. Please give this film a watch. It hurts me to see movies like this get no attention whatsoever. You can buy it on Amazon, Vudu, Google Play, and iTunes for like five dollars digitally and on their website, you can but it for twenty-five bucks on Blu-Ray. I wouldn't recommend torrenting it because a film like this needs all the attention it can get.

Tennessee is the location, the backwoods are the course, and time is the enemy. Footage is a fantastic documentary of what people can or cannot endure. The organizer is hilariously wry, the camera work is great, and there is no aspect that suggests this to be staged" like so much reality survival footage.

The film includes background re. how and why the race began, its history, and personal asides The modicum of foul language further clarifies this as a true presentation.

I would love to be chosen for such a race yet know that if I even made it through the first five miles, I would have to buck up to walk five miles to to get back the where I started: even that would be victory for me.

Hats off and Hurrahs for all involved in this film.

A friend told me about this. It's not a topic I would normally find interesting, but I was mesmerized from the first scene. Its homespun, down-home interviews with a professional film crew and engaging set of stories, along with plenty of scenes giving tastes of how very, very hard this event is. Unlike so many documentaries that get dull with an oppressive amount of detail and back-story, the film doesn't show you everything and tell you everything. This is a good thing. It left me wanting to know more, but feeling good with what the film delivered. I couldn't find one flaw with the film, and plenty of extras I didn't expect.