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Independent Playak DVD Review: Empire - A Film by Vasilii Porsev.

Featuring

Athletes include Tomass Marnics, Alexander Marakhovsky, Anton Ogoreletsev, Vasilii Porsev, Vasilii Chesnokov, Natalia Zakharova, Lucas Wielatt and Simon Sieberger.

About

The movie showcases the finest whitewater that Russia and other ex USSR countries have to offer.

Content

Well, what would you expect from a video of kayakers in Russia, by Russians. No not vodka drinking, but crazy action all the way! This is the third DVD from the same group of Russians and I’ve seen two of them. The one before this, Top Grade, was probably as good as this and runs in a similar vein. What you’ll see here is quality rapids being run by competent paddlers. Without taking anything away from them you won’t see the superman skills of a Steve Fisher but I found I could relate more to these guys, even though some of the stuff they run might question their mental well being. That is probably the single biggest reason why I enjoyed their previous DVD and now this one, Empire, so much.

Most of the runs that they embark on are multiday, highly remote first descents on some of the most extreme rivers across the former Russian Empire which covered 11 times zones. The landscapes and scenery blew me away and one could easily mistake the shots for being somewhere in the USA, Canada or even Norway. That vast area is no doubt a massive fountain of untapped beauty and possibilities and this movie proudly provides us a glimpse into what it has to offer.

The only slight disappointment was that it is only 30 minutes long. I would have preferred at least four times that amount! But hey, you can’t have it all. After seeing this movie I’m really looking forward to their next one already, but I guess it did take two years to film this one. On a tragic note, 2 members of the group lost their lives in the making of this movie.

Music

The music is quite good. I could not really find any tracks that I could criticize too much – very enjoyable.

Conclusion

Vasilii Porsev has created a really top quality movie that will no doubt keep get you to watch it again and again. Don’t miss this one.

Extras

There are no extras on this DVD.

Sponsors

Kayak USSR

Online Ordering

The Heliconia Press

For Playak,
Adrian Tregoning