Review by John Delia
One of the most ambitious documentaries to date, Marley Africa Road Trip puts together a very meaningful film that inspires. Making the trip a tribute to singer Bob Marley, three of his sons ride around the Southern half of Africa spreading hope and Unity. Now on DVD in a two disc set the documentary is nearly 4 hours in length.
The documentary follows musician Ziggy Marley, coffee entrepreneur Rohan Marley and the brother they call ‘The Ninja’ Robbie Marley as they set up their road trip, work out details with the cycle company Ducati Motorcycles, road test their bikes and much more before they set off on their trip to Johannesburg and remote areas of South Africa. In the midst of all this we get glimpses of the famous Bob Marley in stock footage of his concerts, and are treated to twenty-five of Bob Marley and Ziggy Marley’s live and recorded music tracks.
The filming of the trip camera men get as much of South African as they can featuring landscapes, villages, interviews with the people, animals in the wild, several snippets of world cup games and a funny caper with a giraffe. But, it’s really not what it’s all about. Ziggy’s dream was to return to Africa in honor of his father Bob Marley with a tour of unification of the continent. The exposure to that feat has been exceptional and with this DVD set it has been recorded for all time. This fun, touching and entertaining documentary has all the soul of what Bob Marley was trying to accomplish including the fact that his sons spent many days ridding on motorcycles across tough terrain to reach out to the country that inspired them.
The finish line features the entire Soweto, South Africa free concert by Ziggy Marley before a massive audience. It’s musically delightful, colorful, moving and appreciated by South Africans that gathered at Soweto, just outside of Johannesburg, South Africa. It’s the return that the boys wanted in the memory of their father who entertained 30 years earlier at his landmark concert to celebrate the independence of Zimbabwe, Africa.
ZIGGY MARLEY is a five-time Grammy winner, humanitarian, singer, songwriter, producer and Reggae icon and has released fifteen albums to much critical acclaim. His early immersion in music came at age ten when he sat in on recording sessions with his father, Bob Marley. Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers, which also featured his siblings Sharon Marley, Cedella Marley and Stephen Marley, released eight best-selling albums that garnered three Grammys, with such chart-topping hits as “Look Who’s Dancing,” “Tomorrow People” and “Tumbling Down.” Ziggy’s first solo album, Dragonfly (RCA Records), was released in 2003. His second solo release, Love is My Religion (Tuff Gong Worldwide), won a Grammy in 2006 for Best Reggae Album. His third solo album, Family Time (Tuff Gong Worldwide), scored him a 5th Grammy award for Best Children’s Album. In 2011, Ziggy released his critically acclaimed 4th studio album Wild And Free, which earned him a Grammy nomination, as well as his first ever comic book entitled MARIJUANAMAN.
ROBBIE MARLEY is a motorcycle stunt rider who has appeared in several major motion pictures and lives in Miami, Florida.
ROHAN MARLEY, like his father, is a passionate entrepreneur and visionary, combining his creativity and business acumen to create self-sustainable and certified organic businesses that aim to help preserve the Earth’s balance. As the Chairman of Marley Coffee/JAMMIN JAVA CORP. and Director of House of Marley, Rohan is building a platform for success in sustainability. Rohan’s role as a Chairman in Marley family businesses extends beyond Marley Coffee, House of Marley and Marley Beverages. He believes strongly in giving back to human causes and communities in need and serves as the Ambassador of Music and Culture for the United Nations Association Brazil and is a leading Ambassador for 1love.org
As far as the video quality, considering the conditions, the small film crew and the absence of good lighting, it’s nicely done. The photography captured the colorful clothing, flags and wonderful landscapes. Even the concerts held outside in the daytime could be enjoyed with Ziggy dancing on stage and taking his songs to the people for whom they were meant.
The sound quality, while good during most all of the twenty-five musical numbers, lacked value during the interviews with the people who Ziggy interviews on the roadsides and local towns. Thankfully where you could not hear due to wind or other technical difficulties, subtitles are provided.
The bonus feature is called Ducati’s Pike Peak International Hill Climb and it’s a winner. The annual race pits motorcyclists against each other for a race to the top of the mountain located in the Rocky Mountains, USA. Featured in this race were Greg Tracy, Alexander Smith, Mark Cernicky and Carlin Dunne among others. It’s a thrilling ride with 156 turns and bottomless cliffs at speeds of over 125 miles per hour.
The documentary is unrated but does contain some drug use by their audiences.
FINAL ANALYSIS:Â An inspirational documentary urging unity in Africa. (B)
Specifications and additional film information:
- Cast: Ziggy Marley, Rohan Marley and Robbie Marley
- Directed by: David Alexanian
- MPAA Rating: Unrated
- Genre: Documentary
- Running Time: 290 min
- Street Date: May 7, 2013
- Language: English
- Format: DVD
- Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
- Video: 16×9 1.78 Aspect Ratio
- Number of Discs: 2 Discs
- Distributed by: ARC Entertainment