The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young
October. 26,2014 NRIn its first 25 years only 10 people have finished The Barkley Marathons. Based on a historic prison escape, this cult like race tempts people from around the world to test their limits of physical and mental endurance in this documentary that contemplates the value of pain.
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Reviews
I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional
It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
A fun, warm look at the weirdos and Weirdo In Chief orbiting the enigmatic Barkley Marathon. Well worth the watch, especially if you're looking for something that has nuance and psychology but is also not a hard watch.
The organizer of the race is fairly clear that this film has little to nothing to do with a prison escape. And the rest of the film is a bit too dull to do this brutal race justice.A bit more interaction/background with the participants, or a bit of style whatsoever would have helped. THere's not doubt this is a grueling race, and if the film accomplishes something - it's showing us that. Albeit, in a very rudimentary fashion.A bit more about the area, or the participants, or the creator... something! Instead, it's about as basic as a documentary can get, and here it really hurts the overall "film". And I put "film" in parenthesis because it's barely a film. Of course, when he's charging a flannel-shirt or $1.62 for applications to enter the race - you can see where he didn't have the funds to put into a documentary about his great race.It's not completely incompetent. At least it gives us a decent description of the race itself. The event seems very interesting. It's amazing to me that such an amazing, brutal event can be portrayed in such a drab, inconsequential manner. It deserves better. If the race isn't about a prison escape, then why bring it up, and if it is, how about a neat back-story, but no. ANd style wise, it leaves a lot to be desired. As an event - it's a "10". As a documentary film, a "5".
Though I may never get or take the chance to experience the challenge that is the Barkley Marathons, I got a taste of the insanity by watching this film. The interviews with the race directors and participants give a glimpse into what truly must be the toughest race on earth. Although I was already familiar with the results from having read Ed Furtaw's book, "Tales from Out There," Seeing the course and the eyes of the competitor's deepened my understanding of the term pushed to the limit.Highly recommend this film to all those who like to go further or appreciate extreme effort.
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.