Jump London

The Making Of Jump London takes us through the technical side of shooting the documentary, as well as telling the story of how it all came to pass. Also present are interviews, behind the scenes footage and, most prominently, a focus on the health and safety risks.

The Making Of presents the three runners as individuals which was not something the documentary attempted to do. The producer and director sit together reviewing the particular skills that each runner has and this should have been present in the finished article as it would have increased our emotional connection to these men, with whom we cannot coalesce on any other level.

What is made clear in this overlong extra is that whilst Free Running may well be an art form practised in the small towns of France, it really is not on display in the documentary. The tricks performed on location in London are all carefully edited set pieces and, whilst there are impressive moves throughout, the definition of the "discipline" is not what we are seeing on our screen. If anything, this is performance art, not a lifestyle, as they would have us believe.

The interview with Sebastien Foucan, the father of Free Running, is an extended take of what we have already seen scattered throughout the documentary. Since this is the one who describes his hobby as a "discipline," it is difficult to take what he says seriously. He provides us with the science behind running and jumping, taking himself very earnestly for a man that has not done a days work in his entire life. Free Running, I agree, is an art form, but Foucan gives all of the theory and none of the practical explanations that are so desperately needed. By saying, "We just started doing it," and then attempting to make it seem like a way of life, he contradicts himself, ultimately subverting his credibility.

The split screen jumps and multi angle jumps do exactly what they say on the tin and bring very little to the DVD, as we have seen every possible angle for all the major jumps in the documentary and Making Of.

The commentary features the producer asking the director the occasional question to stop their pairing from getting too cold. Most of the time we are being given very indirect trivia related to an insignificant aspect of the documentary which leads to a commentary that is not very interesting, nor easy to sit through.

The quality of picture has the metallic tinge that you only get with digital projects and the director continually positions the camera towards the sun, so that the Free Runners are seen in silhouette, which, after a while, becomes irritating. The sound is clear, although it is not a major aspect of the documentary, so it is far from perfect, although the permanent score that continues throughout is a welcome companion.

You get everything you really need from the documentary itself with the extras on this DVD. Everything feels too long and very little new information is brought to the frame. What should have been included to spice up this bland package is the adverts that the free runners have appeared in. They clearly got permission to use at least one as it is present in the documentary, but they should have isolated it and thrown it onto the disc.

If you are seriously interested in free running and consider it a way of life and a discipline, then this is for you. For entertainment value, you will be left disappointed and feeling irritatingly empty after sitting through an hour of additional material.