JUMP LONDON aired on 9 September, Channel 4. Interesting, arty, amazing, unrestricted, incredible - all ways to describe this expression of art/sport, free running. Watching the group jump across one London land mark after another, I couldn't help feeling that if the camera had stop jumping (excuse the pun) around for a moment, you would of been able to appreciate the moves even more. At times it was hard to see exactly what, where and how far because of the 'arty' camera work. That said it's exhilarating viewing, not to mention fun! The kids will love it. Just don't try it at home.....
4 Reviews
A Great Glimpse of a Great Discipline
citizenafrica10 August 2007
From the UK comes the highly-acclaimed television feature "Jump Britain." Explosively introducing London, the UK, and eventually the world to the art of free running, this documentary style production holds audiences captivated with beautiful photography, exclusive locales, and of course breathtaking footage of free running.
The show delves into the history of free running, the sister discipline of parkour, a sort of half-art half-sport that was developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s by parkour's pioneer David Belle. Sebastien Foucan, who trained with David Belle in parkour's early days, later split ways with Belle after disagreement about the discipline's philosophy. And so came "free running," a combination of parkour's fluid movement, mixed with a heavy dose of physical aesthetics including flips, flair, and more.
Jump London delivers viewers a great first glimpse at the disciplines of parkour and free running, though it does a somewhat poor job of differentiating the two, and instead uses "free running" like an English translation of parkour, rather than describing the differences.
Some viewers complain about the amount of interviews and footage about free running itself versus the amount of actual footage of free running in action during Foucan and friends' excursion in London. Some are disappointed by free running being depicted as a physical art or discipline and would rather just see big jumps with no ulterior purpose.
One must understand, however, that for practitioners of the discipline, obstacles are not just obstacles, but are rather metaphors for challenges in life, and that free running and parkour carry with them, inherently, a heavy dose of philosophy not unlike that found in many martial arts.
To truly understand and appreciate Jump London, it is helpful to read up a bit on the discipline beforehand. Sites such as www.urbanfreeflow.com and www.americanparkour.com offer great information about the sports.
In any fashion, Jump London promises an exhilarating visual journey through the physical application of free running, while simultaneously introducing viewers to some of the top names and faces of the discipline today. Jump London is a great watch for anyone who is impressed by the human body's ability to do amazing physical feats.
The show delves into the history of free running, the sister discipline of parkour, a sort of half-art half-sport that was developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s by parkour's pioneer David Belle. Sebastien Foucan, who trained with David Belle in parkour's early days, later split ways with Belle after disagreement about the discipline's philosophy. And so came "free running," a combination of parkour's fluid movement, mixed with a heavy dose of physical aesthetics including flips, flair, and more.
Jump London delivers viewers a great first glimpse at the disciplines of parkour and free running, though it does a somewhat poor job of differentiating the two, and instead uses "free running" like an English translation of parkour, rather than describing the differences.
Some viewers complain about the amount of interviews and footage about free running itself versus the amount of actual footage of free running in action during Foucan and friends' excursion in London. Some are disappointed by free running being depicted as a physical art or discipline and would rather just see big jumps with no ulterior purpose.
One must understand, however, that for practitioners of the discipline, obstacles are not just obstacles, but are rather metaphors for challenges in life, and that free running and parkour carry with them, inherently, a heavy dose of philosophy not unlike that found in many martial arts.
To truly understand and appreciate Jump London, it is helpful to read up a bit on the discipline beforehand. Sites such as www.urbanfreeflow.com and www.americanparkour.com offer great information about the sports.
In any fashion, Jump London promises an exhilarating visual journey through the physical application of free running, while simultaneously introducing viewers to some of the top names and faces of the discipline today. Jump London is a great watch for anyone who is impressed by the human body's ability to do amazing physical feats.
Talked to death but has some amazing shots - but too few for an hour!
bob the moo20 September 2003
Having developed from a childhood game, Free Running has been given global recognition due to a series of adverts for Toyota, Nike and the BBC to name a few. The recognised creator of the discipline, which involves running and jumping over buildings and any other obstacles, comes to London with several others to run, skip and jump across many of the famous landmarks of the city.
Heavily trailed in the media, this television film promised much but sadly left me slightly underwhelmed. Part of the problem is just how long it is and how little material there is to fill it. The first 40 minutes is full of interviews with the free-runners, looking at the history of the discipline etc. This is interesting to a point, but it has the effect of talking up the subject to the point that, when the footage actually arrives, it is not as spectacular as it has been hyped as being. This is not to say that some of it is not amazing to watch, cause it is, but there are only a handful of really amazing jumps which, in my mind, do not justify an hour long film.
The other side effect of all this talking about the `discipline' is that it gets itself all tied up in it's own self importance. It becomes more than some guys jumping around, it becomes some sort of almost spiritual journey which just comes off sounding pretentious. Founcan himself is the guiltiest party in this regard. He talks in depth about how he is freeing himself on obstacles designed to ensnare and entrap him etc, and he does come off sounding like he's just a bit too smug and full of himself. It is a shame because he is a very athletic guy. The production company don't help things by contrasting footage of the running with footage of ballet and art - suggesting that this is worthy of the same stature.
Overall if I saw this coming on TV again I would definitely watch it, but I think I would deliberately skip the first half and watch the second half which actually allows the `discipline' to speak for itself. It never got as spectacular as the media blurbs made it sound but it is still very impressive. I'd get tired climbing stairs never mind jumping across rooftops!
Heavily trailed in the media, this television film promised much but sadly left me slightly underwhelmed. Part of the problem is just how long it is and how little material there is to fill it. The first 40 minutes is full of interviews with the free-runners, looking at the history of the discipline etc. This is interesting to a point, but it has the effect of talking up the subject to the point that, when the footage actually arrives, it is not as spectacular as it has been hyped as being. This is not to say that some of it is not amazing to watch, cause it is, but there are only a handful of really amazing jumps which, in my mind, do not justify an hour long film.
The other side effect of all this talking about the `discipline' is that it gets itself all tied up in it's own self importance. It becomes more than some guys jumping around, it becomes some sort of almost spiritual journey which just comes off sounding pretentious. Founcan himself is the guiltiest party in this regard. He talks in depth about how he is freeing himself on obstacles designed to ensnare and entrap him etc, and he does come off sounding like he's just a bit too smug and full of himself. It is a shame because he is a very athletic guy. The production company don't help things by contrasting footage of the running with footage of ballet and art - suggesting that this is worthy of the same stature.
Overall if I saw this coming on TV again I would definitely watch it, but I think I would deliberately skip the first half and watch the second half which actually allows the `discipline' to speak for itself. It never got as spectacular as the media blurbs made it sound but it is still very impressive. I'd get tired climbing stairs never mind jumping across rooftops!
Superficially legendary
the_usual_suspect24 December 2004
Rating: 2/5
Back in September of 2003, Jump London premiered at prime time on Channel 4. It was the most expensive documentary commissioned by the company for the whole year and gained major press coverage. The idea of following three Frenchmen around London as they performed the art of Free Running inside and on top of some of the city's most prestigious landmarks had seemed ridiculous to most producers, and indeed, it could have been seen in the same light by Channel 4 viewers. It wasn't, and Free Running was given a launch pad with which to capture the imagination of an entire country.
Sebastien Foucan, Jerome Ben Aoues, Johann Vigroux are three Frenchmen who have been practising the "discipline" of free running for most of their lives. The art form originates from Foucan's desire to express himself in the strict confines of the small French town, Lisses, where he grew up, in which there was very little for a young man to do. Jump London reviews the evolution of Free Running up to when it was featured in adverts for Toyota and Nike. Now, the extreme sport of La Parkour is coming to London, as the three runners take on the Albert Hall, the Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and the streets of Soho to name but a few of the central landmarks that are about to be hit by free running.
The idea of exposing an urban sport like Free Running in the more magisterial buildings of London is a good one, but this documentary takes itself far too seriously. Sebastien Foucan is the original Free Runner as it was he who created and named the sport. Unfortunately, he cares to look at it as more of a "discipline" within which one can express all of their desires. I remained unconvinced throughout, and my interest was held only because of the incredible abilities that the runners have. The jumps are worth waiting for, and you come to accept that they are surrounded by a lot of fluff. Foucan tries to explain why it is a science and why it is something highly original that he has created, but in the end, he cannot blind you from the fact that he has never worked a day in his life. The scene where the runners visit a skate park sums up the underlying emptiness of what they do: Free Running is no different from skateboarding in terms of freedom of expression.
Furthermore, the entire idea behind this documentary is merely a pretence to show off the runners' skills. The fact that they do not need a pretence, does not seem to matter though. The runners are French, this is inescapable, and yet the producers try to involve the English audience by showing the stunts performed around London landmarks, suggesting that the capital will never be the same again. They came. They ran. They jumped. And no one noticed. This documentary lacks honesty. It presents the sport as a lot more dramatic than it actually is, and uses London to gain viewers that probably would have watched the programme anyway because the content is, at times, amazing. Instead, a flaccid excuse for why it's all happening at London acts as the glue for a weak bundle of interviews, back story and jumping. The jumping should have been the centre with all aspects revolving around that. Instead, London was the centre. This is a monumental flaw in the documentary which can be forgotten about if you indulge in the spectacle of it all, but ultimately, it leaves you feeling empty because the substance is all superficial.
Overall, Jump London relies on the sport of Free Running to provide the entertainment of the documentary. The mistake is that they try to make a legend out of something that has only just begun which undermines the skills involved. The content is stretched thin over the hour, and there are far too few jumps, but the spectacle, no matter how false, is undeniably impressive.
Back in September of 2003, Jump London premiered at prime time on Channel 4. It was the most expensive documentary commissioned by the company for the whole year and gained major press coverage. The idea of following three Frenchmen around London as they performed the art of Free Running inside and on top of some of the city's most prestigious landmarks had seemed ridiculous to most producers, and indeed, it could have been seen in the same light by Channel 4 viewers. It wasn't, and Free Running was given a launch pad with which to capture the imagination of an entire country.
Sebastien Foucan, Jerome Ben Aoues, Johann Vigroux are three Frenchmen who have been practising the "discipline" of free running for most of their lives. The art form originates from Foucan's desire to express himself in the strict confines of the small French town, Lisses, where he grew up, in which there was very little for a young man to do. Jump London reviews the evolution of Free Running up to when it was featured in adverts for Toyota and Nike. Now, the extreme sport of La Parkour is coming to London, as the three runners take on the Albert Hall, the Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and the streets of Soho to name but a few of the central landmarks that are about to be hit by free running.
The idea of exposing an urban sport like Free Running in the more magisterial buildings of London is a good one, but this documentary takes itself far too seriously. Sebastien Foucan is the original Free Runner as it was he who created and named the sport. Unfortunately, he cares to look at it as more of a "discipline" within which one can express all of their desires. I remained unconvinced throughout, and my interest was held only because of the incredible abilities that the runners have. The jumps are worth waiting for, and you come to accept that they are surrounded by a lot of fluff. Foucan tries to explain why it is a science and why it is something highly original that he has created, but in the end, he cannot blind you from the fact that he has never worked a day in his life. The scene where the runners visit a skate park sums up the underlying emptiness of what they do: Free Running is no different from skateboarding in terms of freedom of expression.
Furthermore, the entire idea behind this documentary is merely a pretence to show off the runners' skills. The fact that they do not need a pretence, does not seem to matter though. The runners are French, this is inescapable, and yet the producers try to involve the English audience by showing the stunts performed around London landmarks, suggesting that the capital will never be the same again. They came. They ran. They jumped. And no one noticed. This documentary lacks honesty. It presents the sport as a lot more dramatic than it actually is, and uses London to gain viewers that probably would have watched the programme anyway because the content is, at times, amazing. Instead, a flaccid excuse for why it's all happening at London acts as the glue for a weak bundle of interviews, back story and jumping. The jumping should have been the centre with all aspects revolving around that. Instead, London was the centre. This is a monumental flaw in the documentary which can be forgotten about if you indulge in the spectacle of it all, but ultimately, it leaves you feeling empty because the substance is all superficial.
Overall, Jump London relies on the sport of Free Running to provide the entertainment of the documentary. The mistake is that they try to make a legend out of something that has only just begun which undermines the skills involved. The content is stretched thin over the hour, and there are far too few jumps, but the spectacle, no matter how false, is undeniably impressive.
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