Anthony Bourdain was called the “original rock star” of the culinary world. He was a cook at Les Halles in New York City before his sudden rise to fame in 2000, thanks to his memoir/tell-all book “Kitchen Confidential”. Shortly afterwards, he was approached to do a travel/cooking series called A Cook’s Tour, which awakened a love of travel and exploring other cultures that Bourdain didn’t even know he had. Eventually, Bourdain would find himself trying to balance his professional and personal lives while traveling 250 days of the year doing shows like No Reservations, The Layover and Parts Unknown. Much of the last 20 years of Bourdain’s life was spent in front of the camera, leaving loads of intimate footage of the chef/author/presenter. For Roadrunner, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville takes Bourdain’s own words from archival interviews and footage from his various shows, and combines them with new interviews with various friends and colleagues, looking back at the impressive career of this cook turned chef turned author turned travel series presenter, and how he not only impacted those around him, but also had a darkness lurking underneath the surface. There are many times throughout the film where Bourdain is on camera eerily talking and joking about his own death and mortality.
Roadrunner primarily looks at three periods in Bourdain’s life, 1999, 2006, and 2016. The film starts as Bourdain publishes his massively successful “Kitchen Confidential” book and becomes a star overnight. Before this he had been a cook living paycheck to paycheck. He had overcome a heroine addiction when he was younger, quitting cold turkey. Now he has been given the opportunity to film a travel series, A Cook’s Tour. The series gets off to a rocky start as Bourdain is a bit of a shy guy who has never traveled before. However, once he starts to open up and be himself, his natural ability to connect with others shines through, and magic happens. Bourdain quickly becomes hooked on travel. The documentary utilizes episode and behind-the-scenes footage from A Cook’s Tour and Bourdain’s other series that followed to give viewers a look at the ups and downs in Bourdain’s personal and professional lives. The film looks back at how Bourdain overcame a heroine addiction, but how he transferred this addiction to other things such as travel. The documentary explores how this new obsession led to the end of his seemingly-indestructible 30 year marriage, but also to a new start and with second wife Ottavia Busia-Bourdain, and how becoming a father for the first time really changed him. The film also looks at some of the bigger, life-changing moments in Bourdain’s professional career, such as in 2006 when he’s filming a travel series in Beirut when war breaks out, and in 2016 when he starts a toxic relationship with director Asia Argento, which many of his friends and colleagues believe ultimately led to his downfall.
Roadrunner is an interesting and sometimes really intimate look back at this man who seemed to have it all on the surface, but was actually dealing with his own demons and insecurities underneath. I found it quite fascinating just how much of his life was captured by the cameras. It almost felt as if Bourdain was still here and actively participating and narrating this documentary himself. In addition to the archival footage, the film also includes new interviews with writer/friend Joel Rose, publisher/friend Karen Rinaldi, longtime agent/friend Kim Witherspoon, restaurant owner Phillips LaJaunie (Les Halles), creative partners Lydia Tenaglia & Chris Collins, chef/friend Eric Ripert, brother Chris Bourdain, cinematographer Todd Liebler, second wife Ottavia Busia-Bourdain, chef/friend David Chang, directors Tom Vitale, Mo Fallon & Michael Steed, producer Helen Cho, friend Doug Quint, musician/friend Josh Homme, artist/friend David Choe, musician/friend Alison Mosshart, and artist/friend John Lurie.
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has released this documentary film on Digital and DVD, but no Blu-ray release, so those who wish to own the film in HD will have to go the Digital route. I was sent the DVD release for review, which features a pretty solid picture and sound. Much of the film is comprised of archival footage which varies in quality due to its age. For this type of film, I found that the DVD release was more than sufficient—an HD release of some of this older SD footage isn’t necessarily going to improve its quality, and the present day interviews look clean and clear. The audio track provides clear dialogue throughout—this isn’t an action-packed blockbuster that makes heavy use of surround sound, so nothing really stands out. The DVD is packed in an standard DVD keepcase along without a slipcover. There is no supplemental material, and no digital copy is included, but the release does contain an insert with an Universal All-Access Rewards Code.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:58:46)
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DVD:
- 480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
- Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, French
- No digital copy of the film is included
- Universal All-Access Rewards Code (Offer may not be valid after 12/31/2025)
Code can be redeemed for points towards a free digital movie or other items in the Universal All-Access Rewards program. The selection of 5-6 free digital titles usually changes around the first of the month.
Digital:
Extras:
No bonus material is included on the disc.
Final Thoughts:
Roadrunner is an interesting look back at the career of Anthony Bourdain through his own words and footage, along with present day interviews with the friends and colleagues who were impacted by his life and death. The film plays it a little safe at times, but by its emotional conclusion, it doesn’t shy away from getting into some of the more controversial and darker things that may have led to Bourdain’s suicide. UPHE’s DVD release features solid picture and sound (given the source material), but doesn’t include any bonus material or digital copy. The documentary is worth a look for anyone interested in Bourdain’s life and career.
