The Baja 1000 is the longest point-to-point race in the world, covering a thousand miles through the desert of northern Mexico
and open to all manner of vehicles, from motorcycles to dune buggies to vintage VW Bugs (but not the new models). "Dust to Glory" chronicles one typical year's race, and gives the event's history in the process. Only serious racing fans will be intrigued by every element of the labor-of-love documentary, but even casual admirers of adventure will find much of the footage entertaining. The director, writer and narrator, a race enthusiast named Dana Brown (who also made 2003's surfing doc "Step into Liquid"), speaks in the manner of a person who loves his subject and who has not availed himself of an editor. Solecisms like "conversating" and "had shrank" creep into his narration, as do overblown declarations like, "This isn't about A race, it's about THE race: the human race," and the opening description of the Baja 1000 as "sharing an adventure in a place where reality is on holiday." Puh-leeeze. But if you ascribe Brown's high-school-level prose to his unadorned love for racing, his zeal becomes contagious. He introduces us to the legends of the Baja 1000 (including NASCAR's Robbie Gordon, who comes to Mexico every year), the great, unknown-to-history riders and drivers like 62-year-old J.N. Roberts, Mouse McCoy, and the McMillin family (now with three generations of dune buggy drivers).
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