Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Michael Anderson's* "Around the World in 80 Days" had to have been one of the most ambitious movies ever made at the time. Lots of sets, lots of animals, lots of traveling, and countless cameos. Obviously the downside is the casting of Shirley MacLaine (not of South Asian descent) as an Indian princess, as well as the depiction of Native Americans in one scene. Overall, it's an impressive piece of work. I suspect that this was the non-Spanish-speaking world's introduction to Cantinflas. You gotta appreciate what they put into this movie.As for other things, when David Niven's character insists that he always eats at a certain time, it reminded me of Sheldon Cooper. During the party scene in Spain, everyone's having fun while he just stares; typical Englishman keeping a stiff upper lip. During the scene where they burn parts of the boat to keep it going, I figured that they would eventually have to burn their clothes and arrive naked.If you judge the cast by the roles and personalities for which they're most famous, then the movie includes the Pink Panther (Niven), Pepe le Moko (Boyer), the Joker (Romero), the gangster (Raft), Clem Kadiddlehopper (Red Skelton), the Blue Angel (Dietrich), the Voice (Carradine), the swoon-inducer (Sinatra), deadpan guy (Keaton), the informer (McLaglen), Benzino Napoloni (Oakie), Mrs. Banks (Johns), Charlie Chan's #1 son (Luke), and of course, the guy who took down Joe McCarthy (Murrow). Directed by Elizabeth Taylor's future husband from a script by Mia Farrow's dad.I haven't seen every Oscar-nominated movie from 1956, but I'd say that this one deserved it (though it had tough competition from "Giant").*I decided to read about Michael Anderson, and surprisingly learned that he died just a few days ago.

Having previously watched The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze and the Jackie Chan version, I watched this Best Picture Oscar winner recently on a plane from Korean Air. It's very long with some amusing scenes from comic Cantinflas. David Niven is his charming British self and Shirley MacLaine does adequately well in only her third film role. There are lots of Star cameos of which the most disappointing was from Buster Keaton who for some reason doesn't do any stunts with Cantinflas when the latter runs on the running train. Modern film audiences may get bored with the Edward R. Murrow intro which explains the history of some of the original book's premise and shows some early film versions of fantastic air travel stories (like A Trip to the Moon) though I was interested in that segment. Overall, Around the World in Eighty Days was pretty enjoyable if maybe overlong for its own good.

This was movie making at it's best. Unlike the movies of today. Fine Acting, Photography, Costumes, Filming, Script and especially the who's who in the movie world doing their cameos. In my view the finest performance came from Robert Newton, who in my view stole the picture. It was reminiscent of his performance as Long John Silver in Treasure Island. Just as devious. Young children of today enjoy this version, even though they have been brought up on the Jackie Chan version, which is far inferior. David Niven himself stated that this was his favorite film and i can see why. I would also imagine that the participants all had a great time.A true masterpiece.

Michael Todd's Around The World In Eighty Days is a generally disregarded Best Picture winner, considered a throwaway epic that's simply of its time, nothing more nothing less. It's neither considered one of their best or worst choices. And while that mild legacy is relatively accurate, it's actually an enduring entertaining experience. It's thanks to its spright whimsical tone that exudes the timeless spirit of adventure. Sure, its characters and cultures are caricaturesque and utterly romanticised, of which would be interesting to analyse those interpretations for film history studies despite the inherent inaccuracies, but it's not exactly supposed to be raw and authentic. Instead it's concerned with its grand scale, and it's a total marvel. With dozens of huge locations, thousands of extras and an anxious use of wide angle lenses, the proportions of which the story is told are gargantuan.While there's not much of a sense of time, it certainly results in a sense of distance. It's event cinema that's held its weight for near 60 years. Mexican star Cantinflas' Passepartout is the Chaplin-esque heart and soul of the film and elevates the whole project with his bravery, loyalty and dilemmas. Niven's stoic yet bold protagonist Fogg simply blends into the background, and is a mere vehicle for Passepartout, if not an overt one. The iconic score is the backbone of the film, setting the camp tone with an assortment of familiar anthems. Naturally, there's fundamental flaws with the story as it's bloated beyond comprehension and it's structure is inconsequentially episodic with its series of obstacles with little to no insight into the characters besides a brief flirtation with common loneliness. But above all, the film is a silly but endearing romp that doesn't take itself too seriously, lending it to being thoroughly accessible viewing.7/10