Around the World in 80 Days

Starring: David Niven, Cantinflas, Shirley MacLaine, Peter Lorre (cameo), Trevor Howard, Red Skelton (cameo), Marlene Dietrich (cameo), John Carradine (cameo), Frank Sinatra (cameo), Buster Keaton (cameo)
Directed by: Michael Anderson
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Adventure, Comedy
1956

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An Englishman (David Niven) makes a wager that he can travel around the entire world in 80 days.

Review:

Tim: I'm actually surprised that Around the World in 80 Days isn't talked about more. Sure, it might not be a true classic like some films from its era, but it's a very, very good movie, and in many ways, can be considered a landmark film. It won 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. This film popularized the use of the "cameo". Apparently, the film used more animals and costumes than any film ever (at the time). They used almost 70,000 extras and was likely the biggest film production ever undertaken at the time. This is all very impressive, and suggests this is not a film to be taken lightly.

I was definitely a big fan of the Jules Verne novel, so I was already looking forward to this film (although my expectations were also raised). The film is a fairly faithful adaptation of the story, and makes for an entertaining, fun adventure. The major parts of the book are all here, which is impressive, given the scope of the film. This is truly a movie that takes place all over the world, and each of those locales was brought to life on screen. I know that many of these scenes were on sets, but it doesn't matter, because we're truly transplanted to each of those areas. I love the long landscape shots at the start of each new place- they reminded viewers of how far our protagonists have come, but also how diverse and strange this world we live in is. I loved comparing the wild west of the United States with the jungles of Asia, and the open seas of the oceans. I also enjoyed the first person view that we got of the various modes of transportation our heroes take. These are small elements, but they greatly added to the epic feel of the film.

I did enjoy the cast. David Niven makes a very good Phileas Fogg. Fogg is such a fantastic character in the book, and Niven was very capable in bringing him to life on screen. I do wish they showed a bit more of his unflappable nature, but overall, Niven was a fantastic choice to play him. I mostly did enjoy Cantinflas as Passepartout. He certainly captured the spirit of the character, and was incredibly fun to watch on screen. He had such a great screen presence and brought so much energy into the role. His enthusiasm was infectious, and he worked very well in the film. What I didn't like as much as the need to give his character a much bigger role than in the book. I know this was important because he was such a huge film star in the Spanish-speaking world. Unfortunately, I felt like this movie pandered a bit to that stardom at the expense of the quality of the movie. For example, we get an extremely (almost excrutiatingly) long bullfight scene. The bullfight scene wasn't in the original novel, but Cantinflas had bullfighting experience. Now, I'm not opposed to changing the source, because the bullfight scene served the purpose of highlighting a different culture and reminding the audience that we weren't in England any more. Unfortunately, this scene goes on and on and on to ridiculous lengths. It should have been a 2 minute scene, but at its real length, it completely bogs the film down and causes the movie to lose all momentum. I had almost forgotten where we were in the story after this long scene. There's also a very long dance sequence with Cantinflas that again, showcases his talent, but unfortunately, unnecessarily delays the film. These moments hurt the movie more than they help.

The rest of the cast is huge, so I won't spend time talking about everyone. I thought Shirley MacLaine was average, although most people believe she was woefully miscast. I would not describe her performance with many positive words, but I did not think it greatly hurt the film. I did enjoy the various cameos, especially Peter Lorre and Frank Sinatra. The cameos were a fun little addition to the film.

The scope of the film is definitely impressive. We have a hot air balloon ride, various trains, a trek through the jungle on an elephant, battles against Native Americans, ocean-crossing ship voyages, rescue attempts, bridge collapses, and much more. This is all great fun to watch, and really gives the movie an epic quality to it. Now, the downside of all this is that the film runs almost three hours. This is a very, very long time. Now, for the most part, the movie is moving at such a quick pace that it doesn't feel too long. However, there are definitely some prolonged sequences (previously mentioned) that make the film longer than it needed to be. The film would have been better if it was just a bit shorter, so it wouldn't have required so much work to get through.

While not quite a great movie, Around the World in 80 Days is a very good, massively epic movie. It was great fun to watch the famous story on screen, as well as the landscape shots, the cameos, and all the crazy adventures Fogg and Passepartout get into. This was a very enjoyable movie, and one I would definitely recommend. While not quite a true classic, this is an important movie, and one that deserves to be seen.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Around the World in 80 Days (2004)