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Summary: AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
Review: I BELIEVE HOLLYWOOD SHOULD RE-START THE MAKING OF SUCH WONDERFUL FILMS AS AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS. THERE WAS NATURAL BRIGHT LIGHT, IT MADE ANYONE FEEL LIKE TRAVELING, THE MUSIC WAS THE PERFECT RELAXER, THE SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF MANY FAMOUS ACTORS, THE ACTOR'S PERFORMANCE,THE TRAVELLING SCENERY, IN FACT, THE WHOLE PRODUTION WAS AMAZING. THANK YOU FOR BRINGING IT BACK ON DVD.IT BRINGS WONDERFUL MEMORIES.
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Summary: Special Fetures for "AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS" 2-Disc DVD
Review: Here are the special features:Disc 1:
-Introductions by Turner Classic Movies host and film historian Robert Osborne -Feature-length commentary by Brian Sibley of BBC Radio
Georges Melies' A Trip to the Moon (1902) -Outtakes -Stills gallery -1956 original and 1983 reissue theatrical trailers -DVD-ROM link to Michael Todd's Around the World in 80 Days
Almanac Disc 2:
-Introductions by Turner Classic Movies host and film historian Robert Osborne -Around the World of Mike Todd (1968): narrated by Orson Welles, this profile of the film's producer features reminiscences by Elizabeth Taylor, Gypsy Rose Lee, Ethel Merman, Lowell Thomas and others -Playhouse 90: Around the World in 90 Minutes (excerpts): Elizabeth Taylor hosts this live October 17, 1957 telecast of the a star-studded gala from Madison Square Garden celebrating the one-year anniversary of Around the World in 80 Days' world premiere. -March 27, 1957 Academy Awards® ceremony highlights -Newsreels: the Los Angeles premiere and the opening in Spain Sounds great! Also can't wait for the "Cary Grant Signature Collection" from Warner Bros. on June 1, 2004. That collection features: "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House", "The Bachelor and The Bobby-Soxer", "My Favorite Wife", "Destination Tokyo", "Night and Day". They're having a great DVD year!
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Summary: The 1956 version is the one and only one to get!
Review: Someone had actually commented the Brosnan's more recent version is better than this absolutely charming and entertaining 1956 version. It just goes to show that there will always be people who will prefer garbage to the real thing. Morons will always be morons. Just the fantastic cast of cameo appearances by so many stars - Frank Sinatra, Joe E. Brown, Marlene Dietrich and Noel Coward are worth the price. This movie was the best picture of 1956. Brosnan is a light wight, who looked like Mr. Rogers in his James Bond roles. The 1956 version is long overdue in a DVD format, with some possible extras about the making of this great film.
Rating: 
Summary: great widescreen, boring little screen
Review: This was a great movie when seen the first time in the the Todd-AO widescreen process, which was meant as competition for Cinerama. And the star appearances are interesting as a side fillip. However, too much time is wasted on scenes that were primarily meant to give the audience sensations of motion. If you are really interested in the story, get a copy of the Pierce Brosnan - Eric Idle mini series - much more of the plot is covered, and less of the surround-screen effects that don't translate to a TV screen.
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Summary: Good News for all of you!
Review: According to the Digital Bits, Warner Brothers will be releasing AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS in a 2-disc SE. The exact date is not known, but Warner representatives have said it is coming soon, with the prologue, intermission, etc. I will try to give you more details when I can! J.T.
Rating:
Summary: The original can't hold a candle to Pierce Brosnan's version
Review: Even though it has been nearly 13 years since I saw this movie and liked it very much, it doesn't hold a candle to the Pierce Brosnan version and it is a bit slow-paced and has color detoriation that needs to be fixed! But other than that, David Niven has always been an excellent actor and they should play on a new game show called "Can you guess this person's face?" of the more than 40 celebrities that were shown! Beautiful locations and scenery. I thought Niven's character was cold as a fish while Brosnan's Fogg showed more emotion and humor!
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Summary: A real classic film
Review: I hope the studio responsible for this magnificent production puts it out on DVD (hopefully widescreen). I know some complain of the pace of the film. If it was any faster it would be hard to enjoy the great scenery and become absorbed into the travel and adventure inherent in this film as the characters advance in this Jules Verne classic saga. This film picks you up and carries you along with it. I enjoy this film immensely and am surprised that there is no sign of it yet coming out on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Worth Seeing Once
Review: After the first 45 minutes, I wondered if I'd lost my mind to continue watching a movie so stunningly boring and lacking in plot development. Everybody knows the premise of course. The fabulously wealthy Phineas Fogg wagers he can circumnavigate the globe in an unprecedented 80 days, whereupon he and his manservant Passepartout set off to do it. If you read Jules Verne's book, you would think making a movie of it would be a no-brainer. Unfortunately, this movie was made in just that style. Anyway, in memory of Jules Verne, and because I thought it must have won 5 Oscars for some reason, I just had to see what happened next, and it did begin to pick up after they arrived in India. Or perhaps my expectations by then were lower. The photography is superb. The cast has dozens of cameos, including Buster Keaton as a train conductor. But the flat-footed direction disappointed me. I'm glad I watched it, but I don't intend to watch it again.
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Summary: Great film - wish it was full frame letterboxed on DVD
Review: I agree. This file demands to be full frame on DVD. And yes it's at a slower pace, but traveling it usually at a slower pace and that's probably part of why I like this film. Regarding that comment about the color. I looked it up and this film is in Technicolor and this color process almost always preserves it's original vibrancy. My guess is that he either got a bad tape or the tape transfer was not good. A DVD should look really good, especially on a HDTV. Come on Warner, when can we have a proper DVD of this film?
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Summary: Mike Todd Chases Phileas Fogg Around the World
Review: There's a famous old saying to the effect that "It's a difference of opinion that makes horse races." Present-day critics often look askance at "Around the World...," yet when it came out, it earned the plaudits of almost every critic then in existence, and was nominated for eight Oscars (including Best Director), winning five, including Best Picture. This may simply indicate a change in movie tastes on the part of critics over nearly 40 years, but I still consider it to be one of the most purely enjoyable examples of family viewing yet to appear on video. Of course, everyone knows the basic premise of the film: Phileas Fogg (Niven), "the most punctual man alive," bets a group of fellow clubmen (staking his entire fortune) that he can circle the world in 80 days, and then, accompanied by his valet Passepartout (Cantinflas in his first U. S. film), sets out to do just that, along the way rescuing an English-educated Parsee girl, Aouda (MacLaine), from forced suttee and attracting the attention of Scotland Yard's Insp. Fix (Newton in his final role), who is convinced he is the man who robbed the Bank of England on the day before his departure. This was the first and last film produced by Mike Todd (then married to Elizabeth Taylor), who was killed two years later, and for a first effort--indeed, for any effort!--it's astounding. Todd believed in going all out, and he surrounded himself with the best talent he could find, even going so far as to cast major film figures in minor parts, inventing along the way the now-familiar term "cameo role." The film was actually shot in large part on location, requiring a huge crew and many cast members to travel untold thousands of miles and using what was literally "a cast of thousands." (Of all the exterior scenes, only two were observably shot on indoor sets.) To be sure, it loses something through translation to the small screen, but the scenery is still beautiful and the actors still strut their stuff to good effect. In a movie of this length, pacing is everything, and the pace of "Around the World..." is consistent and steady. True, it's a little slow getting started, as it introduces Fogg and his Club, but after a few minutes it cuts to Passepartout on a "pennyfarthing" bicycle, and from then on there's always something going on or something interesting to look at: Cantinflas's bullfight in Spain, the balloon trip over the French countryside, the drugging of Passepartout in Hong Kong, the Japanese circus, and the stripping at sea of the sidewheeler Henrietta, to say nothing of the mere presence of Cantinflas, who adds a touch of comic lightness to what might otherwise be a rather taut film; the costumes, the vehicles, and the incidental characters, especially Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Gen. Sir Francis Cromarty, Red Skelton as the gluttonous drunk in San Francisco, John Carradine as Col. Proctor, and Joe E. Brown as the Fort Kearney stationmaster. The credits at the end are difficult to read unless you have a giant-screen TV, though the imaginitive treatment is worth sitting through. And viewers of all ages will enjoy the sheer suspense of "What-will-happen-next?"--which is, of course, what makes a story a story. The more penetrating viewer may also find it interesting to watch how Fogg develops: though he maintains almost to the end that he is a man of the most precise habits and has no human warmth to speak of, there are cracks in his armor--a moment's appreciation of a sunset over the Arabian Sea, his compassionate resolve to rescue Aouda (and his nervous lick of the lips when she seems unsaveable), his reassuring pats to Passepartout's shoulder as their journey passes midpoint and things pile up in their path. You will probably prefer to fast-forward through the prologue, featuring Edward R. Murrow giving an introductory talk, but once the movie itself gets under way, S. J. Perelman's inspired mix of action, humor, and suspense should hold everyone's interest. After all, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. This video has been in my collection for over 15 years (it was one of the first I acquired after buying my first VCR), and in that time, even with literally hundreds of other films in competition, I've taken time to run it a total of eight times to date--and enjoyed it just as much each time as I did when I first saw it. Modern critics to the contrary, I maintain that it well deserves a place in the pantheon of classics--and a look by families seeking simple enjoyment for all ages.
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