Rating: 
Summary: Great film spoiled by colour quality
Review: We looked forward to re-living the pleasure that we had when we first saw the film in the 50s. Of course the story was as good as ever although it seemed to move more slowly now. What spoiled our enjoyment was the quality of the colour. Tape 1 was very "washed out". We wondered if our NTSC to PAL system was failing. The second tape had much better colour so our system is OK (Thank goodness!). With prior knowledge of the colour qualty we might not have bought the the tapes. I suppose that, on reflection, this would have been our loss.
Rating: 
Summary: Top class
Review: Briefly,
A carton box used, yet, in great condition. Wonderful sound and
bright colors. What more?
Rating: 
Summary: Get your act together
Review: I originally asked for D. Niven's version, yet, I got a cartoon one from you guys(!) So I reordered, hoping this time I get the right thing. It's no big deal, especially considering the lower price of the item, a used one. Only thing, is, I hate having no choice over things, and accepting them because again, it's "no big deal." I gave the cartoon version to a friend's kids.
Rating:
Summary: Great Adventure
Review: Another of Jules Verne's wonderful books put on film... somewhat. A somewhat decent transferral from book to film. At any rate, it's a lively and entertaining movie. A good family movie. If you want a film for kids (as well as yourself), and want to see some good adventure, with lots of big stars making cameo appearances, this is a good place to begin. Shirley MacLaine is actually pretty good in this, something I surprise myself by saying. David Niven and Robert Newton are superb; Niven as the fastidious Phileas Fogg and Newton as the London detective following him around the world. I'm anxiously looking forward to seeing this wide screen adventure put onto DVD.
Rating:
Summary: I agree
Review: I agree with Gary Camp. I have seen this film many times in theatres and it NEEDS at least a letterbox format. I used to have this on laserdisc but lost it. Reluctantly I'm going to buy the VHS because there isn't a letterbox DVD. Actually I am amazed that this isn't on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: It's not AGE that has dimmed it; it's TRANSFER & FORMAT
Review: Many reviews of Michael Todd's 1956 version of "Around the World in 80 Days" suggest that the film, although good, is not as effective as it once was because our tastes have sharpened over the years. You might be suspicious that our enormous sophistication is not the most important variable if you realize the following: 1)the decline has been Gargantuan -- the film won awards all over the world, played well over a year in virtually all of its Todd-AO releases, and drew wild applause at both the intermission and as the end credits appeared (at least every time I saw it) 2)the decline cannot be attributed to the dialogue, because it is still witty, and not at all unsophisticated, though it is broadly satirical 3)the visual humor is almost as funny as remembered from 1956 4)Niven & Cantinflas can only be described as perfect in their roles. The problem is that the VHS tape transfer does not adequately reproduce the glorious images, or the magnificently bouncy score, played by one of the largest orchestras in the history of film, and captured in one of the best 6 channel magnetic recordings ever. They must not have gone back to a 70mm Todd-AO print. Although even the best video will not approach the effect of an optically corrected Todd-AO print on a large, deeply curved screen, it is time to at least try making a DVD from a painstakingly restored 70mm print! This is a movie that was often characterized by critics as a "romp," but there is not much romp left in the current video. You CAN get a little of the joy and the bounce back by using a good stereo sound system, and cranking up the volume. One distinctive feature of the film is that there was very little background music; it was FOREGROUND music! The montage and music interlocked amazingly well. After the prologue (the one part of the film tht IS dated) turn up the sound of the marching band to the level of a LIVE brass band, and leave it at least at that level....that's the way it was in Todd-AO, and that's the way it should be! In 1956 Todd-AO had a "control track," the exact function of which is being debated by film historians. I'm one of the ones that thinks it was used to turn up and down the other audio tracks, to achieve more dramatic dynamic range than was possible without it (without over-recording). One place I think it was used was just before the intermission, when the music level went up magnificently. Try this: as the intermission approaches, just after Shirley MacLaine says "We're out of British jurisdiction now" turn up the volume smoothly but quickly, then, on the cut to the next shot, PUNCH it up. You will feel the exhilaration, and you will see why people clapped. The video people, in a fit of bad taste, inserted their own intermission card, so the beautiful shot of the rigging is cut short. Perhaps on the DVD they will leave in the original superimposition, and preserve the original dynamics, leaving in the effect of the control track. As a VHS tape played through a good audio system, "80 Days" would probably make my top 100 list, and certainly is the best realization of Jules Verne on screen. As it was in Todd-AO, it just might make my top 10. Either way, it is better than the dull Pierce Brosnan version in every way!
Rating:
Summary: classic
Review: this movie is one of the champs it is not one of the best and most thought provoking movies ever made but it is nonetheless a classic an worth niewing
Rating:
Summary: It may be an oldie. But it's a goodie.
Review: Around the World in 80 Days has aged better than most think. The film does show alot of long cinematic scenes. But it is funny (The ending is just hilarous, if you get it). Over 40 stars make apperances, if only brief, in the film. The only ones I could identify where Red Skeleton, Frank Sinatra and Buster Keaton. Then again, I am younger than this movie. Anyway, It's long, and old. But with performances by David Niven and an excellent one by Cantinflas, this movie is a classic indeed.
Rating:
Summary: Star-Studded Epic that has not Aged That Well!
Review: One of the most expensive films in it's time and it certainly is a feast for the eyes. But unfortunately this film has lost much of it's charm over time, it now seems overdone and overlong. But it sill has some nice things to offer, mainly all those picturesque landscapes and all those cameos, over 40 major stars appear in small roles, the easiest to spot are Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich, Peter Loore and Buster Keaton. One of the major assets of the film is Cantinflas, Mexico's greatest comedian, in his only American film brings the perfect comic touch to the film. One of the major flaws is that the film doesn't make full use of his comedic abilities, one or two scenes of Cantinfla's usual slapstick would of made the film more tolerable. David Niven is in top forma as the elegant and punctual Philleas Fog. A very young and darkened Shirley MacLaine appears in a small role as a beautiful Indian princess. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film a 7!
Rating: 
Summary: Great for fans of 50's and 60's epic films
Review: To understand why this film was given so many awards and so much praise, one needs to understand the time in which it was made. To compete with television, Hollywood began making its films bigger - not just in length, but in scope. Theatres constructed much bigger screens, and around the early 50's, big screen filming techniques like Cinemascope, Cinerama, and Vistavision were employed (it would be the equivalent of an IMAX film today). As a result, people came to the movies just to witness the spectacle on a mega-huge screen (bear in mind as well, TV screens at that time were mostly about the size of your thumbnail). Two number one films of that time period were "This is Cinerama" and "Cinerama Holiday," two films which employed the "big screen" technique but had virtually no substance (they were basically travelogues)."Around the World in Eighty Days" grew out of this trend; it was crafted so that audiences would leave the TV and go to the movies just to see the huge color spectacle on a big screen - and it worked; this movie was one of 1956's biggest successes. Today, however . . the movie does lose some of its appeal, due to these lengthy scenes which were crafted mainly for big-screen enjoyment (example: the sequence on the train through India, the train trek through the American Midwest - if you'll notice, quite often the camera pulls back for panoramic views of the countryside). Yet this film remains a favorite to me for several reasons, the first being that I am, as the title indicates, a big fan of 50's and 60's epic. This film also features a wonderfully droll performance by David Niven as stuffy English gentleman Phileas Fogg, a role perfectly suited to his talents. Cantinflas is also amusing as the deadpan Passepartout, Fogg's faithful manservant. You may not recognize Shirley MacLaine as Indian princess Aouda (for one thing, her role is incredibly mousy - seeing this, you'd never know one day MacLaine would play someone with as much verve as Aurora Greenaway in "Terms of Endearment"). Another feature of the film is the many cameo appearances made by big name stars in both Britain and the U.S. - Marlene Dietrich, Charles Boyer, John Carradine, Cedric Hardwicke, Ronald Colman, John Gielgud, Glynis Johns, and Buster Keaton (as a very funny train conductor) are just some of the many big names that lent their talent to this opus. Another plus for me is that S.J. Perelman lent his writing talents to this film, which accounts for some of the wry humor strewn throughout. I don't recommend it for children - as has been said, the length will wear your youngster out, that is, if you can even get him to pay attention to it in the first place; but it's worth watching if you're in a sentimental mood and want to return to a more innocent time period. You may want to wait until a widescreen version is made available (though somehow I don't see this one as having great demand for release on DVD). A good film or bad one, depending on your tastes.
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