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Around the World in Eighty Days
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Product detailsEdition: VHS Tape Audio: English (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language) Format: Animated, NTSC Release Date: 1990-09-24 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Publisher: Childrens Video Of America Studio: Childrens Video Of America
VHS Movie Reviews of Around the World in Eighty DaysMovie Review: Around the world in 80 days Summary: 5 StarsA long but very entertaining movie which would appeal to older viewers remembering so many actors in unexpected bit parts - e.g. Bustor Keaton, Frank Sinatra. David Niven and Cantinflas are excellent and the cost of making this film in so many countries would have been enormous.
Movie Review: Around the World in 80 Days Summary: 5 StarsI remember when this movie originally came out. Always a fan of David Niven's, the movie was good...however, the Mexican comedian, Cantinflas, stole the scene...he was terrific. I enjoyed the movie and will watch it frequently.
Movie Review: Love this movie! Summary: 5 StarsI teach the book and show this movie along with the Pierce Brosnan miniseries of the same name. This DVD version was not available when we began teaching the book. Our VHS copy was wearing out! I 1-clicked this on Monday during class when it was clear the tape was dying and had it in hand on Thursday to continue using the film on Friday! An absolute life-saver.
Movie Review: Excellent Movie! Very Good DVD! Summary: 4 StarsThis movie is a real masterpiece that makes very optimal use of the vibrant colour and abilities of the Todd-AO process to provide a visual feast to showcase the natural beauty of various locales across the world. The camera angles for many of the scenes were simply inspired and the clarity and overall picture quality is stunningly beautiful making me a believer in the Todd-AO system. This was and still is a good family entertainment film. I enjoyed the transitions from stodgy old Victorian England at the start, to the Flamenco and bull-fighting scenes in Spain, the jaunt in Hong Kong although the scenes with the ostriches are clearly factually incorrect, the beautiful scenes at Yokohama with the giant Buddha statue and the exotic costumes, the wonderful Wild West scenes in San Francisco with the Native American adventures to the brilliant ingenuity on the Henrietta on the voyage back to London.
The abundance of cameos must have been a real hit with movie fans at the time although the effect will be blunted today due to the unfamiliarity of today's audiences with the stars of that time although it was nice to see Frank Sinatra and my favourite Buster Keaton in action. Keaton, together with Charlie Chaplin were the kings of the silent era and while Chaplin was able to adapt somewhat to the advent of sound in films, sadly Keaton wasn't as lucky but like Chaplin, Keaton was a comedic genius.
The dvd is also a great treat as the sound quality that comes in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround is simply fantastic! Excellent sound and the best for an older film that I've ever heard to date. This shows how well a properly undertaken job at sound quality restoration can rejuvenate the older classic films if only the studios take the time and effort to do a good job. They should use this dvd as a guide in the future as to the great potential of giving new life to older films through the use of enhanced sound quality.
The picture quality using the Todd-AO process was also very, very good and the clarity is breathtaking however there are still too many white spots in much of the film for my liking. Hopefully with the advent of Blu-ray they should take the opportunity to really do a proper frame by frame clean up to totally remove as much as possible all these picture quality imperfections.
The special features are also very good with an excellent documentary on the life of producer Mike Todd whose life resembled that of the film's protagonist Phileous Fogg as one who is resourceful and willing to risk all to achieve his dreams. Another entertaining extra is the television broadcast of the "little" party that Todd threw at the Madison Square Garden to celebrating the anniversary of the success of the film.
This dvd represents excellent value but I would like to see a better restoration job on the picture quality although again the sound quality is simply brilliant. Having watched both the "Giant" dvd and this one, I am personally unsurprised that this film pipped it to the best film Oscar and in my opinion as an overall entertainment proposition, this film is indeed more deserving of the Oscar for that year.
Great film, good dvd; although you may want to wait and see if they improve even further on the picture quality for the future Blu-ray version.
Movie Review: Best Picture Oscar ??? Why??? Summary: 3 StarsAround the World in 80 Days (Two-Disc Special Edition)
For some reason, maybe because of the names, Phinneas Fogg and Passepartout, I was expecting a funny film. I was sadly disappointed on that score, although there were some somewhat amusing scenes. Basically throughout the first disc, I felt the film's story was a threadbare line on which to hang a sort of travelogue of scenes from various countries along Phinneas' route. The Spanish dance scene and the bull fight were unnecessarily long, as were various other episodes. My interest grew during the second disc, but I am still glad I didn't pay full price for my set. On the whole, I would say I found the film mildly entertainig and it was educational on a cultural level (such as where ostriches were used to pull carts in the Orient). I also felt there was the odd disconnect in the story.
Summary of Around the World in Eighty DaysThis Mike Todd production was a star-studded, multi-million dollar extravaganza when first released in 1956. It remains enjoyable family fare, but time has somewhat dulled its shine. Still, it compares favorably to the overly long, TV mini-series starring Pierce Brosnan and Eric Idle. Elegant David Niven plays the neurotically punctual Phileas Fogg, a British gent who is spurned on by a wager to prove he can travel around the world in 80 days. He is accompanied by his valet, played with persnickety humor by Cantinflas. Nominated for several Academy Awards, this was written by John Farrow (Mia's dad) and S.J. Perelman, based on Jules Verne's 1873 classic. The fun part is the razzle-dazzle. Todd knew what he was doing with all those exotic locales and over 40 cameo appearances, including Charles Boyer, Ronald Colman, Marlene Dietrich, Jos? Greco, Peter Lorre, Buster Keaton, Frank Sinatra, and Red Skelton. A very young Shirley MacLaine was painted and dyed to play a lively Indian Princess. --Rochelle O'Gorman
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