Good concept, poorly executed.

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

When this movie came out, I was a high school freshman. "Around the World in 80 Days" in Todd-AO was a splendor to behold then. And on later viewings, it continues to delight. Modern audiences of the 21st century may not find it as enchanting. But, in the 1950s, world travel still was something mostly for the wealthy and some businesses. American television had little fare that showed foreign lands. For most of us, the movies and National Geographic Magazine were how we saw the broader world that we read about in school. So, "Around the World" was a window on much of the world that most people had only read or heard about. And, what a window it was – and is, with spectacular scenery, vistas, views of foreign lands, and adventures through colorful and varied cultures. I can't imagine anyone wouldn't know the premise of the film, and the book on which it's based. Jules Verne (1828-1905) was a masterful adventure storyteller. He is among the most renowned of French authors, and probably the best-known and read adventure and sci-fi writer of all time. He is indeed, the father of science fiction. Hollywood made four of his 66 novels into excellent movies, and three dozen more films have been made in various countries that were inspired by Verne novels or excerpted from them. Who can forget the big four Jules Verne stories from the mid-20th century films of them? The first was "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" in 1954, followed by "Around the World" in 1956. The next sci-fi classic was "Journey to the Center of the Earth" in 1959, and the last of Verne's works with a worthy film production was "Mysterious Island" of 1961. One thing that enhanced Verne's work was the meticulous research he did for his novels. Of course, many of his sci-fi subjects have become a reality – submarines, rockets, travel to the moon. The most fantastic that stretched the imagination was "Journey to the Center of the Earth." Verne combined knowledge of the best current science with history and geography to create his fantastic adventure stories. Since 1980, Jules Verne is the second most translated author in the world – just behind Agatha Christie and ahead of William Shakespeare. A couple of quotes from his biographies are timeless. "Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth." And, "We may brave human laws, but we cannot resist natural ones." In the introduction to the DVD film I have, film historian Robert Osborne gives some interesting background on the movie, "Around the World." The making of the film was as much a wonder, as the story itself. And, one man deserves the credit for bringing this great Verne adventure to the screen. When everyone else said it couldn't be done, Michael Todd pulled strings, cajoled people, scrounged for funding, got the best talent and writers he could, and pulled out all the stops. He set out to make a classic like no other, and he did just that.The cast for the film is superb. In the intro, Osborne says, "There was only one actor Michael Todd envisioned as the film's lead character, Phileas Fogg. And, that was David Niven, who was more than pleased to play the part." The second major role – of Passepartout, was a real achievement by Todd. He considered Cantinflas to be the greatest living performer. And, although the Mexican actor – who then was the wealthiest actor in the world, had never made a movie in English, Todd flew to Mexico to meet him. A week later, Cantinflas agreed to do the part. Niven and Cantinflas made a perfect combination to build the story around. Then, Todd set out to get a host of big name stars to add to the film. To do this, he coined the phrase, "cameo part." So, instead of their having bit parts, 36 actors were celebrated for their small parts as gems or star jewels in the film. Osborne says, "For the rest of his life, Niven said it was his favorite of all the roles he ever played." It's interesting that this Verne story doesn't have a balloon in it. At least two of his books had hot air balloons – "Five Weeks in a Balloon" and "Mysterious Island." Todd thought "Around the World" should have a hot air balloon, so it has one. This movie probably holds the record for the number of locations for filming. It was filmed at 52 locales in eight countries and regions, including cities from London to Hong Kong, and Tokyo to San Francisco. Film crews shot in Bangladesh, China, France, Japan, the Persian Gulf, Spain and Thailand. In the U.S. they filmed in California, New Mexico, Colorado and Oklahoma. And, four different major studios were used for filming – Estee Studios in England, and three in California: RKO, 20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers. "Around the World in 80 Days" won five of eight Oscars for which it was nominated, including Best Picture of 1956. It won over some tremendous films that year ("The King and I," "The Ten Commandments," "Giant," and "Friendly Persuasion.") It also won two Golden Globes including best picture. Later versions of this film were made, but none on the scope and expanse of this great production. With tens of thousands of extras in this film, and yet unspoiled or undeveloped areas captured in 1956, it's unlikely that any future production could ever equal this classic. Even though world travel has shrunk and technology now makes pictures from around the world almost instantaneous to anyone, an imaginary trip such as in "Around the World" should please audiences for decades to come.

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.

Everyone enjoys taking a cheap shot at the Academy Awards, and this movie offers a great chance to do just that - Around the World in Eighty Days won Best Picture, while in the same year John Ford's The Searchers, one of the most iconic classics in the history of American cinema, didn't receive a single nomination.Around the World is three hours long, and feels like it. Every few minutes the movie stops to gawk at its exotic locations and smugly chuckle at its endless celebrity cameos ("Look, isn't it funny that the saloon pianist is Frank Sinatra?"). It has certainly aged badly. I remember enjoying it as a kid thirty years ago; rewatching it recently, I was surprised by how overlong it feels. I had a similar reaction to another on-the-road adventure/comedy of the same era, The Great Race, except the latter is propelled even today by Jack Lemmon's villainous glee as Professor Fate and by the sight of the adorable Natalie Wood in her lingerie. Around the World features also-adorable Shirley MacLaine - but, distractingly, she is unlikely cast as an Indian princess.Overall, though, this Jules Verne adaptation isn't a bad movie - a mildly entertaining travelogue with luscious vistas and a tone-perfect David Niven as a British gentleman so prim and fastidious that, if you tossed a couple of eggs in his luggage, two minutes later he would produce from it still immaculate clothes and a perfectly cooked omelet on a silver platter. In fact, Around the World is at its best when it focuses on Niven's Phileas Fogg dryly dealing with annoyances, obstacles and threats, and at its worst when it pauses to showcase the physical skills of co-star Cantinflas as Passepartout - so we have a dancing number, a bullfighting number, a circus number, and so on.The result is drawn-out; we complain that Peter Jackson added at least a whole hour of bloat in each Hobbit movie, but Hollywood was already doing that sixty years ago.6/10

Not bad. Had the potential to be frightfully boring, especially considering its 3-hour running time. The plot is quite conventional, and feels reasonably padded. Also can be a bit mundane if you already know the story (and who doesn't).However, it was fairly entertaining. Made so mostly by the scenery and excellent cinematography. Felt like a travel documentary.The occasional humour also helps.Performances are nothing to write home about. David Niven is overly stuffy as Phileas Fogg. (But that's all he knows how to do). Supporting cast have a host of big names in minor, sometimes very fleeting roles: Noel Coward, Sir John Gielgud, Trevor Howard, Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich, John Carradine, Buster Keaton.Certainly didn't deserve a Best Picture Oscar, but not that bad.