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AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS – Victor Young
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Ever-ambitious producer Mike Todd sought to bring an epic adventure tale to the big screen. He hired screenwriter James Poe to adapt renowned author Jules Verne’s novel “Around The World In 80 Days”. He gave the director reigns to Michael Anderson who brought in an amazing cast which included; David Niven as the classic Victorian English gentleman Phileas Fogg, Mexican icon Cantinflas as the resourceful “Jack of all Trades” Passepartout, Shirley MacLaine as the captivating Princess Aouda, her debut acting role, and Robert Newton as the redoubtable Inspector Fix. The story takes place in England circa 1872 and centers on an epic adventure taken by Phileas Fogg and his man servant Passepartout. Fogg makes the audacious claim that he can circumnavigate the world in eighty days. He offers a £20,000 wager with four skeptical compatriots of the Reform Club, thus setting the stage for the adventure. Read more…
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS – Victor Young
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Ever-ambitious producer Mike Todd sought to bring an epic adventure tale to the big screen. He hired screenwriter James Poe to adapt renowned author Jules Verne’s novel Around the World in 80 Days. He gave the director reigns to Michael Anderson who brought in an amazing cast which included; David Niven as the classic Victorian English gentleman Phileas Fogg, Mexican icon Cantinflas as the resourceful ‘Jack of all Trades’ Passepartout, Shirley MacLaine as the captivating Princess Aouda, her debut acting role, and Robert Newton as the redoubtable Inspector Fix. The story takes place in England circa 1872 and centers on an epic adventure taken by Phileas Fogg and his man servant Passepartout. Fogg makes the audacious claim that he can circumnavigate the world in eighty days. He offers a £20,000 wager with four skeptical compatriots of the Reform Club, thus setting the stage for the adventure. Fogg sets off on the first leg of their journey to Paris by hot air balloon. Against this backdrop is a growing suspicion that Fogg has stolen £55,000 from the Bank of England, which elicits Scotland Yard to dispatch Police Inspector Fix to arrest Fogg. Read more…
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS – Trevor Jones
Original Review by Peter Simons
Based on Jules Verne’s classic novel, Around The World In 80 Days is not quite the adventure film fans were hoping for. With Steve Coogan and Jackie Chan in the lead roles, the classic adventure with a touch of science fiction – at least, it was sci fi when Verne wrote it – has been reduced to a comedy; and not a very funny one. Coogan, a British comedian, stars as inventor Phileas Fogg who wages his life to prove he can travel around the globe in eighty days. Chan plays Fogg’s assistant Passepartout, who is on a mission of his own to return a sacred sculpture that was stolen from his hometown in China. Needless to say, the film’s plot serves merely as a vehicle for Chan’s martial arts choreography. Read more…