Around the World in Eighty Days (1956 film)

Around the World in Eighty Days is a 1956 movie based on the novel of the same name by Jules Verne, involving a dare proposed to English aristocrat Phileas Fogg by his gentlemen's club to undertake a bold journey to travel around the world in only 80 days.

Related Topics:
1956 - The novel of the same name - Jules Verne

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It is a big budget Hollywood movie, shot in producer Michael Todd's pioneering 70mm Todd-AO system to provide the highest-available picture resolution and sweeping widescreen vistas.

Related Topics:
Hollywood - Movie - Michael Todd - 70mm - Todd-AO - Widescreen

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The movie boasts a huge cast, with David Niven and Cantinflas in the lead roles of Fogg and Passepartout. Fogg is the classic Victorian gentleman, well-dressed, well-spoken, and extremely punctual, whereas his simple-minded servant Passepartout provides much of the comic relief as a "jack of all trades" for the film alongside his master's strict formalities.

Related Topics:
David Niven - Cantinflas

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Many famous performers play bit parts (Todd is credited with inventing the term "cameo appearance"), and part of the pleasure in this movie is playing "spot the star", including those like Marlene Dietrich, George Raft, and even Frank Sinatra to name a few. Highlights of their circumnavigation journey involve their adventurous, and often humorous, exploits from England through France, Spain, the Suez Canal, India, Hong Kong, Japan, and the American Old West. Some of the locations are authentic, but in other cases because of modern development scenes had to be shot on studio backlots.

Related Topics:
Bit parts - Marlene Dietrich - George Raft - Frank Sinatra - England - France - Spain - Suez Canal - India - Hong Kong - Japan - American Old West

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The movie holds the record for the highest number of animals ever employed.

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The movie was nominated for eight Oscars, of which it was awarded five:

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• Won: Best Picture - Michael Todd, producer
• Won: Best Cinematography, Color - Lionel Lindon
• Won: Best Film Editing - Gene Ruggiero and Paul Weatherwax
• Won: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture - Victor Young
• Won: Best Writing, Best Screenplay, Adapted - John Farrow, S. J. Perelman, and James Poe
• Nominee: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color - Ken Adam, Ross Dowd, and James W. Sullivan
• Nominee: Best Costume Design, Color - Miles White
• Nominee: Best Director - Michael Anderson
 
Around the World in Eighty Days (1956 film): External link ►