Around the World in 80 Days

It's been awhile since I last posted, but my homework load has gotten big enough that a post seemed like the perfect way to procrastinate.

A couple Saturdays back, I was able to watch the first half of Around the World in 80 Days. I say the first half, because the film is approxametly 3 years long. The film took up two discs, and felt longer than the 183 minute run time. Why is the film this long? Long long scenes where not much happens. THe film spent at least an hour on, a bull fight, shots of the alps, a jungle trek, and a Japanese acrobat show. None of these really moved the plot along enough to justify this amount of time. They're all interesting at first, but start dragging after a couple of minutes.

Do these scenes have a point? No. Are they pretty? Yes. This seems to be what people went to the movies for back then, which makes sense. If you didn't have the money to go around the world, you pay to watch other people do it.

The veiw of the world portrayed in the film, though, is not perfect. Often, the other cultures met by our heroes are thin stereotypes of the people they represent. The Indian (as in, the Asian culture) people are portrayed as violent savages, and the only Indian woman portrayed like a person is the British educated love intrest played by a white woman.

The film does have a ton of cameos. Be sure to look for silent film star Buster Keaton, and the Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra.

This film is too long for most kids, and it was too long for me. It's long, it's pretty, it's dull.