Customer Reviews

Michael Palin's Around the World in 80 Days

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

One would think that trying to best a fictional record from the 1870s would be an easy task these days, even if one has to abide by the same modes of travel such as trains and boats, but we discover along with Palin that it isn't as easy at it would seem. We also discover the joys of simple travel, simple pleasures, everyday people from faraway lands, and such important lessons as how to remove a snake's gall bladder and - my favorite bit - the manly way to iron laundry. Yes, on top of being provided with a fascinating window to other cultures, we are awarded the constant presence of the wittiest, most charming and most informative travel guide ever to grace a TV screen. I love all of Palin's travel adventures but this - his first - is still in my book, the very best. I've heard that the DVD extras on this only include an interview with Palin, but that shouldn't dissuade anyone from buying this magnificent 7-part series.

I like travelling, but normally I don't like travel programs. They're boring and sensible, and although the surroundings are beautiful, they don't deliver anything you couldn't have looked up in a Lonely PLanet guide.

But not this one. Ex-Python turned globetrotter and British national treasure Michael Palin delivers a thoroughly entertaining, funny, untraditional and quite exciting travel program with, what would become his first of many great travel programs, "Around the World in 80 Days", in which he tries to recreate Phileas Fogg's journey around the world in Jules Vernes classic novel. No planes allowed, only boats and land transportation.

Not only is (was) it a new and more exciting way to create a travel program, but Palin, with his great sense of humour and his happy go lucky sort of approach to the task before him, is one of the best television presenters ever. He really grabs your attention and makes you interested in the places he goes to. He has indeed made the entire UK sit and watch his travels to places they had never heard of before week after week.

I have never spoken to anybody who, after seeing Palin's travels, did not feel invigorated and full of lust for adventure. It did certainly rekindle my love of trains and boats watching "Around the World in 80 Days". Now I travel by train instead of plane whenever I can.

I have watched the series some 4 or 5 times over the years now, and it never gets boring. They are the benchmark of travel programming. Highest possble recommendation.

Finally available on DVD this series was such a joy to watch. Palin's has an excellent homey style to his narration and always expresses in his looks and words much of what the audience is thinking about the situations he finds himeself in. The pacing is excellent and one quickly finds oneself truely involved and wondering will he make it on time. This is a fun travelcade which sweeps you around the world in great scenes which makes you want to revisit many of them. This was the first in a series of adventures which hopefully will all be released soon such as "From Pole to Pole." At this time you can view "Sahara" his adventures in Africa to get a feel for the style that this soon to be released series manifests. Overall this an excellent series and the price is reasonable, you should get many hours of enjoyment watching again and again.

The best modern travelogue ever made! Informative, adventuresome, funny, beautiful, and engaging.
A wonderful film to be viewed more than once.
I also use it in teaching world history and geography.

Dinner's burnt, the kids are crying and you've had another "interesting" day at the office. Oh to be a teenager back-packing through Europe once again! If you're like me and can't heed the call of the open road, at very least you owe it to yourself to watch this informative video which through a combination of tongue-in-cheek humor and a keen sense of adventure will allow you to travel along with the modern day Phinius Fogg. Thoroughly entertaining and informative. Among the best travel related vidoes I've seen to date. Great family viewing.

Send me a postcard if after watching this video you pack a knapsack and hit the road!

If the recent "Planet Earth" is the best nature documentary ever produced, as some claim, than this "Michael Palin's Around the World in 80 Days" is unequivocably the best travel doc ever. Nothing can touch it.
It will be a wonder and a joy to experience this again now that it is FINALLY available on DVD.

Its so very cool to sit back for a bit, hear Michael Palin's wry humor as he attempts to make the trip in 80 days. My family loved it when we were kids in the 90's and now its a nostolgia trip for me and starting my own family. This is a unique series and totally worthwhile, and even thought provoking as he visits different cultures and makes commentary. Especially haunting is the visit to China right before Tianamen(sp) Square in 1989. You will enjoy this series if you love to see the world from your armchair!

I loved this TV serie when I was able to watch a small section every week, and when I found this video, it was a must.

It is fun to learn more about the world, and it makes you dream about a time when you'll have the time and money to travel.
Michael Palin does a great job all the way through this serie.

If you're looking for Pythonesque humor here... You've got the wrong video. However, '80 Days' is both cleverly worked and captivatingly informative. Palin shines as tour guide, with his coy wit and genuine interest in the people he meets. It's no wonder they made Pole To Pole and Full Circle. I found myself wanting more tours with Palin as my guide. Loved it.

Michael Palin follows Jules Verne's Fillias Fogg around the world and by the end, you get the feeling you really know Palin. The journey is mesmerizing, funny, interesting and you feel like you're with him every step of the way. The Dhow episode is worth the price. . .At least I think so.
It's a long series and can be daunting if you try to watch them all the way through. You really have to WATCH to enjoy.