Popeye (1980)

[The Toyroom]

Picked this up last week for $5...hadn't seen it in about 25-30 years....watched it last night with the family....


Well, Blow Me Down...This film just BLOWS!

My memory was admittedly very foggy on this from back in the day when it seemed to be an HBO staple....But I can't imagine that I ever enjoyed such drivel.

ALL of the dialogue (not just Popeye's) seemed mumbled and I couldn't make heads or tails of the plot, if indeed there was one. The kids were BEGGING me to shut it off but we saw it through to the end.

Visually, it's perfect....everyone seems to fit their roles to a T....but the songs are horrible, not very memorable (yes it's a musical for those that haven't seen it)...and it just seems to be utterly pointless.

I highly doubt this will ever see the inside of my DVD player ever again.

[VintageMike]

I remember in grade school there was some special newspaper we'd get at the school and this was a cover story on it once. That's the best memory I have of it!

[ScottA]

What ticked me off about it was Popeye didn't eat the spinach until the very end. What the heck?

[The Toyroom]

^ Apparently he didn't like spinach and only ate it when his pappy told him it would give him super-strength...I got at least that much out of the "plot"

[toys2cool]

yeah that's crap

[kryptosmaster]

The kids were BEGGING me to shut it off

Now you know why there was never a Popeye II.


I'm guessing the mumbling dialogue was supposed to mimic the first/early Popeye cartoons where Popeye mumbled incessantly and you couldn't really understand most of what he was saying.

I don't recall being a fan of this movie either and have had no desire to watch it again. Probably haven't seen it since "the HBO days" either.
Rich

[mego73]

I don't care what anyone says, I like this movie

[fallensaviour]

I don't care what anyone says, I like this movie

Same here!!!
I remember my Dad taking to see it at the theatre.
Robin Williams at his best.
It was very cartoonish.

[boynightwing]

I think I'll keep this as a foggy fond remembrance then. Last time I saw it I think I was 6 or so.

[starsky]

it was pretty weak.

[vintage spideyfan]

As mentioned before, the character's all appear to be spot on, but the lack of plot and horrible musical numbers destroyed it for me and I have REALLY tried to like this one.

[Brazoo]

The sound gets a little muddy with everyone mumbling and talking over each other Robert Altman style - but I'm wondering if maybe your sound system wasn't set correctly. I have a really crappy system, and my copy of that movie sounds fine, but I've noticed that some movies - especially older ones that have been remastered for newer home theatre systems sometimes leave dialog lost in the mix. Maybe try playing with the different audio modes, and checking the DVD audio set up?

I'm with the minority on this one. I loved Popeye as a kid - must have watched it 100 times - and it's still a favorite. Mind you, it's more like the original comic strip than the cartoons.

Harry Nilsson's music is a highlight to me. Perfect casting - great screenplay by Jules Feiffer - and the huge group of characters really suited Robert Altman's style. The production was plagued with problems, and ran over-budget - which really effected the ending - but overall I think it's a flawed masterpiece and a great tribute to EC Segar's original Popeye.

[fallensaviour]

I still love it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umFzekMru2k

[UnderdogDJLSW]

I haven't seen it for a few decades, but I remember liking it.

[megoscott]

I don't know that I love it, but I admire it. It's an art movie adaptation made before it became commonplace to turn everything old into a big budget movie.