The Altman Film

[jadwick]

I'm relieved to see that Sparky likes the (in)famous live-action film. I've always been very fond of it and think it captured much of the feel of the original strips. I know that's a minority opinion, though, and that a lot of people don't care for it very much. ("Hate" is such an ugly word...) I sincerely hope, however, that there are others who agree with me.

[mhberest]

I have always liked Shelley Duvall and Ray Walston. Duvall manages to reconcile the annoying Olive with the ultimately appealing Olive. Her cries of "Rattlesnake! Rattlesnake!" when she hears Swee'Pea's rattle are classic. Her song and dance, "He needs me," is also a high point of the film for me. That, and when Popeye et al are in the brothel and he warns them about getting a "venerable disease."

[doc]

I saw the film on the big screen at age 8 and it remained an important part of my childhood. To me it captured what Popeye is all about: the underdog standing up to all the evils of the world. Some of the highlights for me included Poopdeck's rant about kids, Popeye trying to convince his father that they were related, the brawl at Rough House's, and just how closely Shelly Duvall really resembled Olive Oyl in every way.

GW

[Sparky]

Well I'm glad this thread so far hasn't consisted of a barrage of negative comments. I totally love this film, I think it's great. Hey I need to take some pictures of it but a few weeks ago I came across a GIANT (like, a yard tall) coloring book from the movie. I rather think the lineart is terriffic! Of course I have to photograph the pages rather than scan it...what I wouldn't give for a scanner that size, it'd solve a lot of my problems.

[darcat]

Popeye is one of the dvds in my collection and I am very picky about titles I add to it.I thought the actors did a superb job in their roles.The likenesses to Popeye and Olive were fantastic.Love it.

[RobbyRob]

Man, I am so stoked that there are other out there that love this movie. I was 11 when I first seen it. We had just got our first VCR, and my uncle had taped the movie off of HBO I believe. Living out in the country, we had no cable TV, so it was a treat when he brought over the tape. I think I watched it about 7 times in 5 days. It remains one of my favorites to this day.

My 3 year old daughter and I watched it the other day, it was the first time she saw it, she loved it as well. When I told my mom that she had just watched " Popeye" for the first time, she reminded me not to let her watch it as much as I did when I was a kid, lol.

[paul]

You can add me to the list of people who thoroughly enjoyed the movie. From the moment it opened with the animated sequence, I knew it was going to be great. Finally bought it on DVD a few months ago.

[doc]

Eerily enough, I think that Robin Williams looks more like Popeye now then when he did the film.



Doc

[hamgravy1]

The following is a submission to a thread before I found this message board. I see that the last entry was awhile ago. sorry i am so late to the party.....


"Would love to review a three hour print and hope that Disney/Paramount offer a disc with options and extras some day. Perhaps there are so many financial and artistic entities involved that it is a legal matter that does not warrant the effort. I would suggest that a review of the VHS and DVD sales and minimal effort in attaching the extras would inspire a small spike in sales. The Popeye soundtrack boasts a song NOT included in the movie called Din" We with a vocal that sounds remarkably like Johnny Hartman..... and missing from the Track List is "Everything is Food" NOT on the album and is in the film.

You have to be truly interested in the film to appreciate any of this information, and I suspect there is a small group of people that actually are. Not enough to elicit a full on revival. Too bad for me and the small group of others that are interested.

I do intend to take my family to Popeye Village in Malta, in a few years, which still exists and is a family attraction to this day. It will be an inclusive trip to Europe, not just a pilgrimage to Popeye Village, by a 40 something Dad grasping to his youthful memories.....

I would enjoy seeing the craftsmanship of the village that I believe is a homage to the Thimble Theater settings and Fleischer's early era cartoons which were inspired by the latter.

The kids will have rides and attractions which were added to "attract" tourists. To Malta. I am glad they did not tear down the town and attempted to utilize the visualization and artistic concepts for a practical purpose in an obscure location.


Popeye fanboy?

I yam what I yam...."

There is a Popeye movie listed on IMDBpro slated for 2013 but i have not signed up for the 14 day trial to dig deeper. I have read elsewhere that a project is in the works in the live action genre.

i really enjoyed the dvd max Fleischer series box set especially the extras, the 3D animation and Fleischer story documentaries.

an update on my earlier posting has found that the voice on the song "din' we" is supposedly the actor Robert Fortier who played Barnacle Bill whose scene was cut from the film but included in the soundtrack (?) which we all know is more than likely due to the extreme budget problems outlined in the book "The Popeye Story" from 20 years ago.

hope this inspires some more conversation.

[Sparkina]

I liked the movie, though i wished that they made Olive pretty and vivacious and Bluto handsome and romantic