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Movies / On DVD / Popeye
Popeye

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Popeye (1980)

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58 %
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Reviews Counted: 26

Fresh: 15

Rotten:11

Average Rating: 5.8/10

Consensus: Altman's take on the iconic cartoon is messy and wildly uneven, but its robust humor and manic charm are hard to resist.

Runtime: 1 hr 54 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: The classic comic strip and cartoon hero comes to life in Robert Altman's film adaptation of the adventures of the spinach-munching sailor. After he's thrown from his ship during a storm, Popeye... The classic comic strip and cartoon hero comes to life in Robert Altman's film adaptation of the adventures of the spinach-munching sailor. After he's thrown from his ship during a storm, Popeye (Robin Williams) finds refuge in a quaint seaside town. There he rents a room from the Oyls and meets their daughter Olive (the perfectly cast Shelley Duvall). Olive is engaged to Captain Bluto (Paul Smith), a bully and ruffian who is in charge of collecting taxes for the mysterious Commandant. Popeye, who was orphaned at an early age, is in the midst of a desperate search for his missing father, but what he doesn't realize is that the shipwreck has brought him unexpectedly close to his final destination. In bringing his own distinct vision to E. C. Segar's legendary hero, Altman creates an atmosphere that is breezy, loose, and filled with slapstick shenanigans. Williams portrays Popeye with a physically comic flair that is both honest and energetic--as do the rest of the cast members, including frequent Altman contributors Duvall, Paul Dooley, and David Arkin. Harry Nilsson's songs add to the lighthearted affair, making POPEYE an enjoyable family viewing experience all around. [More]

Starring: Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall, Ray Walston, Linda Hunt

Starring: Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall, Ray Walston, Linda Hunt, Paul Dooley, Paul L. Smith

Director: Robert Altman

Director: Robert Altman

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jun 24, 2003

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Popeye

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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No review available.

comment Comment
11/04/07
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

I reeeeeaaaaaaalllllllyyyyyy hated this movie...

Full Review Source: sbs.is | comment Comment
07/10/07
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
sbs.is

The plotting of this 1980 feature -- outsider in a hostile environment -- is personal to Altman, though few of the feelings survive the clutter.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
04/16/07
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A good idea gone down the drain under Altman's spotty direction.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
04/16/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It is more than faint praise to say that Popeye is far, far better than it might have been, considering the treacherous challenge it presented. But avoiding disaster is not necessarily the same as success.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
04/16/07
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

You wonder how on earth Altman did it; equally often, you feel you are watching a wacky masterpiece, the like of which you've never seen before.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

Most people hate this rambling, Robert Altman-directed comic strip movie, but I loved it as a kid and I still love it.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

No review available.

comment Comment
10/21/05
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

No review available.

comment Comment
07/06/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

The film's not much chop, but Williams is right at home as the spinach-swallowing sailor

comment Comment
05/12/05
Clint Morris
Moviehole

No review available.

comment Comment
01/07/05
Michael Dequina
Mr. Brown's Movies

No review available.

comment Comment
01/07/05
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Curious paring of Williams and Altman in a live action adaptation of the famous cartoon. Altman's odd sound techniques are not well suited for the material.

comment Comment
12/27/04
Jonathan W. Hickman
Entertainment Insiders

He takes one of the most artificial and limiting of art forms -- the comic strip -- and raises it to the level of high comedy and high spirits.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A thoroughly charming, immensely appealing mess of a movie, often high-spirited and witty, occasionally pretentious and flat, sometimes robustly funny and frequently unintelligible.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
08/30/04
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The fantastically cartoonish look isn’t enough to compensate for the plodding story and overall disinterest I had in the characters.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
06/05/04
Ryan Cracknell
Apollo Guide

Kooky and odd and brilliant in the most warped way imaginable.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
05/16/04
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

A wacky treat.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/05/04
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
12/02/03
Nicolas Lacroix
Showbizz.net

No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/03
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Latest News for Popeye

November 21, 2006: Auteur Robert Altman Passes Away at 81
Robert Altman, the esteemed and venerable director of "M*A*S*H," "Nashville," and "The Player," died Monday from complications due to cancer. He... More...

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