Popeye

A maga idejében nagy hollywoodi bukás volt. A Paramount és Disney nagy költségvetésű koprodukciója, nagymenő Altman-nal a rendezői széken. A filmkészítőknek csodálatos módon sikerült az animációs szereplők kinézetét, beszédét és gesztikulációját színészi alakításokba átvinni. De ettől nem lettek sem szimpatikusak, sem mesésen játékosak. Vizuálisan és viselkedés szempontjából is inkább ellenszenvesek. Akárcsak a musical zeneszámok. Talán inkább jobban "családbarát" rendezőre volt szükség, mint Spielberg, akinek van érzéke a mesebeli varázslathoz és a gyermeki világfelfogáshoz. De lehet, hogy ő sem segített volna rajta. (2020.05.18)

Directed by Robert Altman and starring Robin Williams, the burlesque musical Popeye (1980) was one of two rare co-productions between Disney and Paramount (the other being the phenomenal The Kite Runner). It was made in Disney’s so-called “dark age”, which is demonised in the official historiography because the then-boss Ron W. Miller steered the studio away from its values, which are still extolled to this day. But like other projects made under Miller’s management, Popeye is a distinctive and ambitious work, and an underrated, though bizarre, gem. According to the narrow-minded interpreters of Altman’s filmography, however, this spectacularly phantasmagorical project is often considered to be a misstep or a film made only for the money. It is in fact a unique attempt to translate a cartoon world, with its characteristic rhythmic dynamics, visual chaos, nonsensical logic and physical elasticity of the characters, into a live-action format. Furthermore, on closer inspection the narrative, which presents to viewers not only the titular protagonist, but also an entire maritime town with all kinds of odd characters, comes across as a cheerfully absurdist paraphrase of Altman’s iconic mosaics of tragicomic life stories. As in his early gem Brewster McCloud, Altman shows off both his neglected comedic side and his subversion of classic Hollywood formats, particularly burlesque, musicals and big-budget costume flicks. It is no coincidence that Paul Thomas Anderson, a great admirer of Altman, incorporated a wonderful homage to Popeye into his own similarly polarizing gem, Punch-Drunk Love (2002). (2022.07.03)

Yes, at the beginning there was a bit of nostalgia when the opening theme of the series I liked as a child played, but as soon as the actors appeared, it went downhill. Robin Williams is great and he created the character brilliantly. Shelley Duvall is equally excellent, but what's the point if you just can't watch it for two hours? It's silly, and on top of that, it's a musical, which makes it even worse because it tries so hard to resemble the cartoon character and cram in too much action. A lot happens, but you still just wish it would end. (2015.01.09)