To paraphrase one of the film’s I reviewed in this space in 2020, I picked a Hell of a year to stop reviewing older films once a week.
It makes all the sense in the world that, in a year where I resolved to review fewer older movies a month than I had under the “A Movie a Week” banner, we would be thrown into a global pandemic that would leave me furloughed from work, and thus, freed to review a fair amount of older films this year. Don’t mistake me- this is the epitome of “first-world problems” and privilege in terms of things to be complaining about this year; I just appreciate the irony of it all. In truth, the move was necessary, and still helped me focus more on recent movies, which suddenly, became more plentiful than ever. And I also realized that, in the years ahead, I will be going into this series without a set list of movies to review each year- I’m still going to have a general template I follow, but what films populate it will be adjusted based on availability, and personal whims.
To conclude this year, we return to Robert Altman. He started our year with one of cinema’s most unique westerns, and he will end our year with one of cinema’s most unique comic book adaptations in “Popeye”. I hope you enjoy!
Viva La Resistance!
Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com
“Popeye” (1980)- A-
Is it possible that trying to replace Robin Williams is the reason we haven’t gotten a reboot of “Popeye?” If so, I can’t think of a better reason to just let Robert Altman’s 1980 adaptation of the iconic comic strip stay on its own as our one feature film version of this world. This is one of the most original films from a comic that we’ve ever seen, and it’s one that has aged into a beautifully bizarre relic of its time. Few filmmakers could create such a tactile world from such weird source material.
The idea that this set for Sweethaven, the harbor town that Williams’s Popeye is rowing into at the start of this film, was not just built, and still exists to be seen is as much of a justification for practical sets over CGI as Peter Jackson utilizing New Zealand to bring Middle Earth to life. You could not create this world in CGI, and have it be nearly as impressive as what Altman has done here. Rather than make models, Altman made a town, and it is one of the most breathtaking movie worlds you’ll ever see. All of the houses, and shops, and the harbor put us into the surreal world of E.C. Segar, and when we first see Popeye, with his oversized forearms, his squint, and the way he chews on that pipe, we feel like we’re watching a cartoon brought to life.
Popeye has come in to Seahaven, and he is immediately met by The Taxman (Donald Moffat), who is insistent on taxing him for everything, even asking a question. He has come in on his dingy to look for his father, Poopdeck Pappy. He finds lodging at the Oyl house, where Olive (Shelley Duvall, in one of the great, perfect castings in comic book movie history) is getting ready to marry Bluto (Paul L. Smith). Popeye gets in the middle of that almost by accident- he isn’t looking for romantic love, just his father- and when he ends up with Swee’pea, an abandoned child they discover, he and Olive take it upon themselves to adopt Swee’pea, and Popeye in particular is taken with the child. When Swee’pea reveals himself to be particularly adept at predicting races, he is taken by Bluto to the Commodore (Ray Walston), whose barge is off limits. We’ll find that there’s a reason for that, and by the end, Bluto has taken Olive Oyl and Swee’pea, and Popeye is chasing after them for some treasure.
Williams is, honestly, the perfect live-action Popeye. I feel like a modern version would go for, say, Dwayne Johnson or someone to get the physique, but while he’d be fine, there’s something about Williams in the role that just works. His ability to nail to inflection of a sailor not used to taking to other people, so it’s hard to decipher what he says, is part of it, but the physical acting is another key component, and that is where Williams wins us over, along with the sweetness of the character when confronted with Olive Oyl and Swee’pea. We need a comedic performer of Williams’s caliber to make scenes like the fight with Oxblood Oxheart or the scenes where spinach makes him stronger at the end to believe these moments. This might be one of my favorite Williams roles, and he has great foils to work against.
The Harry Nilsson songs give this an even richer texture than just a conventional score. A musical is the best way to make a live-action Popeye film work, and not just because you can justify the moment at the end where the iconic cartoon theme song is sung. A musical fits right in to this crazy world of Segar’s and Altman’s, and from the opening number to the weird “Everything is Food” to the sweet and timeless “He Needs Me” to “He’s Large” to Popeye’s “I Yam What I Yam,” this is honestly one of the strongest original song books for a movie musical in history. It’s nuts and sweet and cheery and wildly fun to listen to. It gives Altman’s film its surreal quality, and makes it something we’ll never forget, in all the best ways.
Previous “Repertory Revue” Films
“McCabe & Mrs. Miller” (1971)
“Long Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance” (1972)
“Gridlock’d” (1997)
“Birthright” (1939)
“Poetic Justice” (1993)
“American Psycho” (2000)
“The Most Dangerous Game” (1932)
“Seconds” (1966)
“Fearless” (1993)
“The Virgin Spring” (1960)
“Mo’ Better Blues” (1990)
“Once a Thief” (1996)
“Con Air” (1997)
“Clueless” (1995)
“Rad” (1986)
“Twister” (1996)
“Rising Sun” (1993)
“Airplane!” (1980)
“Lethal Weapon 4” (1998)
“Waking Ned Devine” (1998)
“Seven Chances” (1925)
“The Fortune Cookie” (1966)
“The Last Metro” (1980)
“The Music Room” (1958)
“Excalibur” (1981)
“Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind” (1984)
“Sabotage” (1936)
“An American Werewolf in London” (1981)
“The Ghost Ship” (1943)
“Videodrome” (1983)
“Wes Craven’s New Nightmare” (1994)
“Stand By Me” (1986)
“Get Shorty” (1995)
“Even Dwarfs Started Small” (1970)
“The Verdict” (1982)
“Empire of the Sun” (1987)
“Shanghai Triad” (1995)
“The Idiot” (1951)
“Miracle on 34th Street” (1947)
“Popeye” (1980)
See Brian’s list of 2009 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2010 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2011 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2012 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2013 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2014 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2015 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2016 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2017 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2018 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2019 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2020 “Repertory Revues” here.
